Best Pizza in Northern Kentucky (The Local List — 11 Spots Worth Knowing)

Best Pizza in Northern Kentucky — 11 Spots That Earned It

A curated list of locally owned pizzerias in NKY worth knowing

Updated September 26, 2026

Looking for the best pizza in Northern Kentucky? The region doesn't borrow its pizza identity from across the river. It built its own: New York-style in Edgewood, Chicago deep dish in Florence, a national top pick in Dayton, and family shops in Bellevue and Florence that have outlasted everything around them.

The short answer: The best locally owned pizza in Northern Kentucky comes from Wayfarer Tavern (Dayton), Camporosso (Fort Mitchell), Cork-N-Crust (Bellevue), Tom's Papa Dino's (Florence), Fessler's Legendary Pizza & Hoagies (Bellevue), Noce's Pizzeria (Edgewood), Bourbon House Pizza (Florence and Newport), Strong's Brick Oven Pizzeria (Union and Newport), Mac's Pizza Pub (Covington's MainStrasse Village), Newport Pizza Company (Newport), and Poseidon's Pizza Company (Florence). Every one is locally owned. Eight of the eleven carry full wellfd reviews, drawn from wellfd's visits to more than 70 restaurants across Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky.

The Local List is wellfd's curated collection of independently owned restaurants that define a category in their region. No chains. No pay-to-play. No algorithms. Just places that earned their spot.

Anchors 🍕

Wayfarer Tavern

Dayton | Tavern-style hybrid, square cut | Known for: crispy cheese edges and the wagyu carpaccio

Owner Mike Dew built a pizza that belongs to no single school: Midwest tavern-style cut into squares, with South Shore bar pizza and Detroit-style crispy cheese edges in its DNA. It opened in 2025, and USA Today put it on its list of the best pizza in America. The Meatwad started as a seasonal special and stayed on by popular demand. Order the wagyu beef carpaccio even if you came for pizza. The 1884 Queen Anne building on Sixth Avenue once served as Dayton's city hall and is on the National Register of Historic Places. wellfd rates it Worth the Drive.

Camporosso

Fort Mitchell | Neapolitan wood-fired | Known for: Neapolitan pies and the pancetta bucatini

The most decorated pizzeria in Northern Kentucky, and the pizza lives up to every line of it. Eric and Amy Redfield converted a Depression-era Sunoco station on Dixie Highway into Pizza Today's 2024 Pizzeria of the Year, and Food & Wine named it the best pizza in Kentucky. The name is Italian for "red field," a nod to the family's own. Guy Fieri filmed a Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives episode here in 2025. Neapolitan-style wood-fired pies alongside scratch-made pasta. Parking can be a fight at peak hours, so plan for it. The pizza is worth the circling. Single independent location, opened 2017. wellfd rates it Worth a Short Detour.

Cork-N-Crust

Bellevue | Thin crust, Italian kitchen | Known for: the Bellevue pizza

An Italian kitchen that happens to make pizza, in an 1890 Victorian storefront on Fairfield Avenue. The Bellevue is the house best seller in both sizes: pepperoni, capicola, and Nueske bacon over Classico sauce on a crust thin enough to demand folding. The Chardonnay goes the other way, a Bianca base with roasted garlic, roasted mushroom, sun-dried tomato, shaved parmesan, and rosemary on a slightly stiffer crust. Every pie has a printed wine pairing, and the Bellevue's is Miller Lite. Leftovers reheat every bit as well. Use the side entrance. wellfd rates it Worth the Drive.

The Old Guard 🍕

Tom's Papa Dino's

Florence | Old-school family pizzeria | Known for: a family sauce recipe from Italy

A Florence icon. The Schwartz family has run it for more than 60 years on a sauce recipe that came over from Italy generations ago. The sauce runs sweet, and it isn't changing. At this age, that's a house decision, not a miss. Papa's Royal loads up the toppings, the jalapeño poppers arrive hot from the fryer with Jammer sauce, and the courtyard beer garden with live music is why the regulars stay. wellfd rates it If You're Nearby, and it keeps pulling us back anyway. That says as much as the tier does.

Fessler's Legendary Pizza & Hoagies

Bellevue | Old-school NKY pizza and hoagies | Known for: a thick, crunchy crust and the steak hoagie

The same family on the corner of Fairfield and Washington since 1963. Second-generation owners Paul and Connie Fessler dropped the old Pasquale's name, put the family name on the sign, and kept the menu as it was. The crust is thick, stiff, and crunchy, and the sauce stays in balance under a heavy pile of toppings. Goetta is a pizza topping here, which tells you where you are. Gluten-free and plant-based crusts available. Order at the counter, and don't look for a TV. wellfd rates it Worth a Short Detour.

The Style Specialists 🍕

Noce's Pizzeria

Edgewood | New York-style | Known for: the pepperoni pie

Jay Noce is from Syracuse, and he has been making New York-style pizza in Edgewood since 2008, usually with his own hands in the dough. Thin, foldable crust with a light char, balanced toppings, and a flour-dusted bottom that leaves no grease on your fingers. The plain pepperoni is the test, and it passes. Carryout and delivery only. Wait next door at the Edgewood Tavern and they'll bring the pies over. Eat it fresh. wellfd rates it Worth a Short Detour.

Bourbon House Pizza

Florence and Newport | Chicago deep dish and thin crust | Known for: the deep dish

Chicago native Mary Brandstetter opened in Florence in 2007 and brought real deep dish with her: sauce on top, homemade everything, and your choice of char on the crust. Budget 35 minutes for it. The thin crust pies come loaded, and the jalapeño cream cheese poppers arrive with a house hoppenjuans sauce made from strawberry and jalapeño jam. Still a family operation, with dough, sauce, and ranch made fresh daily. wellfd rates the Florence location Worth a Short Detour.

Strong's Brick Oven Pizzeria

Union and Newport | Old World brick oven | Known for: the meatballs and the Pizza alla Vodka

Brick oven pies with a light char and a crisp crust, from a locally grown group whose original shop sits in one of Newport's oldest standing buildings on Monmouth Street. The meatball appetizer is worth ordering: firm but tender, under melted mozzarella and shaved hard cheese, with a bright, chunky sauce and toasted bread. The Pizza alla Vodka is the house signature. A solid craft beer list rounds it out. wellfd rates it Worth a Short Detour.

Neighborhood Staples 🍕

Mac's Pizza Pub

Covington (MainStrasse Village) | Pizza pub | Known for: the deep-fried Macover calzone

Good food in one of Covington's best walking neighborhoods. Walk in expecting bar food and you'll leave planning the next visit. The Original Macover is the reason to come: a calzone you build with three fillings (ask for more), deep fried, then finished with garlic butter and parmesan. The Flying Pig piles sausage, pepperoni, bacon, and ham over a solid crust, and the dry-rubbed wings come with homemade ranch. Founded in 2005, with the MainStrasse location run by owners Jeremy and Mandy Siney. wellfd rates it Worth a Short Detour.

Newport Pizza Company

Newport | New York-leaning thin crust | Known for: the Highland Country Club pizza

A neighborhood pizza parlor on Monmouth Street since 2009, with a thin, New York-leaning crust that carries an almost buttery finish. It's known for making its own dough, sauce, and meatballs. The Highland Country Club pizza skips the sauce for turkey, bacon, lettuce, tomato, and homemade ranch. It has made Cincinnati Magazine's list of the best pizza places in the region. A hand-painted Cincinnati skyline mural, a bar, and its own parking lot, which on Monmouth counts for something.

Poseidon's Pizza Company

Florence | Carryout, New York-style and deep dish | Known for: the Joe Burrow pizza

A family carryout shop run by Jay and Savannah Bachmann since 2019, with the Bengals written onto the menu. The Joe Burrow, billed as the house MVP, stacks sausage, Ezzo pepperoni, crispy bacon, and banana peppers over pizza sauce with a ranch drizzle. Tee Higgins gets a pie too, built on ranch with chicken, bacon, and crushed Grippo chips. The IGY6, military shorthand for "I got your six," was named by Savannah's brother, a Marine wounded in Afghanistan, and part of every one sold goes to the Wounded Warrior Project. New York-style and deep dish on the same menu, military discounts, and a record of community fundraisers, including a 2025 drive the Joe Burrow Foundation backed. Carryout and delivery only. wellfd rates it Worth a Short Detour.

Quick Answers 🤌

What's the best pizza in Northern Kentucky?

Wayfarer Tavern in Dayton and Cork-N-Crust in Bellevue, wellfd's two Worth the Drive picks, sit about a mile apart. Camporosso in Fort Mitchell carries the national awards, including Pizza Today's 2024 Pizzeria of the Year, and the pizza backs them up.

Where can I get New York-style pizza in Northern Kentucky?

Noce's Pizzeria in Edgewood, run by a Syracuse native since 2008. Newport Pizza Company leans New York on Monmouth Street, and Poseidon's in Florence offers a New York-style crust.

Is there Chicago deep dish in Northern Kentucky?

Bourbon House Pizza in Florence and Newport, from a Chicago native. Allow 35 minutes. Poseidon's in Florence also offers deep dish for carryout.

What's the best pizza in Florence, KY?

Strong's Brick Oven in Union is a short drive down US 42 and worth it. In Florence itself, Bourbon House does deep dish, Poseidon's does carryout, and Tom's Papa Dino's brings more than 60 years of family history and a courtyard beer garden.

Which Northern Kentucky pizza place has a Joe Burrow pizza?

Poseidon's Pizza Company in Florence. The Joe Burrow is sausage, pepperoni, bacon, and banana peppers with a ranch drizzle, and there's a Tee Higgins pie on the menu too.

What are the oldest pizzerias in Northern Kentucky?

Tom's Papa Dino's in Florence has been family run for more than 60 years. Fessler's in Bellevue has been in the same family since 1963.

Where's the best pizza in Covington?

Mac's Pizza Pub in MainStrasse Village. Order the deep-fried Macover calzone. Camporosso is ten minutes up Dixie Highway in Fort Mitchell.

Which Northern Kentucky pizzeria was on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives?

Camporosso in Fort Mitchell, which filmed with Guy Fieri in 2025.

Where can I get gluten-free pizza in Northern Kentucky?

Fessler's in Bellevue offers gluten-free and plant-based crusts, though the kitchen notes that everything is prepared in a gluten environment.

Final Thought 🏁

Northern Kentucky pizza doesn't share a style. It shares staying power. Three of the pizzerias on this list sit within about a mile of each other on the Fairfield Avenue and Sixth Avenue stretch through Bellevue and Dayton, running from a 1963 family pizzeria to a 2025 opening that USA Today has already found. Headed that way, there's no reason to go anywhere else. Florence gives you deep dish, New York-style carryout, and a sauce recipe older than most of the town's strip malls, with Union's brick oven just down the road. The arguments here are as loud as anywhere else. The difference is that most of the people making the pizza are still standing behind the counter.

Why These? 🤌

wellfd has visited more than 70 restaurants across Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky. 10 of the 11 restaurants on this list carry a wellfd tier, from Worth the Drive down to If You're Nearby, and eight of them have full reviews behind that tier. The tiers are here on purpose, because a pizzeria can belong on a best-of list without being worth a long drive for everyone. Camporosso's and Poseidon's full reviews are still to come, but we've eaten at both, and both earned their spots at our table. Newport Pizza Company earns its place with a long run on Monmouth Street. wellfd doesn't rank restaurants against each other. These are simply the ones that belong.

Think We Missed One? 🤔

The Local List isn't exhaustive. It's curated. It evolves as the region does.

⭐ Vote on your favorite on the Best Of page

📍 Recommend a restaurant for possible inclusion on wellfd

Keep Exploring 🗺

• Best Pizza in Cincinnati
• Best Pizza in Dayton
• Best Pizza in Southeast Indiana

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