Guide to Pizza in Brooklyn

If you are visiting Brooklyn from the New York area or beyond, you can’t go wrong with Brooklyn pizza. But you might be wondering, “what is Brooklyn-style pizza? What sets it apart from other New York-style pizza?” While there is no hard set of rules or official definition of Brooklyn-style pie, you may notice a pattern in the best pizza places in Brooklyn sets this area apart:

• The crust is thin and crispy, but also airy.
• The tomato sauce tends to be less sweet.
• The cheese is frequently a blend of whole milk mozzarella and skim milk mozzarella.
• Fresh mozzarella is often used.
• The pizza is cut into 6 slices.

Learn more about Brooklyn-style pizza below, and find out some of our favorite Brooklyn pizza makers before visiting from Long Island.

Best Pizza in Brooklyn

Totonno’s – Coney Island

• Established on Coney Island in 1924, Totonno’s Pizzeria Napolitana has won multiple awards for their pizzas, including #1 Pizza in America according to the Food Network. Given the popularity of this place, the wait can be long but most locals find it’s worth it.

Di Fara – Midwood and Williamsburg

• Di Fara Pizza has been family-run since it was opened by Domenico De Marco in 1965, and most of the pizza is still made by him. Dom, along with many of his pizza’s ingredients, comes directly from Italy. The pizza is made pretty fast is an ultra-hot oven.

Grimaldi’s – DUMBO (Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass)

• Opened in 1990, Grimaldi’s is one of the most famous pizza places in New York City. The original location right under the Brooklyn Bridge was chosen due to coal-fired ovens being illegal in Manhattan. They have since expanded to other New York and out-of-state locations.

Juliana’s – DUMBO

• After Grimaldi’s was founded and thriving, the owners Pat and Carol sold it, and after a while came back to start Juliana’s, named after Pat’s mother. In the original Grimaldi’s building, they also cook their pizzas in a hand-built coal-fired oven.

Brooklyn-Style Pizza vs. New York Style Pizza

While both New York pizza and Brooklyn style have relatively thin crusts, pizza you’ll find in Brooklyn tends to have a crispy dough throughout that cracks when you fold the slice, whereas a classic New York slice still has a crispy edge but a softer dough underneath the cheese that bends when you fold it.

Brooklyn-Style Pizza vs. Domino’s Brooklyn-Style Pizza

Strangely enough, the national pizza chain Domino’s is partially responsible for making the rest of the world aware that there is a specific type of pizza associated with Brooklyn. Domino’s came out with Brooklyn-style as an option in 2006, adding to other choices like hand-tossed and handmade pan. Here are some differences in the Domino’s version compared to the real thing:

• Domino’s cooks cornmeal into the bottom of their crusts to add crispiness, which is not something that Brooklyn pizza makers tend to do.
• Domino’s offers extra-large Brooklyn-style sausage or pepperoni, but most places in Brooklyn have average-sized toppings.

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