Best Pizza in Birmingham AL: A Local’s 2026 Guide
Birmingham, AL · The Local Guide
Somewhere across Birmingham right now, a wood-fired oven is climbing past 800 degrees while, a few miles away, a cracker-thin crust crisps in a Mountain Brook booth that hasn't changed since 1964.
This city doesn't do one kind of pizza, and that's the whole appeal. The best pizza in Birmingham AL runs from square-cut thin crust in Mountain Brook Village to naturally leavened Neapolitan at Pepper Place, with a craft-beer slice house, a giant homemade pie, and a downtown wood-fire in between. Below is where locals actually go — what to order at each, where to leave the car, and how to thread a few of them into one very good night.
01 — The OriginalThin-crust royalty in Mountain Brook
Start where the city's pizza memory starts. Davenport's has been turning out its signature cracker-thin, square-cut pies from the same corner of Mountain Brook Village since 1964, and the recipe hasn't wandered. The crust shatters, the sausage is generous, and the room is small enough that you'll want a reservation-free early arrival more than a strategy.
Davenport's Pizza Palace
2837 Cahaba Road, Mountain Brook. Order the sausage or the supreme, ask for it well-done if you like the edges crackly, and don't overthink it — this is a plate of nostalgia that happens to be delicious.
02 — The NeapolitanNinety seconds at Pepper Place
For the opposite end of the spectrum, head to Bettola in the Martin Biscuit Building at Pepper Place. Chef James Lewis builds naturally fermented dough with Caputo flour and fires each pie in a brick oven brought over from Naples, which means your Margherita blisters and chars in roughly ninety seconds. It's the kind of simple that takes years to get right.
Bettola
2901 2nd Avenue South. Get the Margherita or whatever pie is running with the day's produce, and leave room for the antipasti. The bar pours a smart, Italian-leaning list if you're making an evening of it.
03 — The Slice HouseNew York style with its own beer
Lakeview's Slice Pizza & Brew is the move when you want a big foldable New York slice and a cold pint you can't get anywhere else. The kitchen turns out generous pies and by-the-slice options, and the attached Slice Beer Company brews the taps in house. The patio is roomy, which makes it a reliable pick for a group that can't agree on much beyond pizza.
Slice Pizza & Brew
725 29th Street South. A couple of slices at lunch land fast; a full pie and a flight is the better play at night. Ask what's fresh on the house taps.
04 — The Big PieHomemade and huge near Railroad Park
If your table wants heft, Tortugas Homemade Pizza on Southside has been stacking thick, loaded pies since 2017. It sits blocks from Railroad Park and Regions Field, which makes it a smart pre-game stop — fuel up here, then walk over for Barons baseball without moving the car.
Tortugas Homemade Pizza
1304 2nd Avenue South (there's a second location in Hoover on John Hawkins Parkway). Go for a specialty pie and split it — these are not modest portions. Two people can share one and still take a box home.
05 — The Downtown RoomWood-fire on Morris Avenue
The newest name on this list is also one of the prettiest rooms. Wooden City opened in early 2025 in a historic building on cobblestoned Morris Avenue, and its wood-fired pizzas share the menu with a genuinely ambitious small-plates list. It's a dinner-out spot as much as a pizza spot, which is exactly why it earns a place downtown.
Wooden City
2335 Morris Avenue. The wood-fired pies are the anchor, but the kitchen's small plates are worth the detour — think beyond pepperoni and let someone at the table order adventurously.
06 — The Artisan280 and Uptown at the BJCC
Capella Pizzeria makes some of the metro's most technical pizza — naturally leavened dough, San Marzano tomatoes, Caputo flour and buffalo mozzarella, with ingredients flown in from Italy on a weekly rhythm. The original sits in Inverness Village on Highway 280, and the Uptown location at the BJCC is a quietly perfect pre-show dinner before a concert at Legacy Arena.
Capella Pizzeria
4700 US-280 (Inverness) and 2311 Richard Arrington Jr. Blvd N (Uptown/BJCC), with a Trussville spot too. The Margherita shows off the dough; the specials show off the kitchen.
“A great pizza night in Birmingham isn't one address — it's the drive between them.”
07 — The MapWhere to eat, by neighborhood
Planning around where you already are? Here's the short version. In Mountain Brook, it's Davenport's for thin crust. At Pepper Place and on Southside, Bettola and Tortugas cover Neapolitan and giant-homemade respectively. Lakeview is Slice territory. Downtown on Morris Avenue belongs to Wooden City. Out on Highway 280 and up at the BJCC, Capella is your pick.
Over in Cahaba Heights, don't sleep on Troup's Pizza at 3144 Heights Village, where chef Terrill Brazelton turns out specialty pies, sandwiches and salads to a loyal Vestavia crowd. It rounds out a metro map that gives you a worthy pizza within about fifteen minutes of almost anywhere in town.
08 — The PlanA perfect Birmingham pizza crawl
- 5:30 pmKick off at Davenport's in Mountain Brook Village for a shared thin-crust starter while the room's still quiet.
- 7:00 pmRoll to Pepper Place and settle in at Bettola for a wood-fired Margherita and a glass of something Italian.
- 8:30 pmFinish downtown on Morris Avenue at Wooden City — a last pie, a few small plates, and a nightcap in a beautiful old room.
- LateEveryone home safe — no designated driver, no circling for a downtown space.
09 — Make It EffortlessLet us drive the pizza tour
Three neighborhoods, three ovens, one evening — that's a lovely plan and a genuinely annoying parking problem. This is where a Van Go Luxe Sprinter earns its keep. Our 2026 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter seats up to 10, comes self-drive or with a chauffeur, and turns Mountain Brook to Pepper Place to Morris Avenue into a single smooth ride with nobody stuck as the designated driver. It's just as easy for a team dinner or a birthday as it is for a crawl — you pick the stops, we handle the rest.
Best Pizza in Birmingham FAQ
What's the most famous pizza in Birmingham?
Davenport's Pizza Palace in Mountain Brook Village is the city's longest-running favorite, serving its signature cracker-thin, square-cut pies since 1964.
Where's the best wood-fired or Neapolitan pizza in Birmingham?
Bettola at Pepper Place is the standard-bearer, with naturally fermented Caputo-flour dough fired in a brick oven from Naples. Capella Pizzeria and Wooden City are excellent wood-fired options too.
Can you do a pizza tour across Birmingham in one night?
Yes. Cluster Southside, Lakeview, Pepper Place and downtown so you're never driving far, start early to beat the dinner rush, and book a Sprinter so the whole group rides together without worrying about parking or a designated driver.
Ready to ride?
Turn a three-stop pizza night into one easy evening — seats up to 10, self-drive or chauffeured.
Reserve Your Ride or call 404-259-2025