The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
P The ultimate New Haven izza guide
In honor of the city’s pizza prowess, we’ve created a guide to its historic and diverse pizzerias
New Haven’s reputation as a top pizza city is unassailable. National food experts rank its pizzerias at the top of annual awards lists. Historians have studied its origins and filmmakers even made a documentary about three of the Elm City’s most famous pizza pillars. Big-name celebrities and politicians have made stops for pies when they’re in the area.
The traditional style is revered for its simplicity. Apizza boasts a thin, chewy crust, charred from its high-heat ovens. Some of the earliest pizzerias opened with coalfired ovens, and still use them to this day.
Tomato pies, featuring tangy tomato sauce and just a scattering of Parmesan or pecorino romano, are New Haven classics on their own, as some of the city's top spots consider "mootz" a topping. White clam pizza, another signature Elm City favorite, highlights the shellfish with fresh garlic, parsley, olive oil and Romano cheese.
Two New Haven pizzerias are credited with putting the city’s pizza scene on the map: Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana and Sally’s Apizza. Modern Apizza on State Street is also considered one of the city’s “Big 3.” But beyond the trifecta, the area has other multigenerational pizzerias where traditions largely remain unchanged, and then there are “new kids on the block,” where pizzamakers aren’t afraid to get creative with gourmet toppings.
In honor of the city’s pizza prowess, we’ve created a guide to New Haven’s historic and diverse pizzerias.
Abate’s Apizza and Seafood
New Haven
Classic Wooster Street pizzeria and seafood spot
Louis Abate, who learned the business at his father Joseph’s original Whalley Avenue pizzeria, Luigi’s, opened Abate’s on Wooster Street in 1992. The New Haven location bills itself as “Wooster Street’s best kept secret,” and offers specialty thin-crust pies.
129 Wooster St., 203-776-4334, abatepizza.com.
BAR
New Haven
A city landmark since 1991, with house-brewed beers and a lively dance floor
Mashed potato and bacon pizza is a carb-on-carb classic at BAR, often mentioned in the same breath as the city’s signature tomato and white clam pies.
254 Crown St., 203-495-8924, barnightclub.com
Da Legna x Nolo New Haven
Eclectic pizzas on a sourdough base
Da Legna originally opened on State Street at the corner of Clark Street in 2012, and earned a following for its formidable sourdough-based pies. In 2019, Da Legna moved down State to a much larger space with a parking lot, and the operation became Da Legna x Nolo, with a full bar and a brewhouse on site.
687 State St., 203-891-7704, jet2nolo.com.
Ernie’s
New Haven
Westville staple that just celebrated its 50th anniversary
Ernie’s got its start in Westville in 1971, opened by Italian immigrant Ernesto “Ernie” DeRiso and his wife, Jennie. Fifty years later, their son Pasqual “Pat” DeRiso is at the helm, still crafting pies to the stringent standards his father set from the beginning.
1279 Whalley Ave., 203-3873362, facebook.com/erniespizza .
Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana
New Haven
The grandfather of Wooster Street, with locations now in 4
states
Nearly a century after Pepe’s opened in 1925, the pizzeria ends up on national “best of” lists annually. Pepe’s began expanding nearly two decades ago, opening new locations across Connecticut and later in New York, Massachusetts and Rhode Island, with more planned for Maryland and Virginia.
157 Wooster St., 203-865-5762, pepespizzeria.com.
Modern Apizza New Haven
Nationally prominent State Street pizzeria
Widely considered part of “the Big 3” (one of New Haven’s top pizzerias alongside Sally’s and Pepe’s) Modern traces its heritage back to the mid-1930s. Modern is perhaps best known for its “Italian bomb,” a pie loaded down with bacon, sausage, pepperoni, mushroom, onion, pepper and garlic.
874 State St., 203-776-5306, modernapizza.com.
Next Door New Haven
Big Green Pizza Truck's neighborhood brick and mortar space
An offshoot of the Big Green Pizza Truck catering operation, Next Door opened in 2018 in the former Humphrey’s space. The thin-crust New Haven style pies are made with whole-milk mozzarella, Pecorino Romano and a simple crushed-tomato sauce, with selections ranging from classic to gourmet.
175 Humphrey St., 475-234
5969, nextdoornewhaven.com.
One 6 Three New Haven
Modern wood-fired pies that push the envelope with creativity
The wood-fired pizzeria in East Rock isn’t afraid to get creative with its pies: peanut butter with bacon, caramelized walnuts and mozzarella; pulled pork with barbecue sauce, feta, caramelized onions and fresh blueberries.
163 Foster St., 203-777-5141, one6threect.com.
Roseland Apizza Derby
Old-school pies and Italian comfort fare
The old-school restaurant (since 1935) offers a range of apizza: everything from plain tomato, mushroom and sausage pies to an entire lineup of white seafood specialty pizzas with
shrimp, clams and Italian tuna.
350 Hawthorne Ave., 203-7350494, facebook.com/roselandapizza.
Sally’s Apizza New Haven
Pepe's familial Wooster Street rival, about to embark on its own expansion
Many locals have their favorite Wooster Street stop: either Pepe’s or Sally’s, and typically a fierce, unwavering devotion to one of the two. The Consiglio family sold the pizzeria to Lineage Hospitality in 2018, but brothers Bobby and Rick (founder Sal’s sons) have stayed on as consultants and will guide Sally’s through its upcoming expansion.
237 Wooster St., 203-624-5271,
sallysapizza.com.
Yorkside Pizza New Haven
A Yale campus tradition for more than 50 years
While most of New Haven’s pizzerias have Italian roots, Yorkside’s are Greek. The Koutroumanis family has been in the
restaurant business for more than 50 years, and Yorkside, close to the Yale campus, has been a student favorite for decades.
288 York St., 203-787-7471, yorksidepizza.com.
Zeneli’s New Haven
Naples-style pizza from an Albanian family who migrated to Italy
The four Zeneli brothers opened Zeneli Pizzeria e cucina Napoletana in 2019, adding authentic Neapolitan-style pizza to the street that already boasted heavyweights Sally’s and Pepe’s.
138 Wooster St., 203-745-4194, zenelipizzeria.com.
Zuppardi’s Apizza West Haven
The pizza pride of West Haven Zuppardi’s is a multigenerational family operation, dating back to 1934. Housemade sausage is a best-selling pie, along with a white clam pizza featuring fresh bivalves shucked to order. Zuppardi’s is also mobile, with a food truck and an outpost at The Hops Company beer hall in Derby.
179 Union St., 203-934-1949, zuppardisapizza.com.