pizzawareLouisville is a beautiful southern gem of a city and the largest metropolis in Kentucky, with a wealth of cultural and historical attractions for visitors and residents alike.
Perhaps it’s most pervasively known as the home of the Kentucky Derby. While it may not be known for it, there’s plenty of great pizza places in Louisville as well!
For food lovers, Louisville enjoys a diverse representation of culinary traditions, and while Southern cuisine may be a local specialty, you won’t want it for every meal.
If comfort food is still a priority, they have a fantastic selection of pizza.
Best Louisville Pizza Places
During my most recent trip to Louisville, I ate my way slice by slice through the city’s best slice shops, bistros, and pizzerias. I have compiled a list of my favorite spots to get the best pizza in Louisville for you to explore below.
The Post
1045 Goss Ave, Louisville, KY 40217
Phone: (502) 635-2020
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The Post is a hip pub and New York-style pizzeria named for the old Germantown Veteran of Foreign War (VFW) Post building that the owners bought and refurbished.
The old school 40s-style house now has a trendy rustic-chic interior with a beer tap bar and slice counter.
The Post has a rotating draft list of 12 taps that changes daily, sourcing beer from local microbreweries. They also have a 25-bottle selection of foreign and domestic artisanal beers.
You can get pizza by the New York-style slice or whole pies along with subs, salads, and calzones.
Try the Riveter pie with chopped meatball, banana pepper, provolone, and fresh basil.
Coals Artisan Pizza
3724 Frankfort Ave, Louisville, KY 40207
Phone: (502) 742-8200
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Coals Artisan Pizza is a classy yet casual pizzeria and full bar, serving coal-fired pizzas, wine, beer, and cocktails in a large Middletown dining space with two stories and a large outdoor patio.
The owners spent years roaming the country and dining at the best pizza joints to develop their own unique dough made from a cold fermentation process.
The thin-crust, coal-fired pizza has a distinct flavor and a lightness that has won accolades from Thrillist, Food and Wine Magazine, and Louisville Magazine.
They have a unique menu of specialty pies that run the gamut from white to red, using interesting combinations that represent various global cuisines.
I loved the Anchorage Pizza with lobster in a sherry cream sauce, mascarpone, ricotta, and parmesan, topped with lemon and basil.
Impellizzeri’s Pizza
1381 Bardstown Rd, Louisville, KY 40204
Phone: (502) 454-2711
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Owned and operated by Benny Impellizzeri, Impellizeri’s Pizza is a historic pizza joint with a flagship location in Highlands that used to be the family butcher shop in the 70s and 80s.
Benny created his own “Louisville Style Pizza” consisting of double layers of cheese and toppings that he baked and sold out of the butcher shop that’s now one of four Impellizzeri’s Pizzerias around Louisville.
They have a wide selection of pasta, subs, and salads in addition to both the extra cheesy and topping heavy Lousiville pizza and thin-crust Neapolitan-inspired pies.
I recommend the colossal Sampler pizza with homemade Italian sausage, pepperoni, ham, mushrooms, onions, green peppers, banana peppers, and black and green olives.
Wick’s Pizza Parlor
975 Baxter Ave, Louisville, KY 40204
Phone: (502) 458-1828
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Another beloved Highlands institution, Wick’s Pizza Parlor, is a family-owned and operated pizzeria from local couple Michael and Meredith Wick who dreamt and planned the opening of their wildly popular pizza parlor at their parent’s table.
They opened the Highlands location in 1993 and now run four other locations around town.
They make great baked pasta dishes like manicotti, lasagna, and alfredo, and they also serve a wide selection of sandwiches they playfully call “sandwicks.”
The pizza at Wicks is thin crust from scratch-made dough piled high with a slew of toppings.
My favorite is the Buffalo Chicken Pizza, with a combination of hot sauce and ranch dressing as the foundation covered with boneless chicken, red onion, mozzarella, jack, and cheddar cheeses.
Garage Bar
700 E Market St, Louisville, KY 40202
Phone: (502) 749-7100
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Located in the heart of Downtown Louisville’s NuLu district, Garage Bar is a hip, upscale cocktail bar and wood-fired brick-oven pizzeria run by executive Chef Richard Sible.
Named for the revamped automotive shop in which it’s located, Garage bar is a bustling industrial-chic space with the outdoor garage converted into a great outdoor patio.
In addition to draft and bottled beers, they have a full cocktail bar and an excellent selection of bourbon to accompany your meal.
The pizza at Garage Bar is classic Neapolitan-style pizza, wood-fired with perfectly charred and bubbly crusts. I recommend the Brussels Sprouts Pie with pure garlic cream, for di latte, bacon, and basil.
Pizza LUPO
1540 Frankfort Ave, Louisville, KY 40206
Phone: (502) 409-8440
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Pizza LUPO is a Neapolitan pizzeria, eatery, and wine bar overlooking the lovely Louisville Champions Park in Butchertown.
They create seasonal menus featuring handmade pasta and wood-fired pizzas that won Best Pizza in Louisville in 2021.
They also make a famous Pizza Fiore available from Monday through Thursday that is a ricotta-stuffed crust pizza with mozzarella, tomato sauce, basil, arugula, and fresh burrata.
It’s hard to want to try another pie after sampling the Pizza Fiore, but their interesting and gourmet specialty Neapolitan pies are well worth a try.
I loved the Funghi with locally sourced mushrooms like elm, blue, shimofuri, chestnut, phoenix oyster, lions mane, shiitake, taleggio, mozzarella, and buttermilk ricotta.
You won’t find a more delicious sampling of mushrooms anywhere else.
DiOrio’s Pizza & Pub
310 Wallace Ave, Louisville, KY 40207
Phone: (502) 618-3424
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DiOrio’s Pizza and Pub is a large, family-owned pizzeria and brewpub, making dough, cheese, and sauce from scratch, using the freshest ingredients.
Located in an airy warehouse space in St. Matthews, DiOrio’s has a full bar with multiple flat-screen TVs to watch your favorite sports games over a brew and a pie.
Their pizza has been featured in countless publications, from Thrillist to The Voice.
They sell pizza by the slice along with some delicious calzones and Northeast-style hoagies. Whole pies are 100% customizable and come as thin-crust rounds or square pan pizza.
Parlour
133 W Liberty St, Louisville, KY 40202
Phone: (502) 888-1515
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Parlour is a lively, family-friendly cocktail bar, live music venue, and artisanal pizzeria in the heart of downtown Louisville. Parlour makes craft pizzas, sandwiches, and house-smoked wings with weekly lineups of live music.
They take inspiration from nearby Whiskey Row, featuring locally distilled bourbon along with craft beer from local breweries.
In addition to pizza, pasta, and sandwiches, Parlour has some amazing, elevated bar fare offerings like Southwest Poutine and Parlour Nachos with house-made sriracha bourbon sauce.
Their artisanal pies use a fusion of regional flavors for topping combinations.
My favorite is the Southwest, with a creamy queso base, chicken, cheddar, pico de gallo, black bean and corn salsa, and fresh cilantro.
Za’s Pizza Pub
1573 Bardstown Rd, Louisville, KY 40205
Phone: (502) 454-4544
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Teetering between Highlands and Bonnycastle, Za’s Pizza Pub is a cozy, old-school pub and pizzeria with a wooden interior and bar-style pizza.
They have a wide selection of beer with great nightly specialties like Pint Nights on Wednesdays, Monday Funday with half=priced appetizers, and Big Beer Tuesdays with half-off bottles of wine and discounted large draft beers.
Pizzas are thin-crust New York-style and have a great vegetarian-friendly menu.
I went for the decadent Six Cheese ZA with mozzarella, provolone, cheddar, ricotta, romano, and parmesan. They have a rotating list of 8 draft beers along with a full bar and wine list.
Bonnie & Clyde’s
7611 Dixie Hwy, Louisville, KY 40258
Phone: (502) 935-5540
Located south of Shively near Iroquois Park, Bonnie and Clyde’s is a no-frills, hole-in-the-wall pizza parlor, and pub that’s been a neighborhood institution for the past 50 years.
It might not be much to look at from the outside, but its long tenure as a beloved neighborhood haunt is a testament to its delicious pizza.
It’s still a cash-only establishment, serving both thin crust and deep-dish Chicago-style pies baked in cast iron skillets.
I loved the deep pan pizzas that have layers of sauce, cheese, toppings, and more sauce.
I recommend the deep-dish Italian Pie with mozzarella, Canadian bacon, pepperoni, Italian sausage, ground beef, mushrooms, black and green olives, green peppers, and onions.
BoomBozz Craft Pizza & Taphouse
1890 S Hurstbourne Pkwy, Louisville, KY 40220
Phone: (502) 265-4591
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Owned and operated by Tony Palombino, BoomBozz Craft Pizza and Taphouse opened in 1998, offering a unique gourmet pizza and local artisanal beer to the Highlands neighborhood.
The pizza at BoomBozz is its own distinct style, winning Best Gourmet Pizza, Best Vegetarian Pizza, Best International Pizza, and Best Non-traditional pizza in the International Pizza Expo in Las Vegas, not to mention various features on Food Network.
I wanted to try one of the international championship winners, so I went for the PolloTate pie with garlic olive oil glaze, marinated chicken, rosemary potatoes, red onions, and asiago cheese.
Best Louisville Pizza Places
- The Post
- Coals Artisan Pizza
- Impellizzeri’s Pizza
- Wick’s Pizza Parlor
- Garage Bar
- Pizza LUPO
- DiOrio’s Pizza & Pub
- Parlour
- Za’s Pizza Pub
- Bonnie & Clyde’s
- BoomBozz Craft Pizza & Taphouse
Final Thoughts
Whether you’re looking for an upscale downtown eatery or a long-standing neighborhood hole in the wall, you’ll find the best pizza in Louisville at any of the great and varied establishments on my list.
Louisville pizza restaurants have every style along with creative proprietary pies to enjoy with local craft beer.
Hundreds of thousands flock to Louisville in May to watch the Kentucky Derby, but you don’t have to come in May to visit the stunning Churchill Downs racecourse or learn about the derby’s rich history at the Kentucky Derby Museum. Grab a slice while you’re in town!
Horse racing isn’t the only sport that Louisville is known for. Baseball fans can take a tour of the iconic Louisville Slugger Museum and Factory to get a firsthand look at Major League baseball bats being made in real-time.
Whenever you visit and for whatever reason, grab a slice of these great Louisville pizzas!
Add Derby City Pizza to your list. 7 locations across the greater Louisville area.