BEST PIZZAS IN OMAHA
My Personal Mount Rushmore
In a world where it seems division rules the day, there’s something all of humanity can agree upon:
Pizza is awesome.
We can, of course, still argue over which style of pizza is best (New York, thin crust, deep dish, etc.) or which toppings belong on top of a pie (the pineapple-on-pizza debate has the dangerous potential to incite riots). But no matter your specific preferences, we can pretty much all agree that the combination of dough, sauce, and cheese is one of man’s best breakthroughs.
And fortunately for us Omahans, our fine city has great options (including some lesser-known options that deserve more love) that touch nearly all corners of the pizza spectrum. These are, in one man’s opinion, the best four pizzas in Omaha (with several honorable mentions, because who could limit it to just four?!).
***Note: Just one pizza per restaurant is included on this list. I wanted to showcase many restaurants rather than shower all praise on a few elite joints.***
Hot Honey (Virtuoso Pizzeria)
The concept of honey on pizza might seem odd at first, but if you keep an open mind, Virtuoso Pizzeria will rock your world with this slice.
This NY-style pizzeria serves slices so enormous, one can be considered a meal. The crust has integrity yet remains both airy and foldable, and a dusting of semolina flour on the bottom adds wonderful texture. The stone-baking process leaves spots of tasty charring, and the sauce balances the sweet/acidic line with ablomb.
This specific slice is tremendous for two reasons:
- It utilizes two kinds of pepperoni. The typical pepperoni discs you’re used to are complemented by tiny pepperonis, which curl up into little cups during the cooking process to add texture and hold grease.
- A healthy drizzle of Mike’s Hot Honey injects sugar and spice into the slice. Once you have this honey on pizza, you’ll crave it on every slice going forward.
Salt. Fat. Acid. Sweetness. Texture. This pizza has a little bit of everything.
Honeypeno (Izzy's Pizza Bus)
You’ll never forget the first time you experience Detroit-style pizza, and Izzy’s Pizza Bus serves an incredible version of it. From the crunchy, caramelized cheese crust to the airy, chewy, buttery dough (think a delicious focaccia bread) to the sweet tomato sauced ladled on top, it’s an entirely unique pizza form.
The Red Harvest takes this brilliant base and stacks layer and layer of flavor on top of it. It starts with Char-N-Cup pepperonis, which curl into mini bowls during the cooking process to not only provide texture, but also catch grease and add a pleasant fattiness. Pickled jalapenos add acid and heat, but the kicker is the drizzle of Mike’s Hot Honey, which brings both sweetness and spice. All of Izzy’s creations are special, but the brilliant simplicity in this sweet/heat offering allows the base product to be the star.
Rustica Pizza (Dolomiti)
The dough at Dolomiti is unlike anything else in Omaha. It combines the chewy, airy consistency of Neapolitan pizza with the crunch and impressive structure of New York pizza, and the wood-fired oven applies a nice char to the exterior and undercarriage of the crust.
Multiple Dolomiti pizzas could’ve made this list, but my favorite is the Rustica. The spice of the Italian sausage works well with the smoky roasted broccolini, gooey, melty mozzarella, and sweet honey drizzle. But the hero is the confit garlic, which adds a sweet, creamy pop to each bite.
Margherita (Dante)
Dante is the only restaurant in Omaha certified to serve authentic, wood-fired Neapolitan pizzas, and the restaurant’s dedication to the craft washes over every bite. The crust carries a bouncy chew and is blotted with airy dough pockets and charred pockets created by a 90-second date with the impressive wood-burning oven. Dante’s red sauce, with a sweet San Marzano base, is lightly applied, and its fresh flavor accents the toppings.
The Margherita proves there’s truly beauty in simplicity, as this pizza lets Dante’s masterful dough and bright sauce shine. Gobs of gooey fresh mozzarella bring rushes of dairy, while basil adds a pungent sweetness.
Honorable Mention Omaha Pizzas
The Pep Talk
Each Neapolitan pizza from this food truck starts with a chewy, airy base with great flavor and brilliant leoparding. That’s combined with a sweet, tangy sauce and lakes of milky fresh mozzarella that melt to spread creamy richness all over the pie.
The Pep Talk is loaded with char & cup pepperonis, giving every bite a blast of salty, fatty pork, and Calabrian chiles add hits of heat and salt.
Pepperoni Pizza
Each Mootz pizza is a snowflake; no two are exactly alike. The puffy dough and wood-fired cooking process create wildly unique pizzas, each with its own special dough pockets and charred portions. The dough is thin and foldable in the middle but thick and airy with a noticeable chew on the exterior, making the crust almost like a puffy breadstick.
The Fior di Latte Mozzarella cheese adds creaminess and a sweet, delicate flavor that’s simply superior to traditional mozzarella, and the pepperoni cups crisp up into beautiful vessels for grease, fat, and flavor. Add a packet of Mike’s Hot Honey to really send this pizza through the roof.
Pepperoni Pizza
The dough alone earns Lyle’s a spot on this list. Thin and crispy in the middle and bubbly and airy on the exterior, this pizza has incredible structure and integrity. And the sourdough crust adds a tang unlike anything else in the city.
The sweet, tangy sauce balances the salty, fatty pepperoni, which coils up into crispy cups. The quality ingredients and simple nature of this pizza allow the incredible crust to shine like it deserves to.
Fratello Pizza
The dough at Via Farina is unlike any other in Omaha. After being cooked in a giant, orange wood-fired oven, the inner crust is a bit loose, but it folds perfectly. The crust gains structure the closer you get to the pie’s edge, where the outer crust has pleasant air bubbles and pockets of char for added flavor. Add in salty soppressata, jobs of gooey, milky fresh mozzarella, and a slightly sweet sauce crafted from San Marzano tomatoes and you have a pizza that’s as delicious as it is simple. The drizzle of hot honey gives it a sugar-y kiss to send it over the top.
Hot Girl
It all starts with the dough, a sourdough that is fermented for 24 hours to establish great structural integrity and a wonderful chew. That brilliant base is topped with a tangy red sauce, a pig’s worth of crispy char-n-cup pepperoni, chili flakes, and a drizzle of honey. It checks the sweet, salty, fatty, and spicy boxes well.
But the highlight might be the outer crust, which is brushed with a garlic butter to create what’s one of the better “breadsticks” you’ll find in the city/
Detroit Classic
Backlot Taphouse’s pizzas have all the necessary elements to form an elite Detroit-style pizza: a crispy, caramelized cheese crust, vibrant red sauce, and a pillowy, bouncy dough.
And while Backlot offers several creative versions on this iconic pizza style, the best may be the simplest. All you need is some crispy pepperoni discs to add salt and fat to that brilliant base and create an upper-echelon pie.
Cudduruni
You might know La Casa best for its hamburger pizza, but how you view this iconic restaurant will change after you sink your teeth into its double-crust pizza. Similar to La Casa’s Neapolitan pies, the dough is thin and gets a nice crispiness when cooked. In this application, however, it develops a buttery flakiness, especially around the folded rim. Your pizza is loaded the toppings and cheeses of your choosing, making each pie weigh multiple pounds. And while 2-3 “slices” may be enough to take down your appetite, you’ll find yourself reaching for another piece again and again.
This list covers just a brief sampling of Omaha’s great pizza options, and I haven’t tried them all (who could?!) So hit me with your favorites! Comment below, tweet at me @danhoppen, or message me on Instagram @dan_hoppen.