Brian Nagele
Raleigh is North Carolina’s capital city and a charming university town. Its unique Greek-style capitol building pays homage to our founding fathers with Roman-style statues. Its historic educational institutions are among the most cutting-edge technological innovators in the U.S.
A large student population guarantees a wealth of pizza restaurants. However, you don’t have to be a poor college student to delight in the world’s most beloved dish.
Whether you’re a tourist, a politician, or a student, Raleigh’s pizza scene caters to all ages and dining preferences.
I’ve created a list of restaurants, slice shops, and delis with the best pizza in Raleigh for you to explore below.
Oakwood Pizza Box
610 N Person St, Raleigh, NC 27604
Phone: 919-594-1605
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Oakwood Pizza Box is a classic New York-style slice shop and casual eater with a cocktail, wine, and beer list.
True to its name, the checkered floored space with an open kitchen and garage-window storefront is lined with rows upon rows of pizza boxes.
Located in the Capital District a block from William Peace University, Oakwood Pizza Box is a favorite for students and working professionals alike.
They have the most authentic New York-style pizzas, with an option for giant thin-crust rounds or Sicilian-style square deep-dish pizza, both of which come whole or sold as slices.
I had an Aperol spritz to pair with a tasty slice of white pizza with mozzarella, ricotta, garlic, and fresh basil.
Trophy Brewing & Pizza
827 W Morgan St, Raleigh, NC 27603
Phone: 919-803-4849
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Starting as a fantasy between two friends, coworkers, and downtown Raleigh bartenders, Trophy Brewing and Pizza emerged after a decade of planning and arduous work.
Starting as a beer brewery and taproom, Trophy Brewing opened in 2013 and has expanded to include various taprooms, eateries, and gastropubs.
Trophy brewing and Pizza is a giant, newly renovated downtown taproom, beer garden, and artisanal pizzeria.
Their imaginative, gourmet pizza reflects the same passion and excellence in their award-winning beer.
Along with a rotating tap list of seventeen beers and countless cans and bottles, Trophy Brewing and Pizza offers thin crust and Detroit-style pizza.
As a North Carolina barbecue fan, I had to try the Local Celebrity, with house-made beer barbecue sauce, brisket, mozzarella, Yukon potato, heirloom tomato, bell pepper, red onion, and fresh parsley.
Lilly’s Pizza
1813 Glenwood Ave, Raleigh, NC 27608
Phone: 919-833-0226
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Voted Best Pizza in Raleigh by Zagat, Durham Magazine, Independent Weekly, Metro Bravo, TripAdvisor, and Urbanspoon, to name a few, Lilly’s Pizza is a quirky Five Points pizza parlor with over 20 years in the business.
They started as a group of friends slinging pizzas out of a defunct biker bar, naming their new pizza business after their beloved dog. Today, their pizza and charming story continue to win the hearts of locals and visitors.
They serve a thin-crust scratch-made pizza along with a large menu of salads, snacks, pasta calzones, stromboli, and desserts.
Their specialty pizzas are creative and novel fusions of regional ingredients and traditions into pizza form.
I loved the Big Star, a pesto-based pie with mozzarella, gorgonzola, fontina, roasted red peppers, parmesan, and pistachios.
Mellow Mushroom
601 W Peace St, Raleigh, NC 27605
Phone: 919-832-3499
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Mellow Mushroom is a whimsical and creative chain of psychedelic 70s-themed pizza restaurants with locations around the U.S.
Their Raleigh location lies in the Glenwood South District, offering a colorful and funky atmosphere in which to enjoy artisanal thin-crust pizzas decorated with healthy toppings and swirls of house-made sauces.
Their massive menu features cocktails, snacks, calzones, hoagies, sandwiches, burgers, vegan dishes, and stone-baked pizzas.
Their pizzas have wonderful crispy yet chewy crusts housing a myriad of toppings and a spiral of numerous sauces into a colorful bullseye. Each pizza is highly elaborate, and there are so many amazing combinations to choose from.
I settled on the Holy Shitake Pie with an olive oil and garlic base, shiitake, portobello, and button mushrooms, caramelized onions, mozzarella, white cheddar, and a swirl of garlic aioli and black truffle oil, plus a garnish of fresh chives and shaved parmesan.
Poole’side Pies
428 S McDowell St, Raleigh, NC 27601
Phone: 919-803-8660
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Located in a stunning industrial-chic warehouse space in the Warehouse District, Poole’side Pies is a Neapolitan pizzeria, wine, and cocktail bar with a lively and hip atmosphere.
Poole’side Pies The high-ceilinged space has exposed metal rafters with large skylights, funky modern booths and tables, and an open kitchen. It is a wonderful place for a fun night out with adult friends.
The authentic Italian menu features antipasti, house-made bread, scratch-made pasta, and perfectly bubbly, wood-fired Neapolitan pies.
I started with one of the most delicious salads I’ve ever had called Cucumber and Friends with tomatoes, feta, red onion, spiced pepitas, and herbed ricotta with a za’atar vinaigrette.
My favorite Neapolitan pizza was their sausage and vodka sauce with a house-made vodka cream sauce, pork fennel sausage, basil, and parmesan.
Bella Monica
3121 Edwards Mill Rd, Raleigh, NC 27612
Phone: 919-881-9778
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Winner of OpenTable’s Diner’s Choice Award, Bella Monia is a charming Olde Raleigh Trattoria and wine bar in a colorful and welcoming dining room with a great outdoor patio.
Owners Corbett and Julie Monica use their grandmother Nana’s recipes, plated in a tasteful and refined presentation to pair with an award-winning Italian wine list.
Bella Monica is family-friendly and vegan-friendly. They offer lunch, dinner, and a full pizza menu. The pizza menu has Neapolitan-style and flatbread pizza along with calzones.
It was hard to pass up a plate of homemade lasagna, so I ordered a Bianca flatbread pizza as an appetizer.
Benny Capitale’s
121 Fayetteville St Suite 110, Raleigh, NC 27601
Phone: 919-239-4173
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Located in the heart of downtown Raleigh, a block from the Capitol building itself (hence the name, Capitale), Benny Capitale’s is part of a successful chain of New York-style slice shops founded by Brooklyn-native Benedito.
Benedito relocated to the South and opened up a slice shop with giant, plate-sized slices that still wow customers today.
The industrial and urban eatery has walls you can write on, lined with old-school pictures of famous 1940s actors and old-school movie posters.
They serve cheap beer and the most authentic slices at the best prices in town. Benny’s is an ode to the no-frills, perfect New York slice.
One slice is more than enough, but if you’re extra hungry, I’d recommend the tried-and-true pepperoni and plain cheese slices.
Brixx Wood Fired Pizza + Craft Beer
Multiple locations
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Owned by friends Eric Horsely, Jeff Van Dyke, and Barbara Bodford-Morgan, Brixx Wood Fired Pizza and Craft Beer opened its first location in 1998 in Charlotte.
Their vision was to put a gourmet twist on the classic pizza and beer combination without changing the laid-back and casual atmospheres inherent in pizza parlors.
Fast-forward to 24 years later, and Brixx Wood Fired Pizza and Craft beer is a growing franchise with over thirty locations, including Raleigh’s Raven Ridge neighborhood.
Brixx offers artisanal wood-fired pizza out of custom brick ovens to pair with an impressive list of draft beers and cocktails.
They also have a wide selection of pasta, house-made bread, salads, and sandwiches. Their pizza is a super-thin crust with classic Neapolitan toppings and creative New American combinations.
I enjoyed their Rustica ph olives, mushrooms, artichokes, and prosciutto.
DeMos Pizzeria & Deli
222 Glenwood Ave #121, Raleigh, NC 27603
Phone: 919-754-1050
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Located in a mom-and-pop style dining space with bright vinyl booths and chairs the color of the Italian flag, DeMos Pizzeria and Deli is a family-friendly New York slice shop and Italian deli counter in Glenwood South District.
As authentically “New York” as this deli feels, it’s proudly locally owned. DeMos Pizzeria and Deli is a favorite for pizza, deli meats, and Northeast-style sandwiches.
Their massive menu features the freshest hoagies, subs, and salads using Boars Head meats and cheeses.
They also have a full menu of comforting pasta and Italian American dishes like chicken parmesan. Their thin-crust New York-style pizza is as classic as they come, sliced into the perfect, foldable slice.
You can also get a full pie. I ordered a whole Buffalo Chicken Pizza with ranch dressing as a base topped with mozzarella, sauteed shallots, bacon, tomatoes, and buffalo sauce smothered chicken.
Milton’s Pizza & Pasta
Multiple locations
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With locations in Six Forks and Wakefield, Milton’s Pizza and Pasta is a longstanding favorite owned by Jeff and Lindy Janick.
Jeff Janick inherited the restaurant from original owner Milton Papadopolous after working in his Virginia location since he was 15 years old.
Janick carries on the family-friendly Italian comfort food legacy, expanding to include various locations around the southern states. They’ve been a fixture in Raleigh since 1981.
Their menu has fresh pasta, baked pasta, sandwiches, salads, wings, and thin-crust pizzas with chewy and dense dough.
My favorite specialty pie is their Chicken Alfredo pizza, with the creamiest cheesiest Alfredo sauce.
Peri Brothers Pizza
7321 Six Forks Rd, Raleigh, NC 27615
Phone: 919-844-6692
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A Six Forks neighborhood favorite since 2015, Peri Brothers Pizza is a New York Style pizzeria and slice shop, making every variety of New York pizza imaginable plus some famous creations of their own.
The atmosphere is a family-friendly casual urban eatery with a classic slice case and a large concrete floor dining room.
Their pizza case is among the most appetizing in the city, with giant pizzas the diameter of a small table. Some of them have garlic knots for crusts.
They also have the square Sicilian by the slice. Their signature dish is the stuffed pizza, which is like a calzone in the shape of a pizza, stuffed with meats, veggies, and cheeses.
Whatever pizza style you choose, make sure to add garlic-infused ricotta. It’s to die for!
Pizzeria Faulisi
215 E Chatham St, Cary, NC 27511
Phone: 919-377-8244
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Located in a refined and lively dining space in the far west suburb of Cray, Pizzeria Faulisi is a Neapolitan Pizzeria and Italian eatery that celebrates both Italian and local bounties.
They use imported Italian flour and local ingredients from Raleigh’s flour mills and farms. The bright and airy dining space revolves around a gorgeous white-tile wood-fired oven.
In true Neapolitan fashion, all pizzas are personal-sized 12” meals of expertly fired, thin, charred crusts topped with farm-fresh produce and imported cheese.
Their menu of wood-fired antipasti is well worth trying. I started with wood-fired bone marrow, followed by a delicious Nona’s Lasagna Pie with mozzarella, ricotta, sausage, herbs, and pickled onion.
Vic’s Italian Restaurant & Pizzeria
Multiple locations
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From owner and Italian Mario Longo, Vic’s Italian Restaurant and Pizzeria has been a favorite family-owned and family-friendly restaurant in Raleigh for over 30 years.
The Longo comes from multiple generations of restaurant owners, serving Italian fare and New York-style pizzas in both New York and North Carolina. They recently opened a second location in Lake Boone Trail.
Vic’s Italian restaurant has a large menu of hearty Italian soul food with antipasti, soup and salad, pasta, old-world entrees, and New York-style pizza.
I recommend going with a group so you can split a pizza, pasta, entrée, and salad family-style. If you’re a fan of seafood, I loved the Frutti di mare pizza with clams, shrimp, mussels, and calamari.
