You Want a Pizza This?

When it comes to food, Seattle, Washington, is one of the country’s most dynamic cities. Consider the world-famous Pike Place Market, an epicenter for flavor where each vendor offers a dining experience vastly different from the next.

But outside of the must-see market, foodies will find even more to enjoy. Seattle’s pizza scene is a testament to the city’s variety, serving up thick slices, thin slices, square pies, and round. Some restaurants have perfected the novelty of New York-style pizza, while others transport your taste buds to the quintessential flavors of traditional Italian cuisine. Whatever type of pizza you’re craving, you can find it in Seattle.

Read on to get a taste of five of Seattle’s best places to find that serendipitous slice. They all bring pizza to the table—each in their own fashion.

Dino’s Tomato Pie

Chef Brandon Pettit brings his Jersey roots to the West Coast with crispy, thick-crust, and square-cut pizza pies at Dino’s Tomato Pie. Nestled in the heart of Capitol Hill, this pizza joint feels as if it’s been there forever. Authentic, vintage photos of Pettit and his family are displayed on the walls, and the top hits of the 80s can be heard playing in the background. 

Along with the years-past atmosphere, Dino’s is only for people past their years—or at least for people 21 years and older. The target market might also get a kick out of the restaurant’s website, a living time capsule of early-2000s internet culture that will bring any millennial a wave of nostalgia.

Dino’s features a full bar with specialty cocktails on tap. Customers are warned that a custom-built pizza will be hard-pressed to match Dino’s carefully crafted menu pies, charred to perfection with toppings like chunks of bacon or spicy salami on top of a bed of oozy mozzarella cheese.

Big Mario’s Pizza

After a night out in Capitol Hill, a visit to Big Mario’s Pizza for authentic New York-style pizza, in all of its greasy glory, is a must. The restaurant embodies the essence of an old-school dive bar, offering classic pepperoni pies as well as more exotic flavors such as caramelized pear, onions, and gorgonzola, all piled atop their housemade sauce and handmade dough.

Big Mario’s recently expanded with two new locations in Queen Anne and Fremont. All three locations offer their mouthwatering bites until 3 a.m.

Serious Pie

Looking for something upscale? Serious Pie makes all of their pizzas with charcuterie and artisan cheeses imported from around the globe. At both locations—downtown and Westlake—each pizza is baked at 600 degrees in a stone-encased, applewood-burning oven. Serious Pie’s dough is handcrafted through a multiday process that creates a soft and fluffy bed for toppings such as fresh eggs, smoked prosciutto, pecorino Romano, and arugula. Seasonal ingredients are sourced from around the Pacific Northwest, providing exciting local flavors to a time-honored dish. 

Redhook Brewlab

Redhook Brewlab is a must-visit Seattle brewery that exists as an intersection for spirits and cuisine. Redhook boasts 16 taps of rotating small-batch beers that are brewed on-site, working as a testing ground for experimental recipes that have spread around the state and beyond.

This local spot carries an eccentric pub atmosphere that incorporates sophisticated elements of art, science, and music through their in-house brewing recipes and techniques, custom murals by Seattle Illustrator and Sub Pop Records Art Director Sasha Barr, and their ongoing series of local live music shows. Ask any bartender for a pairing recommendation—and not just for beer. From a five-cheese hot and gooey pizza to the unique pizza of the week, there is something for everyone who walks in Redhook’s doors. It just comes down to a taste test; it’s science, after all. 

Southpaw

This pizzeria is a little bit Neapolitan, a little bit New York, and a whole lot of good. James Beard Award-winning chef John Sundstrom’s Southpaw has become a neighborhood staple for pizza that is admirably unorthodox. The menu mentions the classics, of course—the tomato sauce and cheese and pepperoni. But then, out of left field, comes chorizo sausage paired with peppers or a Hawaiian-inspired combination of bacon, pineapple, and pickled jalapeño. It’s the kind of stuff that makes your taste buds dance. If you pair your pizza with a boozy slushy or end with a cinnamon zeppole donut for dessert, those taste buds might start singing, too.

With Seattle’s reputation as a renowned food hub, the expectations are high when it comes to dining experiences—pizza included. Whether it’s New York-style slices or personal-sized pies topped with artisan cheeses and fresh charcuterie, everyone’s cravings and can be satisfied amidst the abundance of options Seattle has to offer.

Craving more? Explore the local brew scene in Gainesville, Florida.