Following on from Chicago’s Penumbra taking the top spot in Yelp’s ranking of the 100 most romantic restaurants in the country recently, Yelp has now released its list of the country’s best pizza spots once again crowning a Chicago favorite at the very top.
While just a few months ago it was Ravenswood’s Spacca Napoli Pizzeria that was voted one of the 100 best pizzerias in the world for its Neapolitan-style thin-crust pizzas, this time around it is the famed deep-dish pizza spot Pequod’s Pizza which tops the list.
The long-time favorite Lincoln Park pizza pie shop, which first opened its original Morton Grove location in 1971, was joined on Yelp’s 2024 Top Pizza Spots rankings by 5 other lauded Chicago pizzerias.
“This is an all-time list of the Top Pizza Spots in the US, according to Yelp Elites” reads the ranking. “We identified businesses in the pizza category on Yelp, then ranked those spots using a number of factors, including the total volume and number of 5-star reviews each business had that were written by members of the Yelp Elite Squad.”
According to Yelp, Detroit-style pies were the top category trending among Yelpers over the last year with a 26% increase in searches from 2022 to 2023. Close behind that, however, it was Chicago-style pizzas which had risen by 18% in searches during that same time frame.
“It’s no wonder then, that Chi-Town’s Pequod’s Pizzeria hit the #1 spot this year. The caramelized cheese crust on its pan-style pies has been racking up stars among locals and Hollywood glitterati alike” wrote the Yelp Elites.
The pizzeria has become such a Chicago staple that it even recently featured in the award-winning series The Bear. Something that Yelp mentions in its homage to what it considers the best pizzeria in the United States.
“When a pizza appears on 2 seasons of TV’s chef-focused series “The Bear,” you know it must be something special” say Yelp Elites. “You can’t truly say you have a favorite Chicago-style deep dish pizza if you haven’t been to Pequod’s.”
Using Pequod Pizza’s own words from its website, to make their reputed creatoins “pizza artists at Pequod’s begin by placing a ring of mozzarella around the rim of the deep dish pan which caramelizes as the pie bakes“.
“This is followed up with a hearty helping of freshly made dough that plumps up into a mouthwatering crust that’s focaccia-like in its airy consistency”, the website reads. “The pizza comes out with a dark rim that’s a seemingly impossible combination of crispy and chewy all in one decadent bite.”
It’s this method say those at Pequod’s, that has earned the lauded Chicago establishment its “stellar reputation for offering some of the best pizza in Chicago” which, they write, is “no small feat in a city brimming with saucy, cheesy, piled-high pies.”
On the topic of Chicago’s abundance of fantastic pizzerias, Pequod’s was joined on the list of Yelp’s Top 100 Pizza Spots by 5 other Chicago spots.
Piece Brewery and Pizzeria in Wicker Park was ranked 17th best pizza spot in the country, Lincoln Park’s Oven Grinder Company came in at number 27, and the aforementioned Spacca Napoli in Ravenswood was named the 44th-best pizzeria in the United States by Yelp Elites.
Meanwhile, further down the list Andersonville’s Calo Pizzeria was ranked 91st and Coalfire Pizza in West Town came in at number 98.
Chicago’s total of 6 pizzerias was topped by both New York and California which each had 10 pizzerias named in the top 100.
Read the full list of Yelp’s Top 100 Pizza Spots according to Yelp Elites 2024.
[Featured image courtesy of Pequod’s Pizza]