50 Of The Best College Town Pizzerias In The Country
Cheesy, delicious pizza right this way🍕.
The answer to just about everything when you're in college is delicious, hot, cheesy pizza. Studying for finals? Pizza. Battling a hangover? Pizza. Too lazy to make dinner? Pizza!
So, where to get the most amazing, life-changing pizza in a college town in America? Using WalletHub's rankings of the 50 best college towns and data from Yelp, we tracked down the best of the best. Whether a Neapolitan-style spot with wine on tap or a late-night delivery joint, all these places have incredible 'za. Full disclosure: You'll definitely need a slice or two after reading this.
Albany, New York
The Orchard Tavern & Pizzeria opened in 1903 and since then has become one of the most popular pizza spots in Albany. Customers love the buffalo chicken pizza — which, fair warning, is known to be very spicy.
Visit the Orchard Tavern & Pizzeria at 68 N. Manning Blvd. in Albany, New York.
Ann Arbor, Michigan
NeoPapalis in Ann Arbor lets you pick a base pizza (like margherita or white) that you can cover in the toppings of your choice to make your own pizza masterpiece. It's kind of like the Chipotle of pizzerias.
Visit NeoPapalis at 500 E. William St. in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Athens, Georgia
The bacon egg pizza at Ted's Most Best makes the pizzeria a favorite in Athens. Yelp user Blake H. writes, "I had the bacon and egg pizza which is basically a bacon pizza with a sunny side egg on top. Incredible; nothing like anything I've ever had."
Visit Ted's Most Best at 254 W. Washington St. in Athens, Georgia.
Atlanta, Georgia
Varasano's Pizzeria brings New York-style pizza (hand-tossed with thin crust) to Atlanta. Owner and chef Jeff Varasano's mission is for everyone to experience what he calls "world class pizza." Varasano, originally from the Bronx, opened the pizzeria in 2009. Since then, his margherita di bufala has become a favorite for many.
Visit Varasano's at 2171 Peachtree Road NE. in Atlanta, Georgia.
Austin, Texas
Little Deli & Pizzeria is the hot spot for pizza and sandwiches in Austin. The bring-your-own alcohol joint also has an outdoor picnic area that makes for an atmosphere customers love. The menu favorite here is Special White Pizza—white pizza topped with spinach, artichokes, ricotta cheese and roasted garlic.
Find Little Deli & Pizzeria at 7101-A Woodrow Ave. in Austin, Texas.
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Fleur de Lis Pizza is a tiny pizzeria that originally opened as a cocktail lounge in 1946, called Fleur de Lis Cocktail. The owner would make small pizzas as an appetizer for customers and it quickly became a menu favorite. With the positive response, she decided to turn the lounge into a pizzeria.
Visit the Fleur de Lis Pizza at 5655 Government St. in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
Berkeley, California
Serving vegan pizza that's topped with organic local ingredients, Cheese Board Pizza has become the go-to for healthier pizza options in Berkeley. The pizzeria serves different vegan options weekly, which you can see here. Yelp user Katy K. wrote, "It's the stuff that pizza dreams are made of."
Visit Cheese Board Pizza at 1512 Shattuck Ave. in Berkeley, California.
Boulder, Colorado
Seb's Wood Fired Pizza in Boulder is a pizzeria on wheels. Parked in different parts of the city throughout the week, Seb's only serves pizza that's made in a wood-fired oven on the back of a food truck. Yelp user Chris H. writes, "Amazing service and truly addictive pizza. Always fresh and cooked perfectly."
Visit Seb's Wood Fired Pizza by keeping up with its schedule of the week here.
Buffalo, New York
La Tavola Trattoria is known for generous sizes and wood-fire pizza in Buffalo. The pizzeria's Geminelli Pizza — which is topped with San Marzano tomatoes, housemade meatballs, sausage, ricotta, mozzarella, and hot cherry peppers — is a customer favorite.
Visit La Tavola Trattoria at 1458 Hertel Ave. in Buffalo, New York.
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Famous for Sicilian pie (square with thick crust) and late-night eats, Pinnochio's Pizza & Subs is perfect for a possibly buzzed and maybe stressed college student. Yelp user Amy C. writes, "The best part of the pizza is the crust, which comes out of the oven piping-hot, thick, and crispy with an audible crunch." Yum.
Champaign, Illinois
Dragon Fire Pizza is a food truck in Champaign that's known for it's extremely hot pizza. The 1,000-degree oven — which is unsurprisingly named "the Dragon" — will have your pizza hot and ready in under five minutes.
Visit Dragon Fire Pizza by keeping up with its schedule here.
Cincinnati, Ohio
Tucked away behind a local gas station in Cincinnati, you'll find the best pizzeria in town: Jean Paul's Paradiso. "This has to be one of the hidden gems in Cincinnati. It's in a tiny older building attached to a gas station. The food at this place is tremendous. The sandwiches are top-notch and the baked goods are also amazing," writes Yelp user Theodor S.
Visit Jean Paul's Paradiso at 6732 Clough Pike in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Cleveland, Ohio
Serving pizza pies that are as big as 32 inches, Crust in Cleveland is the place to go for huge portions at great prices. The pizzeria's specialty pie is the Butternut Squash Pizza, which is made with bacon, blue cheese, butternut squash, caramelized onions, and balsamic reduction.
Visit Crust at 1020 Kenilworth Ave. in Cleveland, Ohio.
College Station, Texas
Napa Flats Wood-Fired Kitchen doesn't just have delicious pizza—it also serves wine on tap, which is enough to make any college kid's eyes light up. Yelp users love the margherita pizza at Napa Flats and agree that the service is spectacular.
Visit Napa Flats Wood-Fired Kitchen at 1727 Texas Ave. S. in College Station, Texas.
Columbia, Missouri
Shakespeare's Pizza in downtown Columbia is a staple. The pizzeria's Masterpiece of the Meat Lovers pie is a must-have. Yelp user Ariel D. writes,"You can't say you've been to CoMo unless you've been to Shake's."
Visit Shakespeare's Pizza at 225 S. Ninth St. in Columbia, Missouri.
Columbia, South Carolina
With hot pizza and cheesesteaks, Very's Great Philly Food is the place to go in Columbia when you're craving all of the cheese. Yelp user Mark B. writes, " These guys know how to satisfy my insatiable hunger for melted cheese!"
Visit Very's Great Philly Food at 6729 Two Notch Road in Columbia, South Carolina.
Columbus, Ohio
Rubino's Pizza has everything you'd expect from a family-owned Italian pizzeria: ravioli, spaghetti, and of course, famous 'za. Customers are obsessed with the pepperoni pizza and if you go to Rubino's without getting that, you basically didn't go.
Visit Rubino's Pizza at 2643 E. Main St. in Columbus, Ohio.
Davis, California
Village Bakery in Davis is known for its outstanding pizza dough. Yelp user Bryan M. was so impressed by the dough that he went to Village Bakery twice just to make sure he wasn't imagining the delicious taste. "I was blown away," he wrote. The quaint pizzeria and bakery has a variety of treats, including well-liked chocolate covered cream puffs."
Visit Village Bakery at 814 2nd St. in Davis, California.
Durham, North Carolina
Pizzeria Toro is a downtown Durham pizzeria known for personal pizzas and delicious ricotta dumplings. If you find yourself here, order the Sweet Fennel Sausage Pizza — Yelp users are obsessed with it.
Visit Pizzeria Toro at 105 E. Chapel Hill St. in Durham, North Carolina.
Evanston, Illinois
Two words: butter. Crust. Lou Malnati's Pizzeria is famous for deep dish pizza that keeps customers coming back. "Either go big and get the deep-dish butter crust or don't go," writes Yelp user Grant S. The first Lou Malnati's Pizzeria opened in 1971 and now there are 47 locations throughout Illinois.
Visit the Evanston location at 1850 Sherman Ave. in Evanston, Illinois.
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