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Ask any person what their favorite food is, and one of the top answers is likely to be pizza. Not only because pizza is delicious, but also because its ubiquitous in the American diet, has many subsects from which to choose (New York-style, Neapolitan, pizza rolls, etc.) and can please just about every diner, from babies to foodies and college bros to paleo people (there are now cauliflower-crust pizzas in your grocers freezer).
Pizza is a great equalizer. Its round. Its shareable. Its a communal convenience food and one of the first innovative meals to be delivered directly to your home. Way before UberEATS, there were pizza delivery guys saving dinnertime for busy families and babysitters everywhere.
The Queen City has plenty to offer on the pizza front, and we put together this slideshow to highlight some of those options for you fine Cincinnatians. We may not have covered all of them, but this is a great jumping off point for ‘za lovers across the region.
Two Cities Pizza Company
202 W. Main St., Mason
New York City and Chicago are well-known for several things. But most importantly, each city is known for a particular style of pizza. Now, you don’t have to travel further than Mason to get a taste of both. Two Cities Pizza Company, a dining destination housed in Mason’s former city hall — with a bit of an Art Deco nightclub rebrand — closes the chasm between the dueling pizza metropolises. Go classic and grab a Windy City with sausage, onion, green pepper and chunky tomato; and the Marathoner NYC-style margherita. In addition to pizza, they offer tempting best-of-both-worlds street food from each city, like a Chicago dog with all the fixings (no ketchup; add celery salt) or a New York dog with brown mustard and sauerkraut.
Photo via Facebook.com/TwoCitiesPizzaStrongs Brick Oven Pizzeria
336 Monmouth St., Newport, Ky.
The eaterys signature Pizza Alla Vodka is a must-order every time you go. The dough is thin with beautiful, crisp air pockets that bulge out of the golden, charred and chewy crust. The toppings are tossed deliberately but asymmetrically, rustic in every sense. This goldmine of flavors combines creamy sauce with mushrooms, spinach and the salty-sweet prosciutto di Parma. There is no such thing as leftovers with this pizza.
Photo: Khoi NguyenTafts Brewpourium
4831 Spring Grove Ave., Spring Grove Village
An extension of Over-the-Rhines Tafts Ale House, the Brewpourium is fitted with all of Tafts top beers, New Haven-style apizza and enough televisions to satisfy all of Cincinnatis sports fans. Apizza is a crispy, coal-fired version of Neapolitan pizza that originated in Connecticut, which the Brewpourium opted to serve over other styles (e.g. New York, Chicago) because William Howard Taft former president, Cincinnati native and brewery namesake went to Yale in New Haven. The dough is made with filtered water and flour imported from Italy, and toppings range from classic white clam to a BBQ Pork Pie.
Photo: Hailey BollingerA Tavola Bar + Trattoria
1220 Vine St., Over-the-Rhine
Armed with a pizza oven from Naples, Italy, A Tavola strikes a resounding chord of authenticity while redefining the perfect pie. Their playful selection of signature pizzas such as the Fig + Prosciutto, Sweet Pea + Bacon or Sausage + Sage are a blend of the familiar coupled with the exotic. Whet your appetite with their stuffed dates, filled with house sausage, wrapped in smoky bacon and topped with tomato sauce, or share a plate of Tagliatelle al Ragu.
Photo: Hailey BollingerTrottas Pizza & Drive-Thru
3501 Werk Road, Western Hills
A beverage drive-thru with above-average pizza, including the Lotta Trotta big-ass pie, available in a variety of interesting topping combinations: the Salami Roll-Up (salami, cream cheese, cheddar cheese and provolone), Chili Pizza (chili and cheddar cheese) and Hot Wing (hot wing sauce, bits of blue cheese, chicken and provolone).
Photo: Devin LuginbillCamporosso
2475 Dixie Hwy., Ft. Mitchell, Ky.
This wood-fired pizza destination in Northern Kentucky is a neighborhood hang in a converted auto shop. Enjoy Italian-American classics and crusty Neapolitan-style pizzas topped with options ranging from sopressata and local hot honey to four cheeses. The American-style pies are more traditional.
Photo: Emerson SwogerGoodfellas Pizzeria
1211 Main St., Over-the-Rhine / 603 Main St., Covington, Ky.
The place to be when you stumble out of the bar at 2 a.m. (or for lunch), Goodfellas makes their dough fresh every morning and their sauce in-house. They also offer subs, calzones and a multitude of delectable dipping sauces. A bourbon bar is upstairs.
Photo: Hailey BollingerHarvest Pizzeria
1739 Elm St., Over-the-Rhine
Harvest Pizzeria pizzas have a magically crunchy-yet-chewy and light-but-substantial crust with gourmet toppings like fennel sausage, almond pesto and vegan chorizo; the menu is rounded out by yummy small plates, salads and burgers the whipped cheese, cherry tomato and candied prosciutto bruschetta is almost good enough to fight over. Also try the buttermilk-fried pickles with zesty remoulade. Theyre addictive.
Photo: Brittany ThorntonIncline Public House
2601 W. 8th St., Price Hill
Incline Public House is not specifically a pizzeria but the pizzas coming out of their Price Hill kitchen are damn good. For $3, you can substitute a gluten-free crust on any of their pies, like the Prosciutto Fig with fig jam, prosciutto, caramelized onions and goat cheese, finished with an arugula topper.
Photo via Facebook.com/InclinePublicHouseFireside Pizza
773 E. McMillan St., Walnut Hills
Since opening a brick-and-mortar version of their popular wood-fired pizza cart last year, Fireside Pizza has been able to attract a crowd. With the family-friendly vibe, old-school Ms. Pac-Man game and the fact that its located inside an actual historic firehouse, Firesides appeal transcends its nicely singed wood-fired pizzas.
Photo: Hailey BollingerMacs Pizza Pub
205 W. McMillan St., Clifton; 6309 Wooster Pike, Mariemont; 2920 W. US-22, Maineville; 604 Main St., Covington, Ky.,
Its kind of a collegiate Chuck E. Cheese. There are games, live music, sports and food good food with vegan options. They make their own dough and pizza sauce in-house, hand-shred the cheese and use fresh and locally sourced ingredients whenever possible. Macs pizza has won numerous awards, and the rest of its menu which consists of plenty of pub grub aint too shabby, either.
Photo: Patty SalasThe Kitchen Factory
1609 Chase Ave., Northside
This petite Northside pizza shop actually has a hole in the wall for people dining on the go in addition to their minimal seating. They offer late-night bites, pizza by the slice and cater to vegans, vegetarians and meat-eaters.
Photo: Emerson SwogerRamundos
2210 Beechmont Ave., Mount Washington
Try the pizza challenge two people, 10 minutes, one 26-inch pizza. Winners get their photo on the wall.
Photo: Hailey BollingerThe Gruff
129 E. 2nd St., Covington, Ky.
The Gruff is a gourmet market/deli, a bar and a pizzeria/restaurant all working in tandem. The restaurant does brick-oven pizzas, salads and hot and cold sandwiches, with Graeters ice cream and Covingtons Piebird pies and milkshakes for dessert. The pickle fries appetizer is crunchy with housemade dipping sauce, and the set of nine deviled eggs is truly enough to satisfy any paprika-sprinkled craving. You can even order food and beer through the drive-thru. Photo via Facebook.com/AtTheGruffDewey’s Pizza
3014 Madison Road, Oakley / 7767 Kenwood Road, Kenwood / Newport on the Levee, Newport, Ky.
A hip neighborhood pizza chain with craft beers, seasonal salads, specialty toppings and a window where kids (and adults) can watch the pizzas being hand-tossed.
Photo: Provided Photo: Provided by Dewey's PizzaAdriatico’s
113 W. McMillan St., Clifton
Adriatico’s has a huge draft beer selection and 64-ounce growlers to go, plus spicy, garlicky sauce, oversized pepperonis and the super-thick crust that their pizzas are known for. Good luck finding calzones like theirs, too. It’s “madness” every Monday and Tuesday with specials that the college kids can’t turn down. The Bearcat pizza will feed your entire party.
Photo via Facebook.com/Adriaticos Photo: facebook.com/AdriaticosCatch-A-Fire Pizza
3301 Madison Road, Oakley
Starting out as a food truck, Catch-A-Fire Pizza has been serving all of Cincinnati and beyond since 2013. They offer more than eight sauces, eight cheeses (including dairy free!), over 25 toppings and 20 specialty pizzas all served wood-fired on their special dough recipe.
Photo via Facebook.com/CatchaFirePizzaBettas Italian Oven
3764 Montgomery Road, Norwood
Plenty o choices here to give any local Italian chain a serious run for its money. Familiar favorites include antipasto, soups, salads and Italian and NYC-style sandwiches, but pizza is the real word. The wood-fired oven produces tasty, thin-crust pies like the Quattro Stagioni with kalamata olives, prosciutto, tomatoes and fresh mozzarella, and breadsticks like the spicy pepperoni sticks.
Photo via Facebook.com/BettasItalianRestaurantMios
Multiple Locations
Mios has been around since 1975, making stuffed pizzas for more than 40 years. Whats a stuffed pizza, you ask? Good question. Basically a deep-dish pizza with a strange name some of the restaurants menus actually list deep dish instead of the stuffed crust moniker to be less confusing. Whatever you call it, Mios thick crust pie is a delicious substitution for an actual deep-dish Chicago-style pizza that one can eat in Cincinnati. You can get thin-crust pizzas here (and calzones, salads, etc.), but why would you? Sure, the deep-dish pizzas take a little longer, but theyre worth the wait.
Photo via Facebook.com/MiosPizzeriaNewport Pizza Company
601 Monmouth St., Newport, Ky.
The pizzas are excellent, of course, and the vegetarian options are much better than average since Newport Pizza roasts most of their veggies themselves. Best thing on the menu, though, is the Antipasti Basket with salami, pepperoni, capicola ham, asiago and fresh mozzarella, manzanella olives, banana peppers, Roma tomato, fresh basil and a big fat head of roasted garlic.
Photo via Facebook.com/NewportPizzaCoFull Circle Pies
4105 N. Bend Road, Cheviot
This West Side pizzeria serves up New York-style pizza with traditional options as well as unique pies like the Chicken Wing Pie, Dried Berries Pie and the Chili Cheese Pie. In addition to pizzas, Full Circle Pies also offers sharable bites, salads, sandwiches and more.
Photo via Facebook.com/FullCirclePiesPadrino
111 Main St., Milford
Milfords Padrino, from the owners of neighboring 20 Brix, is the kind of place to frequent when you love yourself a classic, while also being enticed to think a bit outside the pizza box. Here, the crusts are more thin and the toppings more artisanal. On the traditional side, youll recognize the red-based pies, topped with any and all veggies and meat for when you know you need some good, old-fashioned pizza. But when youd rather have a different kind of meal, youll find pizza specialties ranging from Thai to Toscano and Dark Star BBQ to The Britters. Either way you go, you really can’t go wrong.
Photo via Facebook.com/PadrinoItalianBubs Pizza Bar
3200 Linwood Ave., Suite #2, Mt. Lookout / 1045 St. Gregory St., Mt. Adams
This family-owned pizzeria offers plenty of options for pizza lovers. Open late at both locations.
Photo via Facebook.com/BubsPizzaBarLaRosas
Multiple Locations
A chain of local pizzerias thats been dishing up pies since 1954, as well as pasta, salads, sandwiches and more. The sauce and crust are both a tiny bit sweet.
Screen Shot via Google Maps