Best Pizza in Houston: Neapolitan, Detroit, Tavern and NY Slices

Houston doesn't have a pizza style of its own, so it borrowed all of them. In one evening you can eat a Neapolitan pie that spent about 90 seconds in a 900-degree wood oven, a square of Detroit pan pizza with a crunchy cheese edge, and a crackly Chicago tavern pie cut into squares, without leaving the Loop.

This is the shortlist we'd hand a friend who asks where to get great pizza in Houston. It's organized by style, so you can pick the crust first and the neighborhood second, and it ends with where to go when it's after midnight and only a slice will do.

The quick list

• For Neapolitan, Detroit and New York under one roof: Pizaro's, in Montrose and Memorial.
• For a wood oven imported from Naples: Coastline, in the First Ward.
• For an artist's wood-fired pies: The Gypsy Poet, in Midtown, the Heights and Rice Village.
• For a garden-to-pizza dinner: Coltivare in the Heights.
• For Detroit-style squares: Gold Tooth Tony's.
• For Chicago tavern pizza: Nonno's Family Pizza Tavern.
• For a pint and a thin-crust pie: Kenneally's Irish Pub.
• For New York slices with a full bar: Neighbors Pizza Bar.
• For a 2 a.m. slice downtown: Frank's Pizza.
• For the Houston classic: Star Pizza, family-owned since 1976.

How we chose

We looked for pizzerias with a clear point of view: a style they do well, a dough they make themselves, and a reason to choose them over the delivery app default. Every pick had to show a current address and hours on its own official website as of October 2026. We left out well-loved places that have closed or that we couldn't confirm on an official site.

Hours change, and several of these spots close one day a week, so treat every schedule here as "typically" and check the restaurant's site before you go.

Neapolitan and wood-fired

Pizaro's Pizza

Montrose, 1000 W Gray St, and Memorial, 11177 Katy Fwy · closed Mondays

Pizaro's calls itself Houston's original Napoletana pizzeria, and it's still the place to learn what that word means. Its Neapolitan pies use Type "00" flour and San Marzano-style tomatoes and bake at about 900 degrees for no more than 90 seconds, so you get a soft, blistered rim and a thin, slightly wet center. The dough, tomato sauce and mozzarella are made in-house daily.

The twist is that Pizaro's now makes three styles. Order the Calabrese Napoletana (spicy sopressata and pepperoni) and a Motown Detroit pie for the table, and you've covered two chapters of this guide in one sitting.

I didn't know that: the Detroit pies bake twice in blue steel pans that, by Pizaro's account, are made in Detroit, with cheddar layered against the pan to form that crunchy cheese crust. Pizaro's also runs pizza classes; details are on its official site.

Best for: settling the "which style is best" argument with a side-by-side tasting.

Coastline Pizzeria

First Ward, 1720 Houston Ave · typically Tuesday to Saturday

Coastline cooks its Neapolitan pies in a Stefano Ferrara oven imported directly from Naples, burning live oak at around 900 degrees. Pizzas take about 60 to 90 seconds, and the dough ferments for 36 to 48 hours first. D.O.P. San Marzano tomatoes and mozzarella di bufala come from the Campania region.

The second reason to go is the pizza nobody else in this guide makes: what Coastline calls Texas-style grilled pizza, an 18-hour dough that's oiled, herbed and grilled until it's thin and crisp. Order one of each.

Best for: a wood-fired dinner with cocktails, a short drive from downtown.

The Gypsy Poet

Midtown, 2404 Austin St · Heights, 1050 Studewood St · Rice Village, 2512 Times Blvd

The Gypsy Poet treats pizza as a kind of art; its own site asks, "Is a Chef an Artist? Is a Poet a Chef?" The menu is short and personal: a Margherita nicknamed "The Queen," the Fancy Backpacker with prosciutto, truffle oil and arugula, and a Pepperoni Madness finished with hot honey. Save room for the Nutella confezione.

Insider tip: all three locations list the same hours, with a short Friday lunch window, plus a warning worth taking seriously: they stay open "until the dough lasts." Go early on weekends.

Best for: a casual date night. Pair it with our Midtown restaurant guide for a bar afterward.

Coltivare

The Heights, 3320 White Oak Dr · dinner only · closed Tuesdays

Coltivare describes itself as rustic Italian cooking with a Gulf Coast perspective, set by Houston's growing seasons and its own backyard garden. That makes it the most seasonal pizza on this list, and a place where the pasta and vegetables deserve as much attention as the pies. It takes reservations, which is rare for a pizza dinner in the Heights.

Best for: a sit-down dinner when you want pizza to be one course, not the whole meal. More ideas in our Heights restaurant guide.

Detroit-style squares

Gold Tooth Tony's

Heights, 1901 N Shepherd Dr · Montrose, 2010 Waugh Dr · Bellaire, 5225 Bellaire Blvd · open daily

Gold Tooth Tony's is built around Detroit-style pizza: a thick, airy crust with crispy, caramelized edges. The menu runs from the classic Detroit Supreme to the Hunger Force (house-made beef meatballs and whipped herb ricotta) and Sebastian's Big Idea, which tops a pie with Spam, charred pineapple, togarashi and furikake. It also makes a separate line of what it calls Houston-style pizzas.

Insider tip: the Montrose location typically stays open an hour later than the other two, which makes it a solid late dinner.

Best for: feeding a group, since square slices share well.

Chicago tavern and thin crust

Nonno's Family Pizza Tavern

Montrose, 1613 Richmond Ave · open daily for lunch and dinner

Nonno's makes 14-inch tavern pizza: the thin, crackly, square-cut pie that Chicago bars have served for generations. Order the Wise Guy, with sausage and giardiniera, which is about as Chicago as a topping list gets, and note the menu's polite request: no substitutions on the house pies.

I didn't know that: Nonno's has no phone. Its website says so in capital letters, and it's walk-in only. The menu also advertises an all-day Monday happy hour with free games.

Best for: a low-key weeknight. See our Montrose restaurant guide for the rest of the street.

Kenneally's Irish Pub

Lower Shepherd, 2111 S Shepherd Dr · open afternoons into late night

A neighborhood pub since 1983, Kenneally's is known for its scratch-made "Chicago-style" thin-crust pizza, and pairing it with a pint of something on draught is the whole point. It's the least fussy pizza on this list, and that's why regulars love it.

Best for: pizza and a pint after work. Find more good rooms in our best bars in Houston guide.

New York slices

Neighbors Pizza Bar

Second Ward / East End, 3401 Harrisburg Blvd · open late Thursday to Saturday

Neighbors serves New York-style 18-inch pies and slices from a room with a full bar. Slices of cheese or Margherita make a cheap, fast dinner, and the menu includes vegan pies, which is less common than it should be.

Insider tip: Neighbors typically stays open until 1 a.m. Thursday through Saturday and runs a weekday happy hour in the late afternoon, so it doubles as an East End nightcap stop. Add it to a crawl from our best breweries guide.

Best for: a slice and a cocktail on the way to or from EaDo.

Frank's Pizza

Downtown, 417 Travis St · open seven days

Frank's sits in downtown's Historic District, serving hand-tossed pies and slices made from daily, from-scratch dough and sauce. It's the dependable answer for a quick lunch downtown, and it's even better at the other end of the night.

Best for: after a show or a game. Read on for why.

Late-night slices

This is where Houston pizza gets fun. Frank's typically stays open until 3 a.m. on Friday and Saturday and until 1 a.m. on Thursday, which makes it the downtown slice of choice after a concert or a long night out. It's on the same street as Warren's Inn, the long-running Travis Street bar, so the route writes itself.

Kenneally's pours until 2 a.m. Wednesday through Saturday (ask whether the kitchen is still firing pizzas when you arrive), and Neighbors goes until 1 a.m. later in the week. For the rest of the night, see our Houston nightlife guide.

Houston classics and neighborhood favorites

Star Pizza

Upper Kirby, 2111 Norfolk St · Washington Ave area, 77 Harvard St · Cinco Ranch, 24210 Westheimer Pkwy

Star Pizza has been family-owned since 1976, and it still makes its pizza sauce, marinara and dough in its own commissary kitchen, plus a proprietary cheese blend mixed daily. It also makes its gluten-free crust in-house, which is a real kindness to friends who usually get the cardboard option. The original location is at Norfolk and Shepherd; the second is at Harvard and Washington.

Insider tip: Star asks for patience on its own site, because the pizzas take a little longer to make properly. It also has a party room, which makes it a good kids' birthday pick.

Best for: families, and anyone who grew up in Houston and wants the pizza they remember.

Luna Pizzeria

Upper Kirby, 3435 Kirby Dr · Heights, 107 Yale St

Luna builds its menu around 9-inch personal pizzas with simple, well-chosen toppings, from a pepperoni with mozzarella, provolone and parmesan to a mushroom pie with four kinds of mushrooms and whipped ricotta. Each diner can get exactly what they want.

Insider tip: Luna posts daily specials on its site, and they have included half-price pizzas on Mondays. Check the current list before you go.

Best for: a cheap, easy weeknight, especially with picky eaters.

Tiny Champions

EaDo, 2617 McKinney St · dinner only

Tiny Champions is a pizza-and-pasta restaurant from the team behind Nancy's Hustle, and the pizzas read like a chef's: Spanish anchovies with salsa verde, salami piccante with chevre ricotta and hot honey, Italian fennel sausage with pepperoncini. The menu changes with the seasons, so expect substitutions.

Best for: a proper dinner before an Astros or Dynamo game. Our Daikin Park guide and EaDo restaurant guide have the rest of the plan.

Save this: the Houston pizza passport

Six styles, six stops. Screenshot it and tick them off.

1. Neapolitan: a Margherita at Pizaro's, Coastline or The Gypsy Poet.
2. Detroit: a square from Gold Tooth Tony's, or Pizaro's Motown.
3. Chicago tavern: the Wise Guy at Nonno's (walk in; there's no phone to call).
4. New York: a cheese slice at Neighbors or Frank's.
5. Texas-style grilled: the grilled pizza at Coastline.
6. The Houston original: a pie at Star Pizza, family-owned since 1976.

Before you go: a quick checklist

• Check hours on the restaurant's own site the day you go. Pizaro's is closed Mondays, Coltivare is closed Tuesdays, and Coastline is closed Sundays and Mondays.
• Wood-fired spots can run out of dough on busy nights. Go early on weekends.
• Nonno's has no phone and no reservations. Just show up.
• Want a reservation for a group? Coltivare and Coastline both take them through their sites.
• Ordering for delivery? Most of these list an online ordering link on their official sites.

More eating in Houston

If you're planning a whole day around food, start with our best restaurants in Houston guide, or browse the food and dining hub.

Last verified: October 2026.

Frequently asked questions

What kind of pizza is Houston known for?

Houston doesn't have a signature style of its own. It does have strong examples of most of the big ones, including Neapolitan, New York, Detroit and Chicago tavern-style pizza.

Where can I get Neapolitan pizza in Houston?

Pizaro's, Coastline and The Gypsy Poet all bake wood-fired pies. Pizaro's and Coastline say their Neapolitan pizzas cook at about 900 degrees in 90 seconds or less.

Where can I get Detroit-style pizza in Houston?

Gold Tooth Tony's specializes in it, with locations in the Heights, Montrose and Bellaire. Pizaro's also makes Detroit-style pan pizza.

Where can I get pizza late at night in Houston?

Frank's Pizza downtown typically stays open until 3 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. Neighbors Pizza Bar typically stays open until 1 a.m. Thursday through Saturday. Check their sites before you go.

Is there Chicago tavern-style pizza in Houston?

Yes. Nonno's Family Pizza Tavern in Montrose makes 14-inch tavern pizza, and Kenneally's Irish Pub on South Shepherd is known for its Chicago-style thin crust.

Does Nonno's take reservations or phone orders?

No. Nonno's says on its website that it has no phone and is walk-in only. Carryout can be ordered through its website.