New Jersey takes pizza more seriously than almost any state, and Jersey City holds what is arguably the most acclaimed pizzeria in the country. That is not local boosterism – it is a matter of record, and it makes pizza the single strongest food story this city has.

This guide covers the destination pizza, the neighbourhood slice places people actually eat at week to week, and how to tell the two apart. Everything named was verified before publishing, and where we could not confirm an address we have said so rather than guessed. For which place is on form right now, ask the Jersey City neighbors.

Razza – 275-277 Grove St

★★ The reason people cross the Hudson to eat pizza in New Jersey. Chef Dan Richer is a six-time James Beard Award nominee, and Razza carries two credentials that essentially nothing else in the category can claim:

★ It is the only pizzeria ever to receive a three-star review from The New York Times. Three stars is a rating normally reserved for serious fine dining, and no other pizza restaurant has been given it.

★ It was named Best Pizza in North America by 50 Top Pizza in 2019.

What it actually is: a wood-fired, seasonally driven kitchen – the menu changes with what is available, the dough is the point, and the restaurant treats bread-making as the foundation of everything rather than a vehicle for toppings. Expect a short menu and real attention to sourcing.

Hours: Monday to Thursday 5pm to 10pm, Friday and Saturday 3pm to 10pm, Sunday 3pm to 9pm. ⚠️ Practical warning: it is not a large room and it is genuinely in demand. Plan the evening around it – go early, or accept a wait. This is not a walk-in-and-grab-a-slice place, and turning up at 8pm on a Saturday expecting to be seated is the most common mistake people make here. Our Downtown guide covers the rest of Grove Street.

The neighbourhood pizzerias

Razza is the destination. What most people in Jersey City actually eat is the neighbourhood slice, and two names dominate local search: Pizza Master and Krispy Pizza. Both are searched heavily by residents rather than visitors, which is usually a good sign about a slice place. We are naming them without publishing street numbers we could not individually confirm – a wrong address is worse than none.

What to expect from a good New Jersey slice place: a plain slice as the benchmark, reheated properly rather than served lukewarm, sold by the slice at the counter through the day. If a place is busy at 2pm on a weekday, the turnover is high and the slices are fresh – that is the most reliable signal there is.

How to tell destination pizza from slice pizza

These are different products and judging one by the standards of the other is how people end up disappointed.

Destination pizza – Razza – is a whole pie, made to order, eaten at a table, with a short seasonal menu and prices closer to a restaurant meal than a snack. You book it, you sit down, and you order the way you would at any restaurant.

Slice pizza is bought at a counter, often reheated, eaten quickly or taken away, and costs a few dollars. It is judged on consistency and on the plain slice rather than on ambition.

Jersey City is unusual in having both at a high level within a small area. Order accordingly: do not walk into Razza wanting a quick slice, and do not judge a corner pizzeria for not being Razza.

The Jersey City Pizza Festival

Worth knowing about if you are planning a visit around food: the city runs a pizza festival, which is exactly the sort of event that tells you how seriously the category is taken locally. Dates move year to year, so confirm before travelling – our events guide covers the wider calendar, and the community feed will know the current date before any published listing does.

Pizza in context: New Jersey and the Hudson

Some useful framing. New Jersey has a genuine and distinct pizza tradition – including the tomato pie, where the cheese goes down first and the tomato on top, a style with deep roots in the state – and it sits in the orbit of the New York slice without being a copy of it.

Jersey City’s particular advantage is that it gets both traditions plus a serious wood-fired restaurant, all within a compact area reachable on the PATH. If you are visiting from Manhattan specifically to eat, this is a legitimate trip rather than a novelty – which is not something you could have said about the city twenty years ago.

What pizza costs here

A slice runs a few dollars and a full pie from a neighbourhood pizzeria generally lands in the $20 to $30 range. Razza prices as a restaurant rather than a pizzeria – two people ordering a couple of pies plus a starter and drinks will realistically be in the $90 to $140 range.

In a city where the cost-of-living index sits around 141 and average rent is near $3,764, the slice counter remains one of the genuinely cheap pleasures – see our cost of living guide.

Practical notes

Book Razza or go early. This is the single most useful piece of advice on this page.

Take the PATH. Grove Street puts you in the middle of the downtown food scene, and parking there is difficult and expensive.

Judge a slice place on the plain slice. Toppings hide a lot; a plain slice hides nothing.

Busy is good. High turnover means fresh pies rather than slices sitting under a lamp.

More Jersey City guides

Keep going with restaurants in Jersey City, the Downtown guide, the Journal Square guide, the Heights guide, brunch, coffee shops, bars, things to do, events, date ideas, the best neighborhoods and moving to Jersey City.

Frequently asked questions about pizza in Jersey City

What is the best pizza in Jersey City?

Razza at 275-277 Grove St, and it is not a close call. Chef Dan Richer is a six-time James Beard Award nominee, and Razza is the only pizzeria ever to receive a three-star review from The New York Times, as well as being named Best Pizza in North America by 50 Top Pizza in 2019. It is wood-fired and seasonally driven, with a short menu built around the dough.

What are Razza’s hours?

Monday to Thursday 5pm to 10pm, Friday and Saturday 3pm to 10pm, and Sunday 3pm to 9pm, at 275-277 Grove Street. It is a small room and heavily in demand, so plan the evening around it – go early or expect to wait. Turning up at 8pm on a Saturday hoping to be seated is the most common mistake visitors make.

Is Razza worth crossing from Manhattan for?

Yes, and that is a reasonable question to ask rather than a rhetorical one. It is the only pizzeria to hold a three-star New York Times review and was named Best Pizza in North America by 50 Top Pizza in 2019, and the Grove Street PATH station makes the trip short. Treat it as a restaurant booking rather than a casual slice run.

Where do locals go for a slice in Jersey City?

Pizza Master and Krispy Pizza are the two names that dominate local search, and heavy resident search is usually a good signal for a slice place. We have deliberately not published street numbers for these that we could not individually confirm. The reliable test for any New Jersey slice place is the plain slice, and whether the counter is busy in the middle of a weekday – high turnover means fresh pies rather than slices sitting under a lamp.

What is the difference between destination pizza and slice pizza?

They are different products. Destination pizza, like Razza, is a whole pie made to order and eaten at a table, with a short seasonal menu and restaurant pricing. Slice pizza is bought at a counter, often reheated, eaten quickly, and costs a few dollars – judged on consistency and on the plain slice rather than ambition. Jersey City is unusual in having both at a high level in a small area, so order according to which one you actually want.

What is a New Jersey tomato pie?

A distinct regional style in which the cheese goes down first and the tomato goes on top, rather than the other way round. It has deep roots in New Jersey, and it is part of why the state has a genuine pizza tradition of its own rather than simply borrowing the New York slice.

How much does pizza cost in Jersey City?

A slice runs a few dollars, and a full pie from a neighbourhood pizzeria generally lands between $20 and $30. Razza prices as a restaurant rather than a pizzeria – two people ordering a couple of pies with a starter and drinks will realistically spend $90 to $140. In a city with a cost-of-living index around 141, the slice counter remains one of the genuinely cheap pleasures.

Is there a pizza festival in Jersey City?

Yes, the city runs a pizza festival, which is itself a decent indication of how seriously the category is taken locally. Dates move from year to year, so confirm before planning travel around it – the community feed will generally know the current date before published listings do.