Every year, CityBeat publishes the Best Of Cincinnati®, wherein readers and staffers alike pick which bars are the booziest, which people are the coolest and which shops are your best bet for dropping a pretty penny. When you’re in need of good pizza, don’t settle for “just okay.” From staples that have been serving up goetta pizza from their drive-thru for years to places that specialize in Detroit- and New York-style pies, here are the best places to grab a slice of ‘za in the Queen City.

Best Pizza (Non-Chain) No. 10: Trotta’s Pizza & Drive Thru 3501 Werk Road, Western Hills Must-Try Pizza: Be sure to top your pizza with goetta for a truly Cincinnati twist on the classic pie. Photo: Jesse Fox
Saint Francis Apizza 3392 Erie Ave., Hyde Park Saint Francis Apizza opened in Hyde Park in February. Formerly known as Parlor Pizza Project, the team had to rebrand after just over a month in the new shop due to a trademark issue. Owner Alex Plattner, a Cincinnati native, has made pizza for many years, from when he lived in Minneapolis to after he moved back to Cincinnati in June 2020. Parlor Pizza Project did a series of Sunday night dinner pop-ups at Oakley Wines from August 2020 to January 2021 as well before opening the brick-and-mortar shop in Hyde Park. The popular new pizzeria offers a variety of house pies, like the pepperoni and olive and the Fancy White Pie, as well as a $23 weekly special on Wednesdays and Thursdays. Customers can also build their own. Photo: Facebook.com/stfrancispizza Photo: Facebook.com/stfrancispizza
Best Pizza (Non-Chain) No. 8: Cork N Crust 710 Fairfield Ave., Bellevue Must-Try Pizza: The Chardonnay Pizza: Topped with garlic-infused olive oil, roasted garlic, roasted mushrooms, sundried tomatoes and an Italian blend of mozzarella and provolone, finished with rosemary. (Not pictured) Photo: Provided by Cork N Crust
Best Pizza (Non-Chain) No. 7: Catch-a-Fire Pizza 9290 Kenwood Road, Blue Ash; 511 N. Broadway St., Lebanon; 3044 Harrison Ave., Westwood (West Side Brewing); 5920 Hamilton Ave., College Hill (Coming soon) Must-Try Pizza: Cherry Oh Baby is listed as a fan favorite and comes with garlic butter, guanciale, taleggio, basil, tart cherries, fresh herbs and grana padano. (Not pictured) Photo: Provided by Catch-a-Fire Pizza
Best Pizza (Non-Chain) No. 6: Fireside Pizza 773 E. McMillan St., Walnut Hills Must-Try Pizza: The Eli’s BBQ Pizza: A special mix of Cincy flavors, this pizza comes with Alabama white sauce, a provolone-mozzarella mix, Eli’s signature rub, pickled red onions, oven-roasted chicken and Eli’s BBQ sauce. (Not pictured) Photo: Hailey Bollinger
Krimmer’s Italianette 6018 Plainfield Road, Silverton; 1704 W. Galbraith Road, North College Hill If you live in Silverton or North College Hill, Krimmer’s Italianette is no doubt a staple in your dining-out routine. Its thick, doughy pizzas are as close to “Detroit style” as you can get. Each pizza comes slathered in a scrumptious sauce that seems closer in consistency to tomato paste than typical thinner pizza sauces. It’s hearty, filling food that the good, hungry people in Krimmer’s neighborhoods all swear by. Need proof? There’s an apartment building near the Silverton location in which the residents almost all live on fixed incomes that would be better suited to certain “good enough” $5.99 pizzas. And yet! If you know what you’re looking for, you’ll see an Italianette delivery guy swing through multiple times a night, every night. Italianette delivers deliciousness to the fine, loyal folks who call them every. Damn. Night. Best Bite: The Taco Pizza Deluxe is where it’s at! All the fixings of a taco but on, duh, a pizza crust. The best part? This taco pizza is available year-round. — Deirdre Kaye Photo: facebook.com/krimmersitalianettepizzeria Photo: facebook.com/krimmersitalianettepizzeria
Best Pizza (Non-Chain) No. 4: Two Cities Pizza Co. 202 W. Main St., Mason; 7373 Kingsgate Way, West Chester (The Pickle Lodge) Must-Try Pizza: Thyme Square, simply for the pun, but also because it’s topped with delicious thyme, mushrooms, red onion, shaved parmesan, truffle oil, mozzarella and white sauce. (Not pictured) Photo: facebook.com/twocitiespizzamason
Best Pizza (Non-Chain) No. 3: Adriatico’s 113 W McMillan St., CUF Must-Try Pizza: The Hawaiian for those of you not scared of pineapple on pizza: Comes with ham, bacon and, of course, pineapple. Photo: facebook.com/Adriaticos
Best Pizza (Non-Chain) No. 2: Strong’s Brick Oven Pizzeria 1 E. High St., Lawrenceburg; 336 Monmouth St., Newport; 10336 US-42, Union; 6166 Bridgetown Road, Green Township; 8794 Reading Road, Reading Must-Try Pizza: Try Mindy’s Mediterranean: Pesto cream sauce, mozzarella, artichokes, sundried tomatoes, spinach and feta cheese. (Not pictured) Photo: Provided by Strong’s Brick Oven Pizzeria
Taglio Bar & Pizzeria 56 E. 12th St., Over-the-Rhine Taglio is an upscale take on pizza and Italian food, making several things fresh daily from sourced ingredients. They have New York- and Detroit-style pizzas. The more traditional New York-style pizza features a thinner crust that tastes like bakery-quality bread on its own, but the savory and slightly sweet sauce, dense layer of cheese and pepperoni baked into a perfectly crispy bowl steal the show. The Detroit-style pizza has a delicious buttery, crispy baked outer crust that’s a gargantuan of flavor surrounding the thick, baked dough with a full layer of perfectly greasy mozzarella, a dollop of chunky tomato sauce and, in this case, large slices of pepperoni. They also offer a curated wine and beer list, cocktails, appetizers, salads and gelato. The OTR location is also a sports bar and a Pub Partner of FC Cincinnati. It’s a perfect spot to watch the game, with 25 TVs, NFL Sunday Ticket and 14 drafts on tap. And, when the weather’s nice, you can take your pizza and drinks out on the patio. Photo: Facebook.com/EatTaglio
Best Neighborhood Pizza Joint (Northern Kentucky) Winner: Goodfellas Pizzeria Runners-up: Strong’s Brick Oven Pizzeria, Dewey’s Pizza Photo: Hailey Bollinger
LaRosa’s Multiple Locations Buddy LaRosa started in 1954 with only $400 dollars and his Aunt Dena’s pizza recipe. Now, in 2022, LaRosa’s is arguably the best-known pizza joint in Cincinnati. Serving pizzas, calzones, hoagies, fries, garlic bread, fried cheese sticks, salads, ravioli, spaghetti lasagna, and now hydroponically grown lettuce there is no question as to why the business has thrived for so long. Photo: Provided by LaRosa's
Best Pizza (Chain) No. 1: Dewey’s Pizza Multiple locations https://deweyspizza.com/locations/ Must-Try Pizza: In the fall, try the Smashing Pumpkin: A whipped pumpkin ricotta base, mozzarella, crumbled Italian sausage, roasted shallots and toasted pumpkin seeds. (Pictured) Photo: Provided by Dewey's Pizza