Newark sits well outside the Outerbelt, but its pizza houses run on the same square cut and edge-to-edge toppings that define the style back in Columbus. This list weighs the long-running local shops against the newer wood-fired room, judged on crust, sauce, and whether the pie holds up on the ride home.
№ 01
Elliot's Wood Fired Kitchen & Tap
Newark $$
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The goat cheese red pepper pizza is the reason to know this name. Elliot's runs a patio room with live music, a departure from the square-cut tradition toward a wood-fired crust with char and blister. The margherita holds its own too. Parking is easy on a weeknight and the room stays unhurried even when the music is going.
What to ordergoat cheese red pepper pizza, margherita pizza, wood-fired pizza
№ 02
Plaza Pizza - Newark
Newark $
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Plaza Pizza has held its Newark customers for decades, the kind of shop people default to on every visit home even after moving away. The cheese and pepperoni pies are straightforward and familiar rather than showy. Pickup orders can run behind at peak times, so calling ahead matters more here than the menu does.
What to ordercheese pizza, pepperoni pizza, specialty pizza
№ 03
Christy’s Pizza
Newark $$
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Christy's leans toward a thin, crunchy crust rather than the cracker-snap some Columbus-style houses chase, cut into the region's traditional squares. The salad and garlic bread round out a family dinner without fuss. Service can slow the wait to fifteen or twenty minutes at busy hours, but the room stays clean and the pizza is consistently solid.
What to orderpizza, salad, garlic bread
№ 04
Don & Sue's Pizza Plus
Newark $
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Pepperoni and banana pepper is the order regulars name first, and the sauce is what keeps them coming back. Don and Sue's also runs calzones, subs, and burgers, a wider net than a pure pizza shop. The atmosphere is unfussy and the service has earned loyalty from a neighborhood crowd that treats it as a standing weeknight option.
What to orderpepperoni and banana pepper pizza, calzone, sub
№ 05
Louie's Pizza
Newark $$
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Louie's has served the same thin, crunchy crust for over five decades, and the consistency is the whole pitch: it tastes the same visit to visit. This is a New York-style lean rather than the deep-dish comparisons other cities chase, built for takeout, with fresh toppings on cheese and pepperoni pies that longtime customers call the best in town.
What to orderNY-style thin crust pizza, cheese pizza, pepperoni pizza
№ 06
Debra's Pizza
Newark $
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Debra's built its reputation on a recipe with roots in a previous local pizza shop, and most regulars say the sauce and topping choices still land well pickup after pickup. Garlic bread and salad round out the order. One account suggests a recipe shift from the earlier ownership, worth noting for anyone chasing a specific memory of the old version.
What to orderpizza, garlic bread, salad
№ 07
Dirko's Pizza
Newark
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The Kitchen Sink Pizza arrives heavy enough to surprise anyone expecting a standard pie, loaded well past the usual toppings. Dirko's also turns out a stromboli and mac and cheese bites that travelers passing through Newark have singled out. The menu runs deep with pasta and family meal options, built for group hunger rather than a quick solo slice.
What to orderstromboli, Kitchen Sink Pizza, mac n' cheese bites
№ 08
Too Talls Pizza
Newark $
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Too Talls works out of a small storefront but delivers a supreme value on cheese and pepperoni pies that a work lunch crowd has praised as fantastic without being greasy or oversweet. One account flagged a doughy crust and light sauce on an off visit, worth weighing against the otherwise strong word of mouth from office orders.
What to ordercheese pizza, pepperoni pizza, supreme pizza
№ 09
Bavellie's Pizzeria
Newark
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The supreme pizza and a crust worth noting draw first-time visitors in for a quick order, with a Chicken Parm sub and Buffalo wings rounding out the menu. A Johnstown location also has a loyal weekly DoorDash following. Wing fans should expect flats over drumettes, since portioning has drawn mixed marks from regulars.
What to orderSupreme pizza, Buffalo wings, Chicken Parm sub
№ 10
Marco's Pizza
Newark $$
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Marco's traditional-style pizza draws praise for tasting genuinely like pizza should, a relief to customers burned by other fast-food chains. Boneless chicken and salad round out a menu built for a fast, inexpensive meal. The boneless chicken runs spicy by default, so anyone ordering for a mild palate should ask before assuming a plain version.
What to ordertraditional-style pizza, boneless chicken, salad
Frequently asked
What is the best Columbus-style pizza near me in Newark?
Louie's Pizza and Plaza Pizza carry the longest local track records in Newark, while Elliot's Wood Fired Kitchen & Tap offers a wood-fired departure from the traditional square-cut style. Each restaurant here is ranked using the Insider Score, which weighs the full public review record. No restaurant pays to be listed or ranked higher.
Is Newark pizza the same as Columbus-style pizza?
Not exactly. Columbus-style pizza is defined by a thin, crisp crust, edge-to-edge toppings, and a party cut into squares. Several Newark shops on this list, including Christy's and Plaza Pizza, follow that square-cut tradition, while Elliot's uses a wood-fired approach that departs from it.
Which Newark pizza places are best for takeout?
Louie's Pizza, Debra's Pizza, and Too Talls Pizza are built around pickup and delivery rather than dine-in seating. Don & Sue's Pizza Plus and Bavellie's Pizzeria also handle a heavy takeout and delivery volume alongside their limited seating.
How is the Insider Score calculated for these Newark pizza restaurants?
The Insider Score is built from the full public review record for each restaurant, not a single visit or a paid placement. It reflects patterns across many customer accounts, weighing consistency and volume rather than any one glowing or critical review.
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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.