There are a few things visitors need to be aware of when traversing Pittsburgh for the 2026 NFL Draft: how to navigate the city’s bridges, how to properly use Pittsburghese slang and — most important, of course — where to find pizza that is cheesy, delicious and fit for a crowd of football fans.
In no particular order, here are 10 of the city’s popular and highly rated pizza places:
1. Aiello’s Pizza
Aiello’s Pizza has been family-owned and operated since Giueseppe “Joe” Aiello left Sicily to sail to America with $13 in his pocket. He opened the pizza shop’s first location in 1978.
With a Shaler location in addition to the Squirrel Hill original, Aiello’s Pizza is now operated by Giuseppe’s daughter, Cathy, and her husband, Travis.
Aiello’s has been cooking with the same recipes for over 40 years.
Before opening the restaurant each morning, the family prepares fresh dough for the day, which is described as the “essential element” of the Aiello taste.
2112 Murray Ave., Squirrel Hill, aiellospizza.com.
2. Mineo’s Pizza House
Aiello’s and Mineo’s, just doors apart on Murray Avenue in Squirrel Hill, have been in a decades-long pizza rivalry.
Mineo’s Pizza House now has three more locations: Mt. Lebanon, Hampton, and most recently, at the Pittsburgh International Airport.
John Mineo — who grew up in Sicily and immigrated to the U.S. — opened the first location in 1958. Since then, Mineo’s has been run by three generations of family.
The pizza’s dough is homemade from scratch on a daily basis, the sauce is made from Italian tomatoes and hand-seasoned and it is topped with hand-grated imported Romano cheese.
One of Mineo’s featured dishes is “The John’s Special,” which has pepperoni, mushrooms, onions, green peppers and sausage. Mineo’s began offering this pizza back in 1960 with a special deal where customers got five toppings for the price of four.
2128 Murray Ave., Squirrel Hill, mineospizza.com.
3. A Slice of New York
A Slice of New York received a visit from Dave Portnoy, founder of Barstool Sports and one of the foremost amateur pizza reviewers in the country — known for his “One Bite Pizza” channel on YouTube — in September 2024.
On Portnoy’s channel, the owner, Sean Jefairjian, said that if he scored a 6 or lower, he would close down the restaurant.
Portnoy gave the place an 8.2 rating, based on their traditional cheese pizza.
Jefairjian grew up in the Bronx and moved to Pittsburgh when he was 20. During the pandemic, he quit his job and decided to open A Slice of New York in Murrysville.
From spring to summer of 2020, he spent time working on the A Slice of New York recipes.
Slice recently announced it will be teaming up with Burghers Brewing Co. to launch a new venture and expansion at The Highline development on Pittsburgh’s South Side.
5656 William Penn Hwy., Murrysville, asliceofnewyorkpizzeria.com.
4. Fiori’s Pizzaria
Fiori’s Pizzaria — another Pittsburgh pizza shop to make it into one of Portnoy’s videos — has locations in Brookline and McMurray.
Fiorentino Moscatiello and Giuseppe Pepe started Fiori’s in 1979, according to the website.
In his standard pizza review fashion, Portnoy tried Fiori’s classic cheese. While he commented that the pizza was too greasy, he scored Fiori’s a 7.8, as reported by TribLive in 2020.
103 Capital Ave., Brookline, fiorispizzaria.com.
5. Rockaway Pizzeria
Rockaway Pizzeria began in Josh Sickels’ apartment in Greenfield in 2016. He later set up shop in White Oak, where his pizza received an 8.2 from Portnoy in September 2024, as shown in a video on his social media.
Rockaway closed that location a month later and opened in Regent Square in spring 2025.
Sickels’ pizza recipes blend flavors from New Haven and Philadelphia with pizza’s New York City roots. All of Rockaway’s pizzas are served well done and crispy. Unfortunately for ranch dressing lovers, the pizza will definitely not be served with a side of ranch, as made clear on the website.
1137 S. Braddock Ave., Regent Square, rockawaypizzeria.com.
6. Badamo’s Pizza
The North Side location of Badamo’s is the top-notch pizza place closest to the NFL Draft action, but it’s worth a visit from anywhere.
There’s no seating here, just a counter for wolfing down a quick slice, but takeout customers will be rewarded with classic Italian and Sicilian pies made with consistently excellent ingredients.
1107 Federal St., North Side, badamospizza.com.
7. Iron Born Pizza
Iron Born Pizza, located in Millvale and the Strip District, serves Detroit-inspired pizza.
While the Millvale location only accommodates takeout orders, the Strip location has both dine-in and takeout.
Pete Tolman, owner and chef, got the inspiration for Iron Born while on vacation in Colorado, where, ironically, he tried Detroit-Style pizza for the first time. He launched Iron Born in 2017 in the Smallman Galley restaurant incubator and went solo in 2019.
Portnoy scored Iron Born a 7.4 on his YouTube channel in 2024.
1806 Smallman St., Strip District, ironbornpizza.com.
8. Pizzeria Davide
Husband-and-wife owners Dave Anoia and Aimee DiAndrea Anoia opened Pizzeria Davide in the Strip District in 2019, adjacent to their full-service restaurant DiAnoia’s Eatery.
The shop makes both “Old World Pizza,” which is a sharp provolone cheese base, San Marzano tomato sauce in the middle and topped with fresh basil, parmesan and oregano and “New Yorker Pizza,” which is a red sauce based with mozzarella and provolone cheeses in the middle and topped with parmesan and oregano.
Portnoy reviewed the shop on his social media in 2024 and gave the New Yorker Pizza a score of 7.4.
2551 Penn Ave., Strip District, pizzeriadavide.com.
9. Pizza Lupo
Pizza Lupo, located in Lawrenceville, includes 11 specialty pizzas featuring unique flavors such as the The 10th Warder pizza — made with tomato sauce, aged mozzarella, sweet sausage, pepperoni, ricotta and hot honey drizzle, according to the website.
In 2024, Portnoy also made a stop at Pizza Lupo, during which he scored the pizza an 8.2 in his YouTube channel.
5123 Butler St., Lawrenceville, pizza-lupo.com.
10. Caliente Pizza & Draft House
Caliente Pizza & Draft House, founded in 2012, is the official pizza of the Penguins and Pirates.
Caliente has several locations around the Pittsburgh area, including Bloomfield, Mt. Lebanon, Monroeville, North Hills, Crafton, Aspinwall and Sewickley.
The restaurants serve three award-winning pizzas, including the Mee-Maw Pizza, which won Best Pizza in America in 2019, and is topped with parmesan, bacon, shallots, garlic, onions, crushed plum tomatoes, porchetta, shaved black truffle, pecorino Romano.