Columbus built its pizza identity on a thin, crisp crust cut into squares, toppings edge to edge, and the party-cut houses still anchor that canon. This guide widens the lens to include the newer counters, sub shops, and neighborhood taverns that keep the crust-and-toppings argument alive across the city, judged on execution, not nostalgia.
№ 01
The Pizza House
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The pesto pizza carries a cracker-thin crust that leans closer to the old-school Columbus style than the red-sauce combo plates the kitchen also turns out. This is a family room built around chicken parm, rigatoni, and a pizza that satisfies without pretense. The red sauce dishes draw the regulars; the pizza is the quieter reason to return.
What to orderpesto pizza, chicken parm, rigatoni
№ 02
Natalie's Grandview
$$
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The Margherita pizza and the charcuterie board form a reliable pairing at this live-music room, where the kitchen holds its Neapolitan style steady even as the crowd turns over for the bands. It is built for groups and repeat orders rather than pizza purism, and the consistency of the regulars' usual order says as much as any description of the crust.
What to orderMargherita pizza, charcuterie board, Neapolitan pizza
№ 03
Casa Di Pizza
$
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The Tikka Masala pizza is the reason to know this counter's name: a specialty pie loaded edge to edge that breaks from the party-cut tradition on purpose. The Sicilian and the turkey sub round out a menu built for quick counter service. Online order timing runs inconsistent, so calling ahead beats trusting the app's clock.
What to orderTikka Masala pizza, Sicilian, Turkey sub
Upper Arlington $$
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A longtime Columbus name carrying the party-cut lineage, Tommy's turns out a pizza that most diners still rate above the Italian sub on the same menu. Service has grown uneven by recent accounts, with waits at the door that do not match the counter-service pace the room is built for. The pizza remains the draw when the kitchen is on.
What to orderpizza, Italian sub, breadsticks
№ 05
Big Tony’s Pizza & Wings
$
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Build-your-own is the entire premise here: beef pepperoni, beef sausage, and mushroom on an extra-large pie priced well below the Short North rooms. Wings and fries round out a strip-mall menu meant for weeknight carryout, not a sit-down meal. The pasta dishes are worth skipping; the build-your-own pizza is worth the order.
What to orderbuild-your-own pizza, wings, fries
№ 06
The Original Josie's Pizza
$
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Josie's built its name on a plain, consistent pizza and a staff that regulars single out by name, and the newly expanded dining room has not changed the formula. The record is split hard between loyalists calling it the best in the city and newcomers finding a flat, over-tomatoed pie, which makes this one worth judging fresh rather than by reputation.
What to orderPizza
№ 07
Pizzanos Express
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The MSP, mushroom, sausage, and pepperoni, comes out generously topped and ready inside twenty minutes, which makes this counter a genuine option for fast carryout rather than a fallback. The vegan cheese pizza is a rarer offering in this category and comes recommended without qualification. This is quick-bite pizza done honestly.
What to orderMSP (Mushroom, Sausage, Pepperoni), Vegan Cheese Pizza, Pepperoni Pizza
№ 08
Dawghouse Pizza & Bar
$
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The pepperoni holds its own against the room's Hawaiian pie, which pairs pineapple and tomato in a way that wins over skeptics who expected otherwise. Both come out well cooked and reheat cleanly, a small but telling sign of crust quality. The wings, priced as whole wings but served as wingettes, are the one order to reconsider.
What to orderPepperoni pizza, Hawaiian pizza, Wings
№ 09
Luna Pizza Kitchen - Bethel Road Columbus
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Set in the Bethel Road shopping center, Luna runs a menu deep enough to include focaccia and calzone alongside its pizza, aimed at the plaza's foot traffic and third-party delivery orders. The website's time estimates run well behind actual readiness, so anyone ordering ahead should build in slack. The pizza itself holds up as a non-chain option worth the search.
What to orderpizza, focaccia, calzone
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The Thurman Burger is the reason this German Village room draws lines that stretch to an hour on a Saturday afternoon, and the wings and nachos back it up for anyone splitting a table. Newcomers describe the staff's welcome as immediate even amid a packed waiting room. This is Columbus tavern food written into the city's canon, burger first.
What to orderThurman Burger, wings, nachos
№ 11
Hounddog's Pizza
$$
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Tavern-style pizza is the point at Hounddog's, and the pepperoni and cheese versions earn steady praise even from diners who found the service uneven. Walk-ins get seated without trouble most nights, a detail that matters for a room built around casual, no-reservation pizza nights. The kitchen's consistency outpaces the front of house here.
What to ordertavern style pizza, pepperoni pizza, cheese pizza
№ 12
Mikey's Late Night Slice
$
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A gluten-free pizza option sets this late-night counter apart from most of the party-cut houses, and the whole pies ordered through delivery apps draw repeat cravings from regulars. It is built for late hours and casual gatherings rather than a sit-down dinner. The pizza itself is the consistent through-line across an otherwise divisive room.
What to orderpizza, gluten-free pizza, pie
Frequently asked
What makes a pizza Columbus-style rather than New York or Chicago style?
Columbus-style pizza uses a thin, cracker-crisp crust, toppings spread edge to edge rather than mounded in the center, and a party cut into squares instead of wedges. Smoked provolone and pepperoni that curls into little cups are common markers. It is a distinct regional style, not a lesser version of another city's pizza.
Where can I find Columbus-style pizza near me?
This guide covers rooms across the city of Columbus itself, from counter-service shops on Bethel Road to sit-down taverns in German Village. Check each entry's listed municipality before assuming it is downtown; some of the metro's best-known pizza houses sit in Bexley or Grandview Heights rather than the city proper.
How was this list put together?
Each restaurant carries an Insider Score built from the public review record, not a paid placement. No restaurant on this list paid to be included, and the write-ups draw only on signature dishes and patterns visible in customer feedback.
Is this list only the old-school pizza houses?
No. This guide mixes the party-cut tradition with newer counters, specialty-pizza shops, and neighborhood taverns that use pizza as their identity even if they did not open in the 1950s. Execution decides placement, not age.
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The data first, then the verdict
We start with the review record, not a press release. Every room here is a real kitchen with a strong rating across a meaningful number of reviews, ranked on our 10-point Insider Score. We weight consistency over time and the rooms locals return to, not the ones tourists pass through once. The list updates as the data does. How we work →
Ruth Ackermann
Staff Writer · Top of Columbus
Ruth Ackermann is the Food Editor at Top of Columbus. Raised in Merion Village in a family from the old German south side, she worked pastry and the line in two Short North kitchens before moving to the notebook. She covers the institutions, the chef-driven rooms, and every dining room where the occasion matters.
