With Pizza being one of the most important food groups, this might be one of the most helpful guides to the Denver food scene you’ll ever encounter. It’s a great time to be eating your way through the Mile-High City, where you can find the best pizza in Denver for all of your pizza-loving-heart’s desires. In this guide to the best pizza in Denver, we’re sharing everything under the sun including thin crust, deep dish, vegan, late-night, date-night, and even gluten-free pizza.

SEE ALSO: 10 Best Breakfast & Brunch Spots in Denver

13. Pizzeria Locale: Best Fast Casual Pizza

Pizzeria Locale is our choice for the best fast-casual pizza in Denver. The menu is divided into two halves: one side is a selection of red pies, the other white pies, but you also have the choice to make a customized pie! Both equally as delicious, make sure and ordrer one of each. We recommend The Diavola and the Sausage & Broccolini pies. Prices range between $5.50-$8.25 for an 11-inch Pizza, so you’re definitely not breaking the bank here. Pizzas are brought out within moments of ordering, needing only a few minutes in the oven to be baked to perfection. The flavors are strong and fresh, and the crust is everything you’d want from a thin crust pizza. Make sure to get a Nutella pizza for dessert, it’s only $2.50 and the perfect ending to some of the best pizza in Denver.

12. Marco’s Coal Fired Pizza: Neapolitan Pizza

Looking for the perfect spot to grab dinner before a Colorado Rockies baseball game? Look no further than Marco’s Coal Fired, just a quarter-mile away from Coors Field! Located in a rustic building with brick wall interior, it’s got a laid back feeling inside for a restaurant that’s serious about their pizzas. Marco’s is certified by the Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana, and are the only VPN certified pizzeria in Denver. The menu is divided betwteen New York and traditional Napoletana style pies. The top three Napoletana pies are the Toscana, Del Re, and Di Parma, top three NYC style are Brooklyn, Hell’s Kitchen and Butcher. Service is typically fast- put in your order and you’ll most likely have your pizza within a few minutes. The toppings are incredibily fresh and the cheese on the Margherita pizza is evenly distributed ensuring cheese with every bite. The Gran Cru on the Toscana pizza pairs well with the arugula, this pizza is for those who love strong flavors! Marco’s Coal Fired Pizza is definitely at the top of our list when recommending the best pizza in Denver to friends and family. For vegans- be sure to ask about their secret vegan menu they have using Violife vegan cheese!

11. Famous Original J’s: Best NY Style Pizza

From the creator of Rosenberg’s Delicatessen (our favorite bagel breakfast sandwich in Denver) comes Famous Original J’s, an authentic NY style pizza joint located right next door to Rosenberg’s in the Five Points neighborhood of Denver. Walk up to the window of their tiny little 260-square foot building and order from a choice of four different pizzas. You can make a custom creation from a choice of 11 different toppings, or just grab a slice or two and find a seat in their outdoor patio area (outside seating only). Their pies are huge with nice big slices that you can easily fold and eat the New York way. If you’re not a NY style thin crust fan, they also make a “Grandma” deep-dish pie, but trust us when we say you’re here for the thin crust! They use the same attention to detail with the dough as they do for the bagels next door, filtering their water and adjusting mineral content to match New York water, so you know you’re truly getting some of the best pizza in Denver a la New York here at Famous Original J’s. Open for lunch and dinner and extra late (until 2 am some nights), so you can satisfy that NY pizza craving at any time of day.

10. Esters Neighborhood Pub: Best Lunch Break Pizza Spot

Although Esters Neighborhood Pub is not strictly a pizza restaurant, their pizza is seriously great and is definitely worthy of being on the list of the best pizza in Denver. With a laid back and welcoming atmosphere, TVs for game nights, happy hour deals and an outside patio, you’ll find yourself wanting to return to Esters as soon as possible. We recommend going for lunch, as they have a lunch special where you can get a 7″ specialty pizza plus a side salad for just $13. You can still get a regular pizza (12″ in diameter) at lunch, but the salad plus the smaller size of pizza truly makes for the perfect serving size. The Mikey, their pepperoni pizza, is their #1, but the Ya Mar, Catapult and Lawn Boy are close to follow (pizzas are named after Phish songs, due to the owner’s fondness for the band). They have two different hot pepper seasonings options on the side from a Colorado company, Flatiron Pepper Co. The red is Habanero, Jalapeño, Arbol & Ghost pepper chili flakes, and the Green (not to be confused with oregano!) consists of Hatch Valley Big Jim, Hatch Valley Sandia, Jalapeño & Habanero chili flakes. Pictured is the Catapult pizza, a combination of house-made marinara, shredded & fresh mozzarella, house sausage, caramelized onions and peppadews, a sweet & just spicy enough combination to satisfy your tastebuds.

9. Hops & Pie: Best Pizza Spot to go with friends

Located on bustling Tennyson street, there are lots of options for eating out but Hops & Pie should be high on your list- open since 2010 and they know what they’re doing! Hops & Pie offers three styles of pizza- traditional, Detroit & pan pies, and offer a slice of the day (flavor varies every day). There is one artisan pie every month, otherwise, pies are fully customizable from a list of over 30 topping options. Walk in & choose your table, and a server will come to you. Their dough has beer as one of the main ingredients and is aged for three days, prior to being baked for all three styles of pizzas they offer (except the gluten-free dough). The regular pizza crust is a little thick as far as thin-crust pizzas go, but is delightfully crispy and has a great flavor. Pizzas take a little longer here than most places on this list of the best pizza in Denver, but it’s worth the wait! Come with some friends on a Tuesday night and hang a while, you won’t regret it. Pizzas pictured: 14” traditional with bacon, caramelized onions & goat cheese, and a Detroit style with banana peppers, house-made sausage, and sun-dried tomatoes.

8. Kaos Pizzeria: Best Fresh & Seasonal Topped Pizza

Kaos Pizzeria is a true neighborhood gem in the Old Pearl Street area, located in a 100-year old house with the coziest outdoor dining patio. Everything here is handmade and farm to table, with their chefs hand mixing 50+ lbs of dough twice daily and their ingredients being sourced from their own farm and other local gardens (the only imported ingredients are the flour and tomatoes, from Italy). We recommend trying the Smokestack or Broccoli & Tater, and you can make the latter extra special by adding an egg on top! With 16 different artisan pizzas to choose from made in their 10,000lb wood-burning oven imported from Italy, this is an easy choice from our list of the best pizza in Denver. Bonus- Kaos Pizzeria is a sister restaurant to Mas Kaos on Tennyson Street, which serves both Pizza and Tacos, yes please!

7. Bar Dough: Best “Nice Night Out” Pizza

Bar Dough is one of the best Italian restaurants in Denver, with an inventive menu filled with a variety of meat, fish and pasta dishes as well as pizzas, and we think their pizzas are the secret stars here. They offer six different artisan pizzas to choose from, and on Sundays, the 3x cheese is replaced with the Sunday pizza, a breakfast style pizza. The crust is soft and just crispy enough around the edges, super easy to eat. We were recommended the Signore Bianco-stracciatella, Parmigiano, creamed leek, red onion, green olive, Fresno chile, fennel. All of the flavors really come together and complement each other in an unexpected and delightful way. The cozy yet elevated neighborhood setting at Bar Dough makes it the perfect date night location, dinner reservations highly recommended.

6. City O’ City: Best Vegan Pizza

City o’ City comes from the same restaurant group as Watercourse Foods (one of Denver’s best Vegan restaurants), so you know you’re getting the best vegan option of the best pizza in Denver here. Inside it’s a big, open and airy restaurant with beautiful art on the walls from local artists, filled with plenty of tables, communal seating or your choice of two bar seating areas. Their pizzas are all vegetarian and can be made vegan on request at no additional cost. Though you can choose from Daiya cheese or a house-made cashew cheese to make it a vegan pie, we highly recommend going with the latter- it’s a must. Order one of their pizzas anytime from 11am-1am, this pizza makes for a great healthy choice any time of day. Pictured: The Florentine.

5. Wyman’s No. 5: Best Chicago Style Pizza

For the best Chicago style deep dish in Denver, you must pay a visit to Wyman’s No 5. Stepping into this Capitol Hill restaurant feels like you’ve stepped into a divey Chicago sports bar, in the best way possible. Take a seat at one of the wooden booths and get comfortable as it takes around 30-45 minutes for your deep dish pizza to bake. These pies aren’t for the faint of heart, and you’re going to need a fork and knife to eat it! If you’re into trivia, they host Geeks who drink Trivia nights on Mondays unless there’s a Chicago sports team game on- it gets extra crowded on game days!

4. Vero Market: Best Food Hall Pizza

Located in Denver Central Market, Vero Market (a sister restaurant to Il Posto, located just up the street) features traditional wood-fired Italian pizzas and in our opinion is the absolute best dining option inside the entire Market, while also being some of the best pizza in Denver. There are 12 different pizzas on the menu to choose from, with one rotating special. Not as chewy as Napoletana style, their crusts are less chewy and bubbly, more Milanese style dough that is aged for three days before baking. The Diavolo (Italian for Devil, named for its spiciness), their version of a pepperoni pizza and their most popular flavor, is made with pressed soppressata flavored with Italian Calabrian peppers, san marzano tomato, mozzarella, oregano and grana which are all are imported from Italy, as are most of the ingredients they use. They’ve also got a small grocery shopping area next to the counter where you can buy Italian olive oils, salts, pasta, flour, everything you’d need to make a tasty Italian meal at home. If you still have room after you’ve finished off one of the best pizzas in Denver that tastes like it’s straight from Nonna’s kitchen in Italy, walk over to High Point Creamery (also inside Denver Central Market) for a scoop or two of ice cream for the perfect ending.

3. White Pie: Best New England Style Pizza

The list of the best pizza in Denver would not be complete without White Pie. This New Haven style pizza spot is an easy favorite to visit time and time again, we love the thin crust with just the right amount of char and variety of fresh toppings. It can be hard to choose from the ten (very) different pizzas they offer on their menu, but a good starting point is either the White Pie (no surprise here), topped with Crème Fraîche, Mozzarella, Garlic, Bacon, Crimini Mushroom, Sunny Egg; or the Porky Porkorino, topped with their House Red sauce, Mozzarella, Sopressata, Pickled Chiles, and Hot Honey. The honey & the jalapeño on the Porky make for an especially tantalizing flavor profile. Grab a seat inside at the bar that encircles the pizza ovens, or take a seat outside on warmer days to take in the sunshine. Pro tip: order a House Puff to start with & eat as you wait for your pizzas to come out!

2. Cart-Driver: Best Late Night Pizza

Small but mighty, this 640-square foot shipping container located in the RiNo neighborhood serves up one of the best thin crust wood-fired pizzas in Denver. Choose from eight pizzas on the menu, but if you’ve never been you must start with the Clam. It’s their best-known pizza, topped with littleneck clam, pancetta, whole cloves of roasted garlic, panna, and half a lemon which you absolutely must squeeze over the pie to truly get the most from all the flavors, which seem like an odd combination individually but together elevate and compliment each other. The Friends & Farmers letter-board in the entry lists where they source their meats & other ingredients from locally, and nothing is frozen ever because they don’t have a freezer. Try topping your pizza with their house-made green hot sauce, it’s so popular that they have to replace bottles frequently as it “disappears” frequently. Of all the best pizza in Denver in this post, we enjoyed their gluten-free crust the most! It’s made with chickpea flour and baked in a cast-iron skillet, the same way it’s done in some parts of Italy! Visit their late-night happy hour from 10pm-12am any day of the week to get the Daisy (Margarita) pizza for just $5!

1. Blue Pan: Best Detroit Style Pizza

For the best Detroit style pizza and the best pizza in Denver, you must go to Blue Pan and order The Brooklyn Bridge. Period. You might fall off your seat with the first bite, it tastes so good with it’s perfectly crispy golden cheesy crust exterior with a fluffy base, topped with mozzarella, red sauce, pepperoni, sausage, garlic and spices, the key ingredient being the little ricotta dollops atop each slice. It’s no surprise that this pizza has won an international pizza competition, and their second most popular pizza, the Parma Italia, has also ranked internationally- 1st Place in the Pizza World Championships in Parma, Italy in 2013.  In addition to their all-time Detroit style pizzas, they also have Chicago, NY and Italian style pizzas. They are a great lunch or dinner spot, if you can get there early enough at lunch they offer a limited amount of lunch specials every day 11am-4pm which consists of a 2-topping 6×6 Detroit Style Pizza, House or Caesar salad & 1 soda for only $10- a killer deal. They have two locations in Denver, one in West Highlands and one in Congress Park, both are great but we recommend going to the Congress Park location as it’s a little bigger and it’s right next to Sweet Cooie’s Ice Cream! Be extra indulgent and get some ice cream after if you still have room.

SEE ALSO: 10 BEST ICE CREAM SHOPS IN DENVER