The Best Pizza in Portland, According to a Food Editor and Jersey-Born Skeptic

• What to Order: kale salad, potato pie, pie with fresh mozzarella, oregano and salami, house-made ice cream
• Pizza Style: thick, whole-grain sourdough crust with unique, locally sourced toppings

This is a must-visit for first timers. Lovely’s has been crafting one-of-a-kind pies in Portland’s North Mississippi district since 2010, crowning them with everything from chanterelle mushrooms to stinging nettles. It fills up fast and they don’t take reservations, so you’ll want to get there as early as possible to snag a table without waiting too long. Even if you have to bide your time, I promise it’s worth the wait.

My sister and I started with a kale salad tossed in creamy garlic dressing, Reggiano cheese and breadcrumbs (this is currently made with mixed chicories instead of kale). It was quite literally the best kale salad I’ve ever eaten; the cheese was salty, savory and just funky enough, the breadcrumbs added a stunning dose of crunch and the dressing cut right through the bitterness of the toothsome-not-tough greens.

As for the pizza, holy moly. The crust was thick and soft without being dense and had a malty note to it that I found straight-up heavenly. It held its structure well under the oregano-kissed, sweet-but-acidic tomato sauce. If it’s an unconventional slice you’re after, go for the cosmic gold potato pie with parsley pesto. It’s so herbaceous and the definition of comfort food (especially if you top it with an egg). I loved the sharp, cheesy pesto and that the spuds, some with skin on for earthiness, varied in shape, resulting in a myriad of textures.

When in Portland, you’ll notice that a lot of pizza joints also serve house-made ice cream. Lovely’s is credited with starting this concept, and even if you need to keep Lactaid in your purse to get in on the trend, it’ll be so worth it. We had the orange agrumato, which tasted like the center of an absurdly rich Creamsicle, and the fragrant, refreshing strawberry buttermilk, but the server told me that mint is the most popular choice.

• What to Order: pepperoni slice
• Pizza Style: New York-style slices and pies, topped with house-made cheese and meats and local produce

For a more casual, on-the-go pizza experience, head to Sunnyside for a taste of the Big Apple at Baby Doll. You’re not beholden to an entire pie here (bless you, slice shops), so it’s easy to get in and out if you have a stacked itinerary. We started with garlic knots, an homage to the waste-not culture of the Brooklyn pizzerias they were born in. But the real highlight was the pepperoni slice.

Every element worked its magic in perfect harmony with the others, no one feature overpowering the rest. I loved the soft, pillowy, thick crust. It was perfect for sopping up every drop of grease that was left on my plate. The sauce was bright and balanced, while the mozzarella cheese was mild and not overbearing. P.S.: Baby Doll neighbors Bar of the Gods, a Greek temple-themed watering hole with pinball machines, pool tables and a covered outdoor space, in case you feel like a few rounds.

• What to Order: thin-crust cheese slice
• Pizza Style: New Haven-style thin crust pizzas with vegan and gluten-free options

We visited the Northeast location of this quirkly mainstay next. With wooden chairs, gingham table coverings, neon lights and band posters on the walls, the vibe at Pizza Jerk was like ’70s dive bar meets ’80s arcade, and it was just the match for the resto’s energy.

The specialty here—and at various establishments across Portland—is New Haven-style apizza (pronounced ah-beetz), known for its thin, charred crust, no-frills tomato sauce and light cheese. Personally, I loathe a cracker-y pizza crust, but here, it’s not excessively thin. The sauce was very fruity and only slightly sweet. The cheese wasn’t as greasy as Baby Doll’s (that’s not objectively good IMO; it depends on your preferences). The crust, despite being apizza-style, was still soft and toothsome, so even thick-crust lovers will enjoy it.

Bonus? Pizza Jerk not only offers ice cream in addition to its slices and pies, but they also have casual cocktails and slushies, if you’re hoping to wash down your carbs with something special.

• What to Order: cheese slice
• Pizza Style: Detroit-style, square pies

Hot take: Some of the best pizza in Portland is made by a microbrewery. At its newer Alberta location, Assembly Brewing whips up shockingly divine pies. Their recipe was perfected with the help of the award-winning Detroit Style Pizza Company. (For the uninitiated, Detroit’s rectangular pan pizza sports a thick, chewy crust and sauce on top of the cheese, instead of the other way around.)

It was my first time having a sauce-last slice and I enjoyed it more than I expected. The sauce was chunky and vibrant, but I was most infatuated with the stellar, fluffy-AF crust. It reminded me of Sicilian-style pizzas I’d had before, but this time, it was enhanced with a skirt of crispy, caramelized cheese around the edges and bottom, a hallmark of the Detroit slice.

• What to Order: the daily special, house-made ice cream
• Pizza Style: New Haven-inspired, wood-fired pizza

I was genuinely blown away by every single item I ordered at this St. John’s gem. It’s cozy and unassuming, but you’ll want to bring your appetite for simple-yet-sophisticated starters, pies and ice cream that are downright exquisite. Pizza and ice cream varieties are always rotating, so you may not be able to replicate this order exactly…but honestly, I’d gladly eat whatever owner Craig Melillo put in front of me.

We started with the daily pie, a medley of green garlic pesto, silky ricotta cheese, light mozzarella, crispy prosciutto, arugula-herb salad and saba, a reduced grape syrup used in Italian cooking. What a symphony of textures and flavor notes—the cheese was so lush, the greens were crisp and just a touch bitter, the pesto had a robust, garlicky kick and the prosciutto was sweeter than expected.

Just when I thought I’d reached pizza heaven, I tried the hazelnut pie, topped with raclette, house mozzarella, hazelnuts, leeks, oregano, cream and tangerine oil. (Fun fact: Oregon is the largest producer of hazelnuts in the country.) The crust was delectably charred. The base was creamy, oniony and undeniably spring inspired. I adored the slightly funky notes of the cheese duo, along with the borderline-waxy crunch of the nuts and the lush, citrusy finish of the oil.

Leave room for dessert, and treat yourself to the house-made pizzelle and cones. I went with scoops of the otherworldly creamy malted vanilla (so salty! so malty!) and the stunningly sweet-tart, nutty black sesame blackberry. And word to the wise: Get there close to opening, and note that they’re only open Thursday through Saturday, so plan your itinerary accordingly.

• What to Order: #4 with a side of house ranch dressing
• Pizza Style: Sicilian/Detroit-style

If you like ranch dressing on your pizza, look no further. This joint encourages you to douse your order in house-made ranch, which I can attest is literally flawless. (Trust me, I’ve tasted all the store-bought ranch dressing there is—this one is tangy, perfectly salted and delightfully herbaceous.) Better yet, this laidback pick has plenty of locations, so it’s easier than ever to work them into your to-visit list.

There are plenty of pies on the menu, but I recommend the #4, a mélange of aged mozzarella, red sauce, crumbled sausage, ricotta, Calabrian chiles, pecorino Romano and fresh basil. The hot peppers not only offered spice, but also a fruity sweetness that sang alongside the impeccably seasoned sausage. The pair of cheeses curbed the heat just right. But damn, those craggy, caramelized edges of cheese and cloud-like crust? I’m not sure if I should thank Sicily or Detroit, but consider it done.

• What to Order: Pizzaleada, chilaquiles, pizza special
• Pizza Style: wood-fired, Latin-inspired, Neapolitan pizza

Don’t underestimate this Roseway neighborhood food cart: It offers some of the best pizza in Portland, and in varieties you’d never expect. Husband and wife Roberto Hernandez Guerrero and Roseva Alcerro are the brains behind the unconventional menu, which is ripe with Honduran and Peruvian influences. Take the Pizzaleada, a play on the baleada, a Honduran street food that consists of a flour tortilla stuffed with refried beans, cheese and occasionally eggs, meat, avocado or plantain. Here, a bubbly, beautifully charred pizza crust stands in for the tortilla and is crowned with cheese and crema manchada. I loved the deep savoriness and earthy notes of the beans. Paired with the delectably soft crust, it loosely reminded me of Mexican molletes.

We also tried a more standard pie, a LTO special teeming with tomato sauce, fresh arugula, creamy burrata and prosciutto. (The closest equivalent on the menu now is La Kapri, which is finished with chicha morada agridulce, named for a popular Peruvian drink made from purple corn, fruit and warm spices.) If you have any stomach room left, order the chilaquiles too, finished with onions, cotija cheese, pickled peppers and a runny egg.

• What to Order: mortadella and pistachio pizza, mushroom pizza, affogato
• Pizza Style: wood-fired, slow-fermented, thin-crust pizza

We arrived pretty close to open, and the place was already bumping. (You won’t be able to make a reservation, but I promise it’s worth the wait. Plus, there’s a bunch of thrifting and vintage shopping within walking distance if you need to kill some time.) The moment you enter, you’ll be swept up in a cacophony of voices and a flurry of servers, seamlessly whipping around the restaurant as if performing a choreographed dance. The organized chaos doesn’t stop there—you’ll be entranced by the folks assembling and topping the pies, if you have the privilege of sitting within eyeshot.

It’s no mystery why Ken’s is known for having some of the best pizza in Portland. The dough is slow-fermented and cooked to bubbly perfection in a wood-fired oven. Toppings range from Italian traditional to modern American. Personally, I think we hit the jackpot with the mushroom and the mortadella-pistachio pies. The former is loaded with mushrooms, mozzarella, fontina, pecorino, garlic, fresh thyme and lemon oil. The base was *so* decadent, fragrant and creamy. I loved how the herbs and citrus oil offered freshness and nuance to the umami-rich mushrooms. The latter was layered with pistachio pesto, mortadella, fresh mozzarella and pickled shallots. This one was my favorite, namely because of the varied textures and flavors. IMO, any type of pickle brings rich ingredients to life, and the shallots absolutely did their job.

For dessert, go for the affogato, made with Caffè Umbria cold brew and house-made vanilla ice cream (because that’s how Portland rolls). If you can’t get enough of Ken’s, I suggest heading to Ken’s Artisan Bakery in the Alphabet District for breakfast or a snack. The palmier (aka my favorite pastry of all time) was absolutely revelatory, every crumb and layer completely encrusted in caramelized sugar. The almond croissant was absurdly flaky and moist (no dry, fossilized nut paste here), and the goat cheese-leek croissant was OTT buttery, deeply oniony and pleasantly tangy. As for the coffee, it might have been the best vanilla latte of my life.