Come on down (and come hungry) for these delicious local pizzas.
Good morning! Today is Wednesday, September 21. You’re reading today’s edition of Examiner+, our bonus content newsletter for members.
Community support is key to funding our local news mission. If you haven’t joined already, become a member now with our free 30-day trial offer to gain full access to all of our content and receive thank-you perks throughout the year like free monthly show tickets.
“The best pizza places south of White Plains!”
“14 out of 15 are south of 287. Try driving north.”
These were a few of the comments I received after my vegetarian’s guide to the top 15 pizza places in Westchester County was published in July of 2021. I still contend the list’s central to southern concentration was defensible – that’s where most of the county’s population is, and that’s where most highly regarded pizzerias happen to be. Look at lists published by other county publications, and you’ll find a similar bias.
But these commenters did have a point, especially since I live in White Plains and grew up in Hastings-on-Hudson. South of I-287, I have at some point made it to most (though not all) of the acclaimed pizza joints and trattorias worthy of consideration. But where cities turn to horse farms in the northern part of the county, there were many pies I had neglected.
I immediately messaged publisher Adam Stone with a new pitch, and that was where this article was born. I sought recommendations from friends, acquaintances, and strangers on Twitter, read Yelp reviews, sought out other publications’ best-of lists, and over the course of a year, tried dozens of new pies.
I discovered that some of the best pizza in the county, of all styles, can be found in Northern Westchester. From upscale ristorante’s to hole-in-the-wall slice joints, quiet trattorias to corner shops packed with high schoolers on their lunch breaks, one need not leave upper Westchester for pizza of the highest quality. Of course, I couldn’t try every place, but I got enough of a sampling that this list had its fair share of painful omissions (in no particular order, Sette E Venti in Bedford, Capri Pizzeria in Ossining, Malitos in Millwood, Lucia in Bedford, Pizza Parlor in Chappaqua, Capriccio in Croton, Il Forno in Somers, Avellino’s in Montrose, and Pizza Station in Katonah, and a couple mentioned below in Yorktown just to name a few).
10. Oscar’s Italian Restaurant, Yorktown Heights
Within the length of two football fields on Saw Mill River Road in Yorktown are three superb slice shops. Up the road, near the Triangle Shopping Center, is Maria’s Pizza, whose football-sized slices sacrifice nothing in quality to achieve their massive proportion. About a three-minute walk down to Commerce Street is Yorktown Pizza and Pasta, another stellar neighborhood pizzeria. Either could be on this list.
But Oscar’s gets the nod here. Their plain slice is good enough, but it is their square thin Sicilian pies, with toppings like crispy fried eggplant and caramelized onions, that separates them from the bunch.
The thin square slices at Oscar’s and its location near the Triangle Shopping Center were familiar to me when I stopped in while researching for this article. For years it was the site of Three Boys from Italy, one of my favorite stops between Mt. Kisco and Mahopac on my old paper route. As I learned, Oscar’s owner, Oscar Aguilar, was an employee at Three Boys before buying the place in 2016. Aguilar has kept up the quality, and Oscar’s remains one of the best pizzerias in the area.
9. Trattoria 632, Purchase
The personal pizzas at this trattoria, called pizzettes, have a crunchier crust than a traditional Neapolitan pie. The crust was a bit crispier than I typically like, but the fresh mozzarella, basil, and plum tomatoes on the margarita pie more than made up for it. Fresh ingredients are important, but a great pizza is even better than the sum of its parts. That was the case here.
I’ve read in other publications that the pizzettes are “perfect for sharing,” but I couldn’t help but finish the pie myself. And with other great-looking vegetarian options like the Carpino with goat cheese, fontina, caramelized onions, and shitake mushrooms; the avocado with baby arugula and cherry tomatoes; and the roasted eggplant, I could have happily gone for a second.
8. Peppino’s Pizza, Somers
I first became a Peppino’s enthusiast in high school after stopping there by chance on a trip to Mahopac to watch a Section 1 playoff football game. My friends and I were so impressed that we began making semi-regular pilgrimages, making the 45-minute trip up the Taconic from Hastings-on-Hudson just to grab a couple of slices and go home.
I made the somewhat shorter voyage, this time from White Plains, to make sure the pizza lived up to my memory. Peppino’s, right on the border of Mahopac, is an exemplar of a neighborhood pizzeria and then some. It knocks any normal pizzeria fare — the plain slice, Sicilian, the margarita — out of the park. But it goes beyond what you expect with creations like the zucchini pan pizza with mozzarella, olive oil, and grated cheese. They even have an artichoke pizza with a white sauce.
Peppino’s is somewhat of a hidden gem – though it always has a sizable lunchtime crowd, I have rarely seen it discussed among the best pizza in the area. Maybe that is because it is somewhat off the beaten path in Baldwin Place, tucked behind a Chili’s off Route 6. Still, it’s a can’t-miss spot for a simple slice or for something a bit more creative.
7. Arthur Avenue Wood Fired Pizza, Pleasantville
When one goes out for pizza for dinner, it can generally mean one of two things. Either they want to pop into their local slice shop, point to the freshest looking slice in the display case, pay at the counter, and eat a slice or two on a wobbly table, or they make a reservation at an upscale trattoria and pay $9 for draft beers to go with their personal Neapolitan pies fresh out the oven.
What makes this restaurant a rarity is that it combines the atmosphere of the former with the style and quality of the latter. Walk into Arthur Avenue Wood Fired Pizza, and you feel like you’re walking into a small pizza shop – pies on display behind a glass case, the soda fridge, the pizzeria tables with red-and-white checkered tablecloths. But what comes out of their 800-degree wood-fired ovens are fresh 10- or 12-inch Neapolitan style pies, and some of the best in the county, with a thin and chewy crust and topped with San Marzano tomatoes.
Brian Peroni, a Bronx native who moved to White Plains, opened the pizzeria in 2017.
6. EATalia on Hudson, Croton
EATalia’s pies are also considered Neapolitan, but the style is very different than those of Arthur Avenue or other top-notch Neapolitans. Instead of soft and chewy, the crust is firm, a bit crisp though not quite crunchy. Crisp Neapolitan pies can sometimes be dry and tough, but that isn’t the case at all here; EATalia’s crust is firm and flavorful.
The fusion of cheese and sauce is what truly made EATalia stand out. I ordered the most basic pie, the margarita, with San Marzano tomatoes, basil, and fresh mozzarella. Fresh mozzarella on margarita pizza is nothing unusual, but this one stood out. Neapolitan pies with fresh mozzarella, even the best, sometimes lack the stereotypical cheesiness one associates with a pizzeria slice but makes up for it in the quality of the cheese. EATalia’s seemed to combine both for a unique flavor.
The personal pies are fairly large, and despite badly wanting to try another pie like the Bianco with ricotta, provolone, mozzarella, and fresh garlic, I stuck to just one pizza. I was quite proud of my self-discipline, at least for a moment, until the waiter came to take my plate.
“You finished the whole pie yourself?” he asked. “Most people don’t do that.”
5. Lucy’s Pizza, Ossining
When I visited Lucy’s Pizza during the weekday lunch rush, the place was packed with students at the nearby Ossining High School. Lucy’s is just a five-minute walk from the high school, a prime spot to cater to hungry teens on their 40-minute lunch break. In that location, a pizzeria could likely put Ragu on Wonder bread and top it with Polly-O string cheese and still see a steady stream of customers.
Instead, Lucy’s churns out some of the best plain slices that can be found in the county. There is nothing really fancy about these pies. Simply, Lucy’s is the paragon of what a New York slice of pizza ought to be. The crust is soft but firm — a little crunch, but not at all soggy. It is cheesy without being overly greasy, with enough cheese to taste in every bite but not so much that it overflows onto the plate.
I also tried a salad slice and a ziti slice – both were good, but neither stood out like the plain. For a plain slice, Lucy’s is among the best in the county.
4. Fortina, Armonk (and other locations)
Fortina has a different vibe than most of the sit-down restaurants on this and the countywide list specializing in personal Neapolitan-style pies. There’s nothing stuffy about this restaurant — its high ceilings recall a warehouse or beer hall, and pies are served atop empty tomato cans.
The quality of the pies is up there with just about any Neapolitan in the county. The star here is the Luigi Bianco, or the LB, topped with swirls of black truffle and burrata alongside robiola and parmesan cheese. If truffle is not your thing, the margarita and the Original Famous Ray’s, the closest thing to a plain slice, are also top-notch. And don’t limit yourself to pizza – the pasta dishes are also excellent, and the piatto di verdura is an excellent option if you’re looking for fresh vegetables.
3. Hawthorne Pizzeria
I had to double-check the address when I arrived at Hawthorne Pizzeria. The faded red-and-green awning said Hawthorne Pizzeria, but there was little from the outside to suggest that this was the best pizza the hamlet had to offer.
That changed once the slices – I ordered a plain and a spinach slice — were put in front of me. Opened in 1984, two years before I was born, the pizza at Hawthorne is pizzeria pizza done perfectly. The slices are large, though nothing like the giant slices found at Maria’s. They are soft but a tad sturdier than those at Lucy’s, with a little bit of a crunch but no hint of dryness.
Hawthorne Pizzeria is around 15 minutes from my home, closer than most places on the list, so it is a frequent lunch stop for me when I am craving a slice and willing to drive a bit. I’ve tried many different slices, and none has disappointed.
2. Zero Otto Nove, Armonk
Zero Otto Nove’s original location on Arthur Avenue in the Bronx has long been one of my favorites in all of New York City, both for its Neapolitan pizzas and its homemade pasta. But until researching this article, I had never tried the Armonk offshoot, a mere 15-minute drive from my home. And when I finally did make a reservation, a part of me hoped that it would be a small step down in quality from the original and that I would not be faced with a top-of-the-list entry that is an offshoot of a Bronx pizzeria.
No such luck — the pies at Armonk are just as exceptional as those spun in Belmont, making them among the best in the county. They feature a soft chewable crust without any hint of sogginess, the mark of a top-notch Neapolitan. What makes these pies stand out further is the perfectly charred bottom crust, unlocking the flavors of the dough.
Were this dough topped with ketchup and Kraft singles, it would still all-in-all make for a very tasty pie. But Zero Otto Nove features fresh ingredients and creative and unusual toppings. I tried the margarita, and it was excellent, but they also feature vegetarian options like the quattro latte pizza with a black truffle puree and the la Cirilo pizza with butternut squash puree and cream of truffle.
1. Mario’s Pizza, Mount Kisco
Mario’s, a small storefront near the Mount Kisco train station, was number six on my countywide list and the highest-ranked spot in the north, so no surprise at the top of this list.
What impresses me about Mario’s is the crust —it has a light, thin, chewy texture like a Neapolitan, but in a full-sized pie. This is no small task — even some good personal Neapolitan pies get soft and soggy near the center, so creating a pizzeria-sized pie that is firm throughout is no easy task. That’s why Mario’s gets the nod over other slice shops like Lucy’s and Hawthorne — it goes beyond a perfectly executed classic slice and features a unique offering.
The plain and margarita at Mario’s are generally enough for me, but Mario’s also offers interesting veggie-topped options like the white pizza with broccoli.
There are many great spots in Northern Westchester, but none anywhere in the county is quite like Mario’s.
So if I were redoing my initial countywide list, what would I do differently? First, I’d expand it to a top 20. Zero Otto Nove, Hawthorne Pizzeria, Lucy’s, and EATalia would all likely make the list. And another southern Westchester spot — Gino’s Pizzeria in Yonkers — that I finally got around to trying after the list was published should have been on there and ranked high. There are still many pizzas in the county I have yet to try, so feel free to drop your suggestions in the comments below.
Andrew Vitelli is the former editor of The Putnam Examiner and The White Plains Examiner. A Hastings-on-Hudson native, he now lives in White Plains with his wife, Zeynep, three-year-old daughter, Zoe, and their dog Beasley.
Examiner Media – Keeping you informed with professionally-reported local news, features, and sports coverage.
We'd love for you to support our work by joining as a free, partial access subscriber, or by registering as a full access member. Members get full access to all of our content, and receive a variety of bonus perks like free show tickets. Learn more here.
