Best pizza on Long Island 2026

In 2026, the state of Long Island pizza is strong. Among the headlines:

New York State’s proposed ban on potassium bromate, a flour additive that makes dough easier to work with, is still awaiting the governor’s signature, but it nevertheless inspired many pizzerias to start experimenting with better flour and techniques.

Pizza lovers who avoid gluten are finding more places that accommodate them, including three spots (Donatina, Dough & Co. and King Umberto) that are returning champs.

Three esteemed pizza trucks found permanent homes — Americano Pie Shop in Syosset, Josie’s Pizza Bar in Glen Cove and Zozo’s on the Bay in Bayville — and promptly landed on this list. The list’s fourth newcomer, Prato 850 in Commack, opened in 2018 but new chef Benjamin Diederiks has breathed new life into the pizza.

And slice shops continued their ascendancy. Last year marked a shift in this list’s direction as its author acknowledged that a new wave of chefs was applying the philosophy of Italian pizza craft to traditional, large-format American pies, focusing on the flavor and texture of the dough. Pizza is, at its heart, bread.

But The Slice Shop Strikes Back may contain the seeds of its own undoing. At too many slice-focused pizzerias (including a few on this list), the toppings — often indifferent and/or excessive — have become the focal point, making it increasingly challenging to appreciate the dough sitting beneath them. Dough-obsessed owners say they are simply bending to their customers’ topping preferences, so this goes out to my fellow pizza consumers: Remember, with pizza, as with most things, less is more.