The goal: Find 20 awesome pizzas.
I began this quest three years ago and vowed not to rest until I found 20 legitimately awesome pizzas. Not merely decent. Not merely good. Better than that.
I asked a lot of smart people for recommendations. I followed up on reader suggestions. I combed through countless Yelp reviews. And I came to realize that most people are blissfully happy eating mediocre pizza.
I blame Dominos. Everyone wants their pizza delivered, or else they want takeout. But here’s the thing: The best pizza doesn’t travel. Pizza needs to be eaten straight out of the oven.
Nevertheless, companies like Dominos and Papa Johns have spent huge sums of money engineering crusts that can tolerate bouncing around in a cardboard box in the back of a Prius for 30 minutes and still taste the same as when they left the store. It was revealed last year that the United States military has created a pizza that can remain edible for three years. God bless them, but I’ll pass.
You’ll notice this list skews heavily toward Neapolitan style. That’s not because I have a bias toward Naples, the birthplace of pizza and one of my favorite places to travel. Okay, maybe just a little bias.
More importantly, I admit to a bias against pizzas topped with barbecue sauce, hoisin sauce, fish sauce, or any other weird toppings, like chicken. Otherwise, I genuinely enjoy New York-style pizza. I searched high and low for that and found what I think is the best.
I love Chicago-style deep-dish and stuffed pizzas, too, so I happily tasted every version I could find from Placentia to Rancho Santa Margarita.
Time and again, though, the best pizzas where the ones being made by chefs who mostly practice the Old World traditions of Naples.
So, after eating pizza about twice a month for the past three years — plus several times a week for the past couple of months — here’s my list of the 20 best pizzas in Orange County.
1. TJ’s Woodfire Pizza
TJ’s Woodfire Pizza opened a brick-n-mortar last fall after driving a very popular food truck, which is still used for catering and events. The pizza lineup includes authentic Neapolitan, New York, Sicilian and cracker-thin styles. Each is good in its own way, but the Neapolitans are TJ’s best.
Oven: Wood-fired
Must-try pie: The Margherita pizza here is one of the best Neapolitan-style pies you’ll ever eat. The crust is perfectly blistered and charred, with the burned bits being particularly delicious. The tomato sauce is light and bright. The cheese is soft and supple. But what’s even better is customizing this pizza with prosciutto.
Bar options: Great draft beers. Limited but decent wine.
Delivery: No
Where: 641 Camino De Los Mares, San Clemente, 949-243-6433, tjwoodfirepizza.com
2. Brick
Pork is the blood that runs through the veins of David Pratt’s nose-to-tail kitchen. A blazing hardwood fire is restaurant’s heart and soul. The pizzas hew closely to Neapolitan traditions. All sausages are made in-house.
Oven: Wood-fired
Must-try pie: The carne pizza is truly extraordinary, topped with Italian sausage, Calabrese salame, slow-roasted porchetta and crispy pork belly. The crust is absolute perfection. Drizzle it with Calabrian chilli oil instead of chilli flakes.
Bar options: Full bar. Fantastic Italian wines, with almost everything priced below $50.
Delivery: No
Where: 216 N. El Camino Real, San Clemente, 949-429-1199, brickpizzeria.com
3. Pizzeria Sapori
Sapori Ristorante opened it’s adjacent pizzeria last year. Chef/owner Sal Maniaci can now be seen most days manning the new pizza oven himself.
Oven: Wood-fired
Must-try pie: The marinara pizza is quintessential Neapolitan, made with nothing more than a great crust and great tomato sauce, leaving absolutely no room to hide. This pizza should definitely be on everyone’s bucket list.
Bar options: Full bar. Extensive Italian wine list.
Delivery: No
Where: 1080 Bayside Drive, Newport Beach, 949-644-4220, pizzeriasapori.com
4. Rance’s
Nobody in Orange County has perfected Chicago-style pizza better than Rance’s, which offers two competing styles reminiscent of Chicago’s two biggest rivals. Their stuffed pizza is as close to Giordano’s as you’ll find, while their pan pizza is almost indistinguishable from the Original Gino’s East.
Oven: Traditional deck oven
Must-try pie: Both styles are great, but their best is the house special pan pizza with sausage, jalapeños and olives.
Bar options: Beer and wine.
Delivery: No
Where: 1420 Baker Street, Costa Mesa, 714-708-2143, rancespizza.com
5. Pizzeria Mozza
Los Angeles’ Nancy Silverton joined forces with New York’s Mario Batali to create one of the most important pizzerias of all time. Mozza’s dough doesn’t taste like typical pizza crust. It’s not modeled after Naples or New York or Rome or even L.A. It’s got the unique snap-crackly crunch and tangy DNA of Silverton’s famous sourdough. It’s extremely puffy around the edges but micro-thin in the center. Mozza’s fennel sausage set a new standard for pizza across the country.
Oven: Wood-fired
Must-try pie: Although the fennel sausage is justly famous, the unsung hero is the Benno, a revalatory riff on Hawaiian pizza with shaved pineapple and Italian ham. No matter what you think about pineapple on pizza, just order it.
Bar options: Full bar. Extraordinary Italian wine list with many bottles under $50.
Delivery: Yes, via Door Dash
Where: 800 West Coast Highway, Newport Beach, 949-945-1126, pizzeriamozza.com
6. Stag Bar & Kitchen
The team behind Dori Deli recently took over and relaunched the historic Stag Bar, just around the corner, cannibalizing the old Stag Liquor Store and turning it into a small dining room and pizza kitchen with chefs Jeff Moore and Joseph Havlik at the helm. The pizzas are superb, made with fresh ingredients that suggest the chefs know their way around the local farmers’ markets. They originally tried making their own fresh mozzarella in-house, which didn’t quite work but illustrates their commitment to taking pizza to another level.
Oven: Traditional deck oven
Must-try pie: The “hot and bothered” is a white pizza with mushrooms, jalapeños and olives. It’ll be difficult to enjoy those same ingredients anywhere else after eating this.
Bar options: Full bar. Excellent mixology. Impressive whiskies. No-nonsense beers. Limited but decent wine.
Delivery: No
Where: 121 McFadden Place, Newport Beach, 949-673-4470, stagbar.com
7. Jinny’s Pizzeria
Jinny’s recently took over the tiny food stall vacated by Noodle Tramp at Santa Ana’s 4th Street Market. Although it bills itself as California pizza with a dash of New York attitude, I’d suggest the reverse is more accurate. Pizzas are served whole or by the slice.
Oven: Traditional deck oven
Must-try pie: The search for O.C.s best, most authentic New York-style pizza ends right here with Jinny’s classic cheese pie. Jinny’s does New York pizza better than most pizzerias in New York.
Bar options: Beer and wine available at an adjacent vendor.
Delivery: No
Where: 201 E 4th St., Santa Ana, 714-542-0281, jinnyspizzeria.com
8. Pizza e Vino
Steve Dickus instigated Orange County’s Neapolitan pizza revolution when he opened Pizza e Vino in 2008, the first restaurant in O.C. to receive the official seal of approval from the pizza council in Naples, Italy. Naturally, the Margherita here is textbook.
Oven: Wood-fired
Must-try pie: The guanciale pizza begins as a classic Margherita with San Marzano tomato sauce and mozzarella but is taken to the next level with guanciale (fatty pork jowl) and housemade fennel sausage. Runner up: Burrata pizza with olive oil, roasted grape tomatoes and balsamic reduction.
Bar options: Nice selection of wines by the glass and bottle. Limited beer.
Delivery: No
Where: 31441 Santa Margarita Parkway, Rancho Santa Margarita, 949-713-1500,
9. Filomena’s
Filomena’s is a hidden gem where chef Linda English’s pizza has slowly evolved over the past couple of years. The crust reached perfection midway through 2015. It’s hard to categorize the style, as it’s not quite New York, not quite sourdough, but rather a whole lot of goodness in between.
Oven: Traditional deck oven
Must-try pie: The pepperoni is so heavenly spicy that it comes with a trigger warning from the staff.
Bar options: Very good selection of Italian wines. Standard beer.
Delivery: No
Where: 2400 Newport Blvd., Costa Mesa, 949-642-3810, filomenasoc.com
10. Naples Ristorante e Pizzeria
Although the restaurant claims to be an authentic Neapolitan-style pizzeria, it’s not. Not even close. That’s just Disney marketing run amuck. This place serves classic Italian-American cuisine. The thin-crust pizzas are indeed very good. They’re just not true to the spirit of Naples as advertised. It’s also important to note that the large pizzas are exponentially better than the small ones.
Oven: Wood and gas combo
Must-try pie: The large pepperoni is topped with a gazillion tiny slices of phenomenally delicious, slightly spicy salame.
Bar options: Full bar. Great selection of Italian wines.
Delivery: No
Where: Downtown Disney, 1550 Disneyland Dr., Anaheim, 714-776-6200, patinagroup.com
11. Il Dolce
Il Dolce is a quaint family affair that helped galvanize O.C.’s pizza awakening when it opened six years ago. Inexplicably, the dining room is frequently empty, which doesn’t make sense because the pizzas are superb.
Oven: Wood-fired
Must-try pie: The Nduja pizza is a full-throttled spin on Margherita, amped up with nduja, which is a soft, spreadable, almost liquid Italian sausage very similar to Mexican chorizo.
Bar options: Full bar. Decent wine selection. Standard beer.
Delivery: No
Where: 1902 Harbor Blvd., Costa Mesa, 949-200-9107, ildolceoc.com
12. Pitfire Artisan Pizza
Pitfire is growing Los-Angeles-based chain serving scratch-made pizzas that, while not exactly claiming any particular pedigree, show a strong resemblance to Neapolitan craftsmanship, mixed with a free-spirited California vibe.
Oven: Wood and gas combo
Must-try pie: While I generally do not enjoy pizzas topped with salad, the burrata pizza here is an absolute must. The burrata melts into a puddle of thick, gooey cream, which is then topped with arugula, pesto and toasted hazelnuts. It sounds weird, but it’s awesome.
Bar options: Full bar. Respectable beer and wine.
Delivery: Yes, via ChowNow
Where: 353 E 17th St., Costa Mesa, 949-313-6333, pitfirepizza.com
13. Pirozzi
The Neapolitan-style pizzas that emerge from the massive hearth at Pirozzi will have you dreaming of Naples. It’s no wonder you’ll hear so many people in the dining room speaking in Italian.
Oven: Wood-fired
Must-try pie: The Margherita pizza — San Marzano tomato sauce, sparse blobs of buffalo mozzarella, a few leaves of basil — is meticulously true to the spirit of Napoli.
Bar options: Full bar. Extensive Italian wine selection.
Delivery: No
Where: 2929 East Coast Highway, Corona Del Mar, 949-497-8222, pirozzicdm.com
14. Fuoco
When this Neapolitan-style pizzeria opened a couple years ago, the pizzas were watery and soggy. Thankfully that’s been fixed, and the pizzas are now consistently delicious and true to form.
Oven: Wood-fired
Must-try pie: Although you can’t go wrong with the classic Margherita or extra-spicy Diavola, the best of the lot is the marinara pizza, which is garnished with a handful of garlic, a few cherry tomatoes and a hearty glug of olive oil.
Bar options: Decent beer and wine
Delivery: No
Where: 101 N Harbor Blvd., Fullerton, 714-626-0727, fuocopizza.com
15. North Italia
This Arizona-based mini-chain is one of the sexiest Italian restaurants to open in O.C. in years, with a modern, airy, indoor-outdoor vibe and a fantastic pizza program that walks a fine line between modern Cali and vintage Naples.
Oven: Traditional deck oven
Must-try pie: The Pig is loaded with soppressata, spicy pepperoni and Italian sausage, with a perfectly salted, crispy crust.
Bar options: Full bar. Decent selection of wine by the glass, terzo and bottle.
Delivery: No
Where: 2957 Michelson Dr., Irvine, 949-629-7060, northitaliarestaurant.com
16. Ecco Pizza Shoppe
Ecco adheres to a lot of the tenets of authentic Neapolitan pizza but there’s a uniquely crispy, crackery quality to the crust that sets it apart from anywhere else and keeps it just outside the mainstream conceit of Naples.
Oven: Wood-fired
Must-try pie: A lot of pizzerias make something called Diavola, and this is the one you need to know about, topped with fresh chilies, thinly shaved Calabrese salame and a drizzle of chilli oil.
Bar options: Full bar outside on the patio, geared more toward liquor than wine
Delivery: No
Where: Packing House, 440 S Anaheim Blvd., 714-817-7323, eccopizza.com
17. Settebello
Crystal Cove’s Sette Bello has also been given the seal of approval from Italy’s Neapolitan pizza police. The flour comes from Italy. The sausages, from marquee Italian brands. It’s practically impossible to have a bad pizza here.
Oven: Wood-fired
Must-try pie: The carbonara pizza is a surprising discovery. A twist on pasta carbonara, the brunch-friendly pizza is topped with eggs, pancetta and black pepper. Prepare yourself for the unexpected. It’s almost like quiche, and it is strangely sublime. Otherwise, go for the Vico, a white pizza with sausage.
Bar options: Full bar. Extensive wine selection.
Delivery: No
Where: Crystal Cove Shops, 7864 East Coast Hwy., Newport Coast, 949-715-2072, settebello.net
18. Al’s New York Cafe
The name “cafe” gives the wrong impression. There’s an unsettlingly authentic New York vibe to this shoebox-sized dive with only a couple of wobbly tables and a few stools awkwardly positioned against a counter overlooking the kitchen. There’s almost always someone smoking just outside the open doorway. Most people get their pizza to go, but I urge you to stake out one of those stools. You’ll want to eat this New York-style pizza straight out of the oven.
Oven: Traditional deck oven
Must-try pie: The pepperoni pizza has a perfectly foldable thin crust. It comes out of the oven covered with a slick, glossy sheen of pepperoni grease, and a delightful crispness to the crust’s outer edge. This is what Dominos dreams of being but never will be.
Bar options: No
Delivery: No
Where: 1673 Irvine Ave., Costa Mesa, 949-722-1212, alsnewyorkcafe.com
19. Pizzeria Ortica
Pizzeria Ortica was another of O.C.’s first-wave Napolitanas and continues to be one of the best despite a controversial ownership shakeup three years ago. Ortica’s pizza dough is descendent of a 300-year-old starter from Naples. Chef Justin Miller and his team make most of their own sausages in-house.
Oven: Wood-fired
Must-try pie: The Margherita is exemplary, but the pizza that best encapsulates Ortica’s personality is the milanesa, topped with fontina, mascarpone, parmesan, and asparagus, along with a slightly runny fried egg and a generous splash of olive oil.
Bar options: Superb Italian wines. Impressive beer. Classic cocktails.
Delivery: No
Where: 650 Anton Blvd., Costa Mesa, 714-445-4900, pizzeriaortica.com
20. Angelina’s Pizzeria Napolitana
This cramped and boisterous pizzeria in Dana Point is one of the area’s newest champions of Neapolitan cooking. They recently launched a second location in Irvine (not yet sampled).
Oven: Wood-fired
Must-try pie: Margherita D.O.C. Even in Naples, every pizza is slightly different, each owing its popularity to one ingredient or the other. Here, it’s the sauce, which is gloriously bright and uncomplicated yet surprisingly soulful.
Bar options: Limited but decent beer and wine
Delivery: Yes
Where: 32860 Pacific Coast Hwy., Dana Point, 949-427-1834, angelinaspizzeria.com
This article originally appeared in the Orange County Register. To view more of my work for the Register, check out the archives. For more dining and travel inspiration, I invite you to follow me and join the conversation on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
