The 10 best pizza places in Charlotte

Charlotte did not used to be a pizza city. It is one now, with a pizzeria The New York Times put among the best in the country, a Neapolitan operation that imports its water from Italy, a 1990s legend reopened by its original owners and a half dozen more that would headline a smaller town. Every style is here. This is our ten, weighted toward pizza first and everything else second. Hours are current as of this writing.

1. Bird Pizzeria

A takeout window in Optimist Park that grew into the most talked about pizzeria in Charlotte, with The New York Times naming it among the best pizza in the country. Gourmet East Coast style pies, thin and crisp with a little chew, five signature pizzas plus a build your own, and a dining room that opened in 2024 and is reservation only. The viral kale Caesar salad is Sunday only. It has not lost the neighborhood feel that made the window a destination, which is the hardest thing for a restaurant this popular to hold onto.

Hours: Wednesday to Saturday 4 to 8 p.m.; Sunday 1 to 8 p.m.; closed Monday and Tuesday

Address: 510 E. 15th St, Suite A, Charlotte, NC 28206

Why it made the list

• National recognition from The New York Times and a spot on Charlotte’s best restaurants list.
• The white pizza with fresh mozzarella, ricotta, garlic, olive oil and basil.
• Reservation only dining room, order ahead takeout window.
• Sunday only kale Caesar that people plan their week around.

Directory listing: Bird Pizzeria

2. Inizio Pizza Napoletana

Owner Grant Arons is so committed to authentic Neapolitan pizza that he imports the water for his dough from Italy for its pH and mineral content, along with Polselli type 00 flour, San Marzano tomatoes and real buffalo mozzarella. The Dilworth location on Park Road is the original, with three more around the metro. It is casual and family priced, which is the surprise: pizza this careful usually costs more and takes longer.

Hours: Monday to Thursday and Sunday 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.; Friday and Saturday 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Address: 2230 Park Rd, Suite 101, Charlotte, NC 28203

Why it made the list

• The most authentic Neapolitan pizza in Charlotte, down to the water.
• The pistachio pizza, a citywide favorite.
• Counter service, quick and inexpensive for the quality.
• Four locations: Dilworth, Providence Road, Birkdale and Fort Mill.

Directory listing: Inizio Pizza Napoletana

3. Stagioni

Bruce Moffett’s modern Italian restaurant inside a historic Myers Park villa on Providence Road, where wood fired pizzas arrive with scissors to cut them yourself. The scissors get the attention, but the fresh pasta and slow roasted meats, including the meatballs, are why it lands on the city’s best restaurants lists too. The menu changes with the seasons, and Sala, Moffett’s cocktail and wine lounge next door, makes a full evening of it.

Hours: Monday 5 to 8:30 p.m.; Tuesday to Saturday 5 to 9:30 p.m.; closed Sunday

Address: 715 Providence Rd, Charlotte, NC 28207

Why it made the list

• Wood fired pizza in one of the most atmospheric rooms in the city.
• The pepperoni and sausage pizza, plus a pasta to share.
• A restaurant on the best overall lists, not only the pizza ones.
• Sala next door for a drink before or after.

Directory listing: Stagioni

4. Pizza Baby

Chef Trey Wilson’s New York style pizzeria on Thrift Road in Wesley Heights, his follow up to Flour Shop, with a second location in Elizabeth serving focaccia pizza and lunch slices. The rosemary pizza with pistachio pesto, shaved red onion, hot honey and pecorino is the pie that made the name, and a national pizza site ranked the original among the top 50 in the country. A big patio and a room that hosts showers and parties.

Hours: Wednesday and Thursday 4 to 9 p.m.; Friday and Saturday 4 to 10 p.m.; Sunday noon to 9 p.m.; closed Monday and Tuesday

Address: 2135 Thrift Rd, Suite 101, Charlotte, NC 28208

Why it made the list

• The rosemary pizza with pistachio pesto and hot honey.
• Whipped ricotta, garlic knots and a top tier Caesar.
• Two locations with different formats: Wesley Heights pies, Elizabeth focaccia and slices.
• A chef with a track record at Flour Shop.

Directory listing: Pizza Baby

5. Pizzeria Omaggio

Thin crust Italian pizza at The Metropolitan in Midtown, 12 inch pies light enough to finish alone and seasonal specials that are the best thing on the menu. The Regina Margherita with buffalo mozzarella is the classic; the Country, with roasted potatoes, caramelized onions and smoked pancetta, is the one to look for. The room is small and often packed, and the pasta, salads and eggplant tower keep it from being a pizza only stop.

Hours: Monday to Thursday 10:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.; Friday and Saturday 10:30 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Sunday 11:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.

Address: 1055 Metropolitan Ave, Suite 130, Charlotte, NC 28204

Why it made the list

• Seasonal pizzas that change with what is good.
• Thin, crisp 12 inch pies built for splitting a red and a white.
• A full Italian menu beyond the pizza.
• Parking garage right beside it, rare for Midtown.

Directory listing: Pizzeria Omaggio

6. Emmy Squared

The only serious Detroit style pizza in Charlotte: square, crispy bottomed pies with caramelized cheese edges, at Central Avenue in Plaza Midwood and Hawkins Street in South End. The Colony, pepperoni with pickled jalapeños and a drizzle of honey, is the pizza that built the brand and the one to order first. The burgers are a real second act, and the kitchen handles gluten free orders carefully.

Hours: Monday to Wednesday 4 to 10 p.m.; Thursday 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Friday and Saturday 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.; Sunday 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Address: 1508 Central Ave, Charlotte, NC 28205

Why it made the list

• Detroit style done right, and no one else in the city does it.
• The Colony: pepperoni, jalapeño and honey.
• Signature burgers if half the table does not want pizza.
• Two locations, Plaza Midwood and South End.

Directory listing: Emmy Squared

7. Geno D’s Pizza

A family owned New Jersey style pizzeria inside The Market at 7th Street in Uptown, where the owner works the floor and the grandma pie with fresh mozzarella, strips of sauce and pesto earned a 7.4 from Dave Portnoy. The gluten free crust is among the best in the city. It is counter service, the 10 inch pie feeds one or two, and the market’s beer taps are a few steps away.

Hours: Tuesday to Thursday 11 a.m. to 7:45 p.m.; Friday and Saturday 11 a.m. to 8:45 p.m.; Sunday 11 a.m. to 5:45 p.m.; closed Monday

Address: 224 E. 7th St, Charlotte, NC 28202

Why it made the list

• The grandma pie, a New Jersey classic done in Uptown.
• A gluten free crust worth ordering on purpose.
• Inside 7th Street Public Market, on the Rail Trail.
• Family owned and priced like it.

Directory listing: Geno D’s Pizza

8. Zepeddie’s Pizzeria

A New York style pizzeria that ran on Woodlawn Road from 1994 to 2001 and came back in 2024 in Lower South End with the original owners and recipes. Three tables inside, a patio out front and a menu of slices, pies, wings, garlic bread and an Italian sandwich on bread that regulars rave about. The Big Gabagool, with pepperoni, capicola and meatballs, is the house pie. A comeback that earned its second run.

Hours: Monday to Wednesday and Sunday 10:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Thursday to Saturday 10:30 a.m. to 11 p.m.

Address: 4516 Nations Crossing Rd, Charlotte, NC 28217

Why it made the list

• The Big Gabagool, loaded with pepperoni, capicola and meatballs.
• A 1990s Charlotte pizzeria back under the same ownership.
• Open until 11 p.m. Thursday through Saturday.
• Some of the best value on this list.

Directory listing: Zepeddie’s Pizzeria

9. Mama Ricotta’s

Frank Scibelli’s Italian American restaurant on South Kings Drive has served Charlotte for more than 30 years, and the pizza is New Haven style, thin and bubbly from a wood fired oven. The tomato and mozzarella pie is the order. It is on this list because the pizza is very good and on the best restaurants list because the rest of the menu, penne alla vodka above all, is the definition of a Charlotte institution.

Hours: Daily 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Address: 601 S. Kings Dr, Charlotte, NC 28204

Why it made the list

• New Haven style wood fired pizza in a room that has been full since 1992.
• The tomato and mozzarella pie.
• A full Italian menu when the table wants more than pizza.
• Reservations recommended most nights.

Directory listing: Mama Ricotta’s

10. Benny Pennello’s

The NoDa home of the 28 inch pizza, where a slice needs two plates and two hands and the crust holds up anyway. It is the late night anchor of North Davidson Street, open past midnight every night and until 3 a.m. on weekends, with guitars on the wall and a lot out front. The sliced Italian sausage is the slice to get. Benny Ferrovia’s, the South End sibling on West Tremont, does the same thing for the other side of town.

Hours: Monday to Wednesday and Sunday 11 a.m. to midnight; Thursday 11 a.m. to 2 a.m.; Friday and Saturday 11 a.m. to 3 a.m.

Address: 2909 N. Davidson St, Suite 100, Charlotte, NC 28205

Why it made the list

• The biggest slice in Charlotte.
• The latest hours of any pizzeria in the city.
• The post concert stop for the NoDa music venues.
• Cheap, fast and consistent.

Directory listing: Benny Pennello’s

Also worth knowing

Three more belong in the conversation and all are in the directory: Salud Cerveceria in NoDa, whose Latin Lingo pizza would make a longer list; PIE.ZAA, the Asheville pizzeria next to Vinyl and Wooden Robot in South End that sells huge late night slices; and Zämbies, the walk up window in NoDa for a late slice and garlic knots. If your favorite is missing, tell us.