Best Pizza in Town?

We seem to have a lot of New Yorkers in SB these days! The kids love Rusty's while I head for the salad bar and Dad has a sanwhich or chicken wings.

Olio is amazing, but gotta say Giovanni's on upper state! Always good and I miss it terribly having now moved to LA (pizza here SUCKS).

Mesa Pizza: White pizza with Pepperoni, mushrooms and Jalapenos. Best! Used to be Taffy's whole wheat with the same ingredients.

I like Pizza My Heart. They have an extensive menu of NY style big beefy pizzas. Big Sur boasts a pepperoni pizza with over 50 whole cloves of garlic. On Wednesday I had a slice of Pastrami pizza with a deli brown mustard sauce, cheese, sliced banana and whole Chiltepin peppers. They served it by the slice along with about 5 other pies.

There is not much choice here for good pizza. Sal's is close to Italian / NY style, very tasty. Paesano's used to be good. Think it changed owners. For those affronted that some of us think the SB pizza you've been eating is pretty awful compared to other cities, don't be upset. Just travel and explore more. There is cool stuff in the world beyond SB. It's like this: you think you know what good beer is when you've only ever tasted Pabst, Bud, Coors. Your sample size is too small, for one thing. For another, a lot of what passes for great here would be considered barely mediocre in major metros where the competition is more fierce. It raises standards.

Can we all agree anything with gluten-free crust should not be allowed to be called a pizza?

I regularly tell people the best pizza in Santa Barbara is actually 50 miles away, in Los Alamos, where Full of Life Flatbread plies their trade. Another 'destination' pizza place is the slightly closer Industrial Eats, in Buellton. If you're not up for driving to one of these, I'd cast my vote with the Nicky D's crowd, although I wondered while driving past there earlier this week if they're still in business -- I couldn't see a sign on their storefront? Santa Barbara can use better examples of many cuisines -- I think of BBQ, delis, and Chinese in particular -- pizza is only one of them?

Costco!

Hmm. I like different kinds of pizza so it depends on what I'm in the mood for. I like Pizza Mizza, Giovanni's, Woodstock, Taffy's, Paesano's, Persona, Haven't tried Olio, Ca Dario, Paxti, Lucky Penny, Honor Bar or Blaze. Don't care for Rusty's and only had Nicky D's once, and it was the worst pizza I've ever had. Likewise, spouse didn't like Mesa Pizza. Unfortunately I'm stuck eating gluten free pizza now, so that limits my options. I end up letting the family order what they want and I eat at home.

Pizza Mizza! Gourmet-quality pizza for a really reasonable price.

I like Home Plate in Goleta.

Mesa Cafe

Two ways to look at it.... There are so many delectable styles of pizza as of late, much like the beer industry the last 20 years. I like the thin crust, wood fired, unique topping pizzas to snack on with my wine or beer or cocktail like most everyone does. DAMN good pizza! Hard to put a finger on where the "best" of that might be. All the ones on this list of comments sound good for breakfast this morning. But as far as actual "PIZZA"...where you pick up a phone and order for delivery, or go in to pick up to take home, or dine in for some grub with the family....RUSTY'S is just the best. And just pepperoni and cheese. Thin crispy crust, sweet sauce, and great toppings. Plus their salad bar is just untouchable. I don't know why, but I think its because its all so cold, crisp and fresh? All you opinionated, pinky curled "true" santa barbarans can say NUH-UH! all you want. I too am a long time Santa Barbara native, and know MANY of the great spots to dine and drink and visit in SB. Rusty's is good, traditional pizza. Best in the county when it comes to that. OPEN THE FLOOD GATES!

Still Deano's. RIP.

Olio Pizzeria

Nicky D's got it going on. We ordered an extra large a few weeks ago, and the taste, flavor, texture was all spot on. You can get lousy pizza anywhere, even in New York. We had one in New York that was horrible, and we complained to the owner. The owner said, let me make you another one "on the house," to which we happily agreed. The second one had less cheese, sauce, huge burn spots on the bottom (like over half of the crust was burned), and the sausage and mushroom toppings were nearly non-existent. Needless to say, we never went back to THAT place again!!!

Olio Pizzeria, hands down!

Nuu Yark Sitty? Pizza? Get these people out of our town.

I notice none of the true locals said Rusty's... good job everyone!

I guess it's time to trod out this ol' edhatter nugget of a "best pizza" poll and I'll bite (pun intended). Valentino's crust and sauce is excellent, but not exactly always so fun to take and bake. We don't ever mind the cross town travel to Via Vai in Montecito. Our absolute favorite. Shout out to Deano's !

Valentino's Take N Bake

Sorry I have two favorites..olio pizzeria and blaze. Ones fancy ones cheap and fast but both are delicious.

I must have tried Nicky Ds on a bad night. It was alternately oversalted and bland and nothing like pizza I had while visiting New York.

We love Blaze Pizza. I like the thinner crust. You pick the ingredients, and how much. It's wood fired on the spot. Yum!

No doubt Nicky D's (De la Vina northside) is the best NY style pizza in town. I'm from NY so I know. Or just ask New Yorker Nicky. Crust is appropriately thin, sauce has the perfect tomato tanginess and just the right amount of not-to-greasy mozzarella cheese. Paesano's is pretty good but a distance second. Thicker, chewier crust, not as much punch in the sauce. Taffy's? Pleeeese.

Nicky D's is hands down the best pizza in town. It's the only pizza that remotely comes close to a NY slice.

Paesano's for us. Persona is a close second.

Paesano's Pizzeria on San Andres St

Nicky D's offers a special thick (Sicilian style) pizza if you special order it. It takes an hour or so to make but it is definitely worth the wait and the price (~$27).

Honor Bar on Coast Village Rd.

Taffy's duh!

Giovanni's: mid-State Street

Nicky D's is fantastic and as close to east coast pizza that you can get here. Gino's is also really good for their slice and salad combo.

Woodstocks because they put sauce under the crust fold...and there is just a touch of spicy-ness to their sauce! Yum

Giovanni's

Lucky Penny.