The Lehigh Valley’s 11 best pizzas, ranked for 2024 (2024)

Just under two months ago, we at lehighvalleylive.com asked our faithful readers to let us know where you pick up your favorite pizza in the Lehigh Valley. It kickstarted our journey across the region, trying 11 of the most popular pies per the poll and determining which one takes the pizza.

There were some overwhelming favorites among the results, but did they wind up living up to their reputation? We’ll see, but first some notes: To keep things uniform, we ordered one large plain pizza at every location. Certain places have certain specialties, and judging them off different types of pies would create too many variables. Everyone should be able to make a good plain pizza. It’s kind of like how bartenders test other bartenders by ordering a daiquiri — it provides a good overall baseline for quality and skill.

We also based our scores on four categories: cheese, sauce, crust and presentation. The score reflects the average of those four numbers (we went three decimal places deep).

We know pizza tastes vary, and everyone likes their pizza in a particular way. Our favorite might not be your favorite, and vice versa. But at the same time, most of the dough-slingers on our list make their pizza in a generally similar way, so the ones that rose to the top are probably going to be more of a safe bet.

Don’t agree with how we found things? Let us know. Email clagore@njadvancemedia.com if there’s a pizza we should’ve tried.

11. Hellertown Crossroads Hotel — 4.25

1443 Main St., Hellertown

It’s hard to put something last and not be too offensive, but there’s no way to soften the blow here. Crossroads, for as beloved an institution it is for Hellertown and the surrounding community, makes a pretty underwhelming pizza. It’s small and relatively bland in comparison to the other pies. Unfortunately, the worst part of the ‘za is its crust, not thin enough to be considered a thin-crust pie and not chewy enough to make for an enjoyable eating experience. Appropriately, every bite leaves you with an unsatisfying crunch.

10. Giovanni’s Pizza — 5.75

1001 N 19th St., Allentown

Given the popularity of Giovanni’s in our reader poll, I had pretty high expectations going in. But I was frankly a bit disappointed with the pie, which tasted like little more than the sum of its disparate parts. There wasn’t much cohesion to the slice. While cheese, sauce and crust were all varying levels of “just fine” on their own, the pizza as a whole didn’t really rise above that either.

9. Nicolosi’s Pizzeria and Restaurant — 5.875

1700 Sullivan Trail #3, Easton

I’m working really hard to divorce the quality of Nicolosi’s pizza with the quality of Nicolosi’s dining area, which is essentially a temple to the horror genre. Posters for movies like “Carrie” and “House of 1000 Corpses” line the wall, and plastic skeletons might outnumber the amount of people in the restaurant at any given time. But we’re here to talk about the pizza, which is pretty good. The taste won’t blow anyone away (though the sauce is a highlight and the crust is solid), but the slices are hearty with a good balance of flop and rigidity to its overall structure.

8. Frank’s Pizza and Italian Restaurant — 6.5

1250 US-22, Phillipsburg

Franks suffers from being in a bit of a hard-to-find locale (the deepest corner of a Phillipsburg strip mall) but it’s worth seeking out. It’s a quality pie that doesn’t stand out in any particular facet, but isn’t slacking in any either. Should you choose to dine in, the quaint digs have a nice ambience.

7. Steve’s Pizzeria — 6.875

1005 S Greenwood Ave., Easton

Located in a standalone building with a good interior atmosphere, Steve’s is a platonic ideal of a good pizza. Similar to Frank’s, maybe none of its individual ingredients stand out on their own. But it is altogether a good slice and a good whole pie (not to mention a pretty big one, which is important). It’s the kind of pizza that, when you open the box and gaze upon the melted cheese and flour-tinged crust, you know exactly how it’s going to taste: pretty damn good.

6. Slice of Italy — 7.125

5924 Tilghman St., Allentown

Good ‘za! It might be on the absolute edge of the Lehigh Valley, but it’s one of the region’s better pies. It gets docked some points because it’s tough to judge the cheese when it’s doused in oregano. But besides a little over-herbing, the pie has a strong identity and a great crust with the right amount of char to give it a bitter note that goes well with the slightly sweet sauce.

5. Dom’s Westgate Pizza — 7.625

2335 Schoenersville Rd., Bethlehem

Dom’s Westgate Pizza is located, as one might guess, in the Westgate Mall. It has arguably the best crust on this list, certainly in the top three. The cheese and sauce are fine, but every bite of the pie’s overall structure is the perfect amount of chewy and tasty. It’s tough in a rewarding way, you’ve got to work for a bite this good. A great eating experience, which is good! Because pizza is supposed to be a great experience.

4. Villa Grande Pizzeria — 7.75

225 W Northampton St., Bath

If Steve’s is the platonic ideal of a pizza, Villa Grande is the platonic ideal of a great pizza. An even layer of sauce topped with a coating of tasty cheese is buoyed by a crust that finds a solid middle ground between thin and tough and soft and chewy. Villa Grande was the highest vote-getter in our initial poll, so it came in with high expectations. Maybe fourth seems a bit too low, but it largely delivered. Get it, delivered?

3. Pizza Joe’s Italian Restaurant — 7.875

550 S Main St., Nazareth

There’s not a lot of separation between the top five pizzas on this list, and for good reason. They’re all good. Pizza is, by and large, pretty darn good. Great, even. So here’s a bold statement: this is actually the pound-for-pound best pizza on this list. It’s got the best combination of cheese and sauce, both with regards to taste and amount. It’s tied for the best crust (more on that later) because of, again, it’s strength in both taste and structure. The only issue is that it’s too small. It left us wanting more! This exact pizza but perhaps two inches bigger all the way around would likely blow the rest of the competition out of the water.

2. Affinito’s Pizza Parlor and Cafe — 8

1328 Chestnut St., Emmaus

The most surprising pie on the list was from Affinito’s, located deep in Emmaus. Affinito’s standard large pizza, dotted with splotches of juicy tomato sauce and thick tomato chunks, has the most impressive physical presentation — which earned it major points. It helps that it tastes great as well, with an exceptional (if a bit thin) crust to go along with the sauce. The cash-only parlor has one of the better dining atmospheres as well.

1. Moonlight Pizza — 8.125

301 S Robinson Ave., Pen Argyl

Moonlight Pizza, a popular entry into the reader poll that gained quite a bit of goodwill recently, is well worth the degree of difficulty of acquisition. The shop’s phone line opens at 2 p.m. to reserve a pie baked from Moonlight’s limited daily dough, but you’re almost assuredly going to run into a busy signal on your first few tries — plenty of others are dialing in for the same thing. Other than rather thin layer of cheese, everything about this pizza tops nearly every category. The crust is the star of the show, which is distinct in its thinner center and full outer edge that cradles the ingredients perfectly. Topped with basil leaves, the pie is also quite a looker, making it almost too pretty to eat. But having tried it I can assure you, you should definitely eat it.

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Connor Lagore may be reached at clagore@njadvancemedia.com.