NY Pie opened in 2010 in the Nashville West shopping center with a handful of tables inside and a private patio and has a second location in Hendersonville. Owner Greg Meyer, who previously ran two other pizza joints before moving to the South, grew up working his way through pizzerias in New York and New Jersey, learning the tricks of the trade, so you know the restaurant tosses dough by hand. The signature thin pies are topped generously with the likes of anchovies, pepperoni, and mushrooms and baked in a brick oven; if you make it past this main attraction, the thicker Sicilian-style pan pizza is a sleeper hit.

The Belle Meade restaurant is still the only pizzeria in the state of Tennessee certified by Naples’s Associazione Vera Pizza Napoletana (VPN), which means the restaurant adheres to strict rules about ingredients and traditional preparations to produce “real Neapolitan pizza,” resulting in tender, wood-fired, quick-cooked classics from basil-spotted margherita to spicy diavola. Of note: Porta Via serves half-price wine on Mondays and Wednesdays and brunch on weekends, including live piano on Sundays.

A lesser-known hit on Charlotte Avenue, this no-frills pizzeria with booths lining the wall stays open late: until 3 a.m. on Friday and Saturday nights and 1 a.m. the rest of the week. Build your own pie here or order a house specialty like an Alfredo-sauced pizza topped with dill pickles or shrimp.

Five Points Pizza packs ‘em in, offering up New York-style pizza by the giant slice or a roster of nearly 20 whole pies from traditional to habanero cream-sauced, all in a casual setting. The West Nashville location of this popular pizza joint opened a couple of years back, and it’s just as popular as the East Nashville original.

Located at L&L Market in Sylvan Heights, PennePazze does counter service in a space with communal tables and large windows so you can appreciate a nice day even if the covered patio is full. The restaurant’s focaccia-adjacent oblong pinsa (pizza) comes in familiar meaty and vegetarian-friendly variations as well as types with uncommon toppings like onion jam and porchetta, all finished with basil and olive oil.

Nashville natives Clinton Gray, Derrick Moore, and Emanuel Reed opened the fast-casual Slim & Husky’s Pizza Beeria in 2017 in North Nashville, quickly solidifying it as a popular spot to hang out, listen to hip-hop, drink beer, and, of course, eat pizza. A line has been known to extend down the block for the flatbread-style pizzas and cinnamon rolls — both of which lean into unexpected toppings like smoked salmon and white sauce or jalapeno cream cheese glaze, respectively — and the company has expanded rapidly, opening several additional locations throughout Music City and Tennessee as well as Georgie and California.

This low-key Hillsboro Village standby has been taking care of the Vandy University crowd’s pizza cravings for over three decades, and you can also find a Bellevue location. Slices and pies come in a couple of styles: thin, round hand-tossed crusts or thick, chewy Sicilian-style rectangles with a number of sauce options, from a creamy Alfredo to a spicy habanero.

Some of Nashville’s best wood-fired Neapolitan pizza hides out at Edgehill’s Bella Napoli Pizzeria, a homey charmer tucked away in an exposed-brick space with an outdoor courtyard. Rotating specials like pistachio ricotta stuffed-crust white pies complement more time-honored flavors on the regular menu. As a bonus, the restaurant hosts live music several nights a week.

Nashville native Tandy Wilson’s Southern riff on rustic Italian fare at City House made him the first Music City chef to take home a James Beard Award. The Germantown essential doesn’t hold back when imagining pizza toppings; the belly ham pie is a perennial favorite, but you’ll also find offbeat combinations like roasted sweet potato, garlic crema, and pomegranate, perfect with creative cocktails full of amari or an impressive selection of Italian wine.

Brooklyn-based Emmy Squared specializes in burgers and thick, fluffy, Detroit-style rectangles edged with delightfully crispy cheese known as a frico crust. On top, you can get anything from classic pepperoni to, yes, Nashville hot chicken with an Alabama white sauce drizzle. In addition to the Gulch, this hip chain has touched down in Germantown, Green Hills, and East Nashville.

Located in the Arcade downtown, Manny's House of Pizza has been owned and operated by Brooklyn native Manny Macca since 1984. The restaurant underwent some major renovations in 2017 and emerged as popular as ever, with Macca still tossing dough in the window and Manny’s still serving New York-style slices to hordes of hungry lunch patrons.

Chef Egidio Franciosa, who was born outside of Naples, and partner Jannah Franciosa have landed their popular mobile pizzeria a sleek home in Wedgewood-Houston with a dramatic mural and a nice patio. Here, they serve up Neapolitan-style pies like the diavola topped with pomodoro, fior de latte, and calabrese salami. The menu doesn’t stop at pizza, though; check out highlights like the carpaccio, antipasti, and fettucine verde with lamb ragu.

East Nashville beer hang Smith & Lentz upped its game after the 2020 tornado with a facelift, plentiful patio space, and a new pizza program with Chris DeJonge at the helm. Crisp pilsners and wood-fired pies take center stage here — try the one loaded with pepperoni and drizzled with hot honey. The “take your pie to prom” option adds brushed garlic butter, dried oregano, chile flakes, and grated Parmesan.

What began as a temporary option has ended up as a major win — as Nashville awaits a fixed location of Roberta’s in 12 South, the Brooklyn-born wood-fired pizza specialist maintains its residency serving some of the city’s best pizza at Urban Cowboy Public House bar in East Nashville. Pasta and salads are also available alongside traditional margherita pies and a crowd favorite called the Bee Sting — a sweet and spicy wonder with soppressata, mozzarella, chile, honey, and basil.

Spacious Donelson brewpub Tennfold has plenty of seating indoors, where you can observe the production area through floor-to-ceiling windows, and on a heated and covered patio, where you’ll sometimes find live music. The business splits its focus between classic beer styles (red ales, Vienna lagers, and stouts far outnumber IPAs here) and Neapolitan-ish pizzas that embrace a modern topping philosophy. Traditionalists can stick with margherita or meatball, while everyone else can indulge in pesto-sauced chicken pizzas and cheeseburger pies with ketchup red sauce and mustard.