Cuisine Scene: Pizza

Pizza is experiencing an undeniable renaissance in Long Beach, with restaurants serving up everything from wood-fired, thin crust artisanal pies to Chicago-style deep dish pizzas. Here you can find both new takes and old classics with unique toppings and date night-worthy settings. Read about these eateries tossing their own distinct versions of arguably the world’s most beloved culinary creation.

Whatever your preference, the plethora of pizza places in Long Beach serve up exactly what you’re craving in the 562.

TIME TESTED

Each of these have been serving the community deliciously for more than 50 years. Domenico’s (5339 E Second St). Domenico’s is Long Beach’s oldest restaurant and was one of the first to serve pizza in Southern California. Its ground pepperoni and ground sausage pies are absolutely iconic. Buono’s Pizzeria (250 W Ocean Blvd/401 W Willow St) uses old school methods in constructing pies. Hand-kneaded dough and homemade sauce is paired with fresh tomatoes and pan-roasted garlic. The mozzarella is fresh, as is the sausage.

CREATIVE & ARTISANAL

Thai Curry Pizza & Thai Food (929 Redondo Ave) offers unique toppings like cilantro, curry sauce, and basil in its Thai Curry Tofu Pizza and Tom Yum Pizza, while also serving up a variety of traditional Thai dishes. What most distinguishes Speak Cheezy (3950 E Fourth St) is its dough: delicious and tangy sourdough, righteously charred and bursting with buttery flavor. To produce such pies requires 120 hours of fermentation and you can taste each minute of care spent creating these masterpieces. At Pizza Parlor (2936 Clark Ave), pies are made with naturally leavened sourdough crust, and pizzas on the menu include the LA Taco, topped with birria, and the BTSC, with bechamel sauce, purple sweet potato, sausage, and jalapeño chilis.

NEAPOLITAN CLASSICS

Italy’s Naples is credited with inventing pizza and La Parolaccia (2945 E Broadway) has a loyal following in no small part because of its Neapolitan-style, woodfired pizzas, which present like works of art, whether Sofia’s combination of burrata, cherry tomatoes and Parma prosciutto, Burina’s spicy salami and arugula or the Totti’s fusion of half-pizza, half-calzone. One of the city’s most respected and honored restaurants, Michael’s on Naples (5620 E 2nd St) serves a Neapolitan-style pizza made from homemade dough, topped with locally-grown organic veggies and herbs from Michael’s own garden.

PIZZA AND BREW

Though it grew lightning fast as a brewery, Dutch’s Brewhouse (4244 Atlantic Ave) is as well-known, and loved, for its unique pizzas. Pair a pint with a slice topped with the likes of chicken, bacon, kettle chips, kimchi or rosemary potatoes. Long Beach Beer Lab (518 Willow St / 4000 E Anaheim St) offers a sourdough beer malt crust, which shines in their star-shaped Margherita pizza with its unique crust folded around the edges to create delightfully chewy points. If deep dish is your thing, Rance’s Chicago Pizza (5258 E 2nd St) in Belmont Shore is the place to go. Pair your pie with one of the variety of beers on tap, or order a flight of four to sample.

SOMETHING TO SEE

Little Coyote (3500 N Los Coyotes Diagonal/ 2118 E 4th St) offers wafer thin, New York-inspired pizzas, on a menu ranging from a Margherita to its signature White Pizza balancing spinach, ricotta, mozzarella and Calabrian chili with a creamy white sauce. Enjoy it outdoors at the shop and watch the Retro Row scene happen by. The 4th Horseman (121 W 4th St), serves a wide-ranging menu, including Frailty, which may be the best vegan pizza in town. Enjoy it in the shop, which is a tribute to horror movies and monsters of the past.

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About the Author

Steve Lowery

Steve Lowery is a longtime local. Over the years he has written for the Los Angeles Times, ESPN, and others. If you're looking for the hidden gems of Long Beach, Steve is your go-to.