Charlotte’s pizza guide, by style

Ask five people in Charlotte for the best pizza and you’ll get five answers and at least two arguments, because they’re not talking about the same food. A foldable New York slice, a family-restaurant pie with a thick sauce, a bar pizza, a Neapolitan from a wood oven: these are different dishes that happen to share a name. So this guide sorts by style first and place second. Where we state a fact about a restaurant, it comes from that restaurant’s own listing or site.

New York style

This is Charlotte’s default. A big, thin, foldable slice with a crisp bottom, sold by the slice at lunch and by the pie at dinner. Three places do it well and have for a long time.

Hawthorne’s NY Pizza & Bar opened in 2004, per its site, on the idea that sharing a meal builds community, and it has grown into multiple locations including Charlotte spots on Rea Road and Carmel Road and one in Huntersville. It’s a bar as much as a pizzeria, which is why it works for a group that includes people who’d rather have wings. Our read: it’s the reliable pick. Not the most adventurous pie in town, but never a bad one.

Brooklyn South Pizzeria in Cornelius has been family-owned since 1998 and makes New York-style pizza from family recipes, alongside salads and Italian dishes. It hosts birthdays and office functions and does online ordering. Twenty-eight years under the same family is the longest run on this list, and it shows in the consistency; regulars know exactly what they’re getting.

Maola’s Pizzeria & Restaurant on North Main Street in Cornelius rounds out the Lake Norman trio. Its site calls out cheese calzones and house salads as favorites, and it delivers. If you’re in Cornelius and can’t decide between Brooklyn South and Maola’s, the honest answer is that they’re a few minutes apart and you should try both over two weeks.

The family Italian kitchen

This is the pizza that comes with a plate of pasta on the same table, in a restaurant where the owner’s name is on the sign.

Mario’s Italian Restaurant in Matthews has served pizza, pasta and house-made classics since 1984, according to its site, and it caters birthdays, holiday parties, corporate events and weddings. Forty-two years in Matthews means Mario’s has fed multiple generations of the same families, and a lot of people in south Charlotte have a Mario’s story. It’s the place to take grandparents.

Little Mama’s Italian in Charlotte describes itself as authentic and casual, with classic dishes made from fresh ingredients in a cozy room. The pizza is one item on a longer menu, and it should be ordered as the appetizer for the table while the pasta comes. That’s how this style of restaurant is meant to work.

The neighborhood pie

Every town has one place that isn’t trying to be a style; it’s just where people order from on a Friday. In Mint Hill that’s Big Guy’s Pizza, which claims the best pizza in Mint Hill on its own site and, based on how often locals mention it, has a decent case. Neighborhood pizza is judged by different rules: is it hot when it arrives, is the order right, will they remember your name. Big Guy’s is that place for Mint Hill.

Make it at home

Charlotte has a surprising number of people with pizza ovens in the backyard, and they need ingredients. Tutti’s Italian Market & Deli on Cabarrus Avenue East in Concord is a market, a deli and a caterer, open Wednesday through Sunday, and it’s the closest thing the north side of the metro has to an old-style Italian grocery. Cured meats, cheese and the tinned tomatoes that make a difference. Call before you go if you need something specific; small markets sell out of the good stuff.

Styles we’re still looking for

A pizza guide should be honest about its gaps. The directory doesn’t yet list a dedicated Neapolitan wood-oven place, a Detroit-style pan pizza shop or a tavern-cut thin-crust bar pizza, and Charlotte has all three. They’ll be added as we verify them; the restaurants and food directory is where they’ll show up, sorted by town. If you own one, or you’re a regular at one, tell us. Restaurant listings are quick to set up and this guide will be updated to match.

Catering and the office lunch

Pizza is the cheapest way to feed a room in Charlotte, and three places on this list say so on their own sites. Mario’s has catering packages for corporate events and weddings, Brooklyn South hosts office functions, and Hawthorne’s runs enough locations that a big order can usually be split between two kitchens. For a twenty-person lunch, figure three slices a head, order two pies fewer than the math says and add a salad; there are always leftovers. Give the kitchen a day’s notice and they’ll stagger the ovens so everything lands hot.

How to order pizza in Charlotte

A few local habits. Most of the New York-style places sell by the slice at lunch only, so the slice-and-a-drink deal is a midday thing. Delivery radius matters more here than in a dense city; a Cornelius pizzeria won’t deliver to Huntersville, so check the map before you get your heart set on a place. Family Italian restaurants take reservations and you should use them on Friday and Saturday. And when a menu offers a “Carolina” or “Southern” pie with barbecue chicken or pimento cheese on it, that’s not a gimmick, it’s a regional style in the making, and it’s worth one order to find out where you stand.