NYC Pizza Week 2026: 21 Slice Shops, Pickle Pie and More (Sept 20–Oct 4)

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NYC’s First Pizza Week Is On: 21 Slice Shops, 21 Slices You Can’t Get Anywhere Else

Pickle pie, al pastor and blackberry hot honey headline a two-week celebration of the city’s independent pizzerias.

New York — New York finally threw itself a pizza party. The first-ever NYC Pizza Week kicked off Sunday, Sept. 20, and runs through Oct. 4, 2026, with 21 independently owned pizzerias across Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens.

Each shop created a one-off Signature Slice that exists only for these two weeks. Once Oct. 4 passes, those slices are gone for good. No pressure.

How Pizza Week Works

There’s no ticket, no reservation and no app. According to Time Out New York, you walk in, order the featured slice and pay as normal. An online Slice Map shows every stop.

After eating, you text in a score from 1 to 5. The official press release says rankings use a Bayesian-adjusted system — the same idea behind IMDb and Yelp scores — so smaller shops aren’t buried by high-traffic ones. A Fan Favorite award goes out when the event ends.

Still Hungry Hospitality LLC produces the event. It grew out of NYC Pizza Crawl, the monthly walking tour founder Andrew Young has run for nearly two years. A portion of every Signature Slice sold also goes to Slice Out Hunger, a New York nonprofit fighting food insecurity.

The Slices Getting the Most Buzz

This is not a parade of plain cheese. Highlights from the lineup:

• Hots Pizza (Lower East Side): a pickle pie with crème fraîche, mozzarella, dill, Calabrian ranch and parmesan.
• Stretch Pizza (Domino Park): the Al Pastor, with braised pork, salsa verde, pineapple ricotta and cilantro.
• Paulie Gee’s Greenpoint: the Red, White & Greenpoint Square, with provolone, sausage, spinach and hot cherry peppers.
• Rome to Brooklyn (Greenpoint): blackberry, ricotta, basil and hot honey.
• Diamond Slice (Greenpoint): mortadella, pesto and stracciatella.
• Slicehaus (West Village): smoked mozzarella, cherry tomatoes and black garlic.
• Traze (Long Island City): the Dolly — ground beef in cream of mushroom, tater tots and extra-sharp cheddar.
• Pizza Loves Sauce (Lower East Side): a chicken shawarma slice from one of the city’s few fully Halal-certified pizzerias.

Yes, somebody put tater tots on pizza. I’ve made worse decisions at 1 a.m., and I respect the commitment.

Every Participating Shop

Several shops arrive with serious credentials. Stretch Pizza, from James Beard Award–winning chef Wylie Dufresne, ranked No. 13 on 50 Top Pizza’s 2026 US slice list and won its “One to Watch” award. Cellos Pizzeria placed No. 14 on the same slice list, as Fine Dining Lovers reported.

The styles vary as much as the toppings. Frico on 2nd bakes Detroit-style, while Unregular, Impasto and Mattarello all make Roman-style pizza. Roebling Pizza in South Williamsburg has been family-run since 1960.

The Slice Price Backdrop

Pizza Week lands at a tough moment for slice shops. For decades, New Yorkers followed the “Pizza Principle”: a plain slice cost about the same as a subway ride. A 1985 New York Times piece gave the idea its name.

That rule broke this year. The subway fare rose to $3 on Jan. 4, 2026, but Tasting Table reports the average slice already sits at $3.81, citing journalist Liam Quigley’s long-running price tracking. Back in 2014, a slice cost about $2.54 against a $2.50 fare.

So the slice now outruns the train. If you’ve felt that pinch outside New York too, our look at August’s food price data and our guide to where the cheapest pizza is fill in the national picture.

Steal These Ideas at Home

Can’t get to Greenpoint by Oct. 4? Your oven is open all year. Here’s how to borrow the best Pizza Week ideas:

Go pickle

Hots Pizza’s pickle pie proves the trend has legs. Start with our dill pickle pizza with garlic sauce, or read up on why pickles work on pizza in the first place.

Pair pesto with something rich

Diamond Slice’s mortadella-and-stracciatella combo starts with a pesto base. Our basil pesto pizza gets you most of the way there, and burrata pizza covers the creamy finish.

Think square

Paulie Gee’s entry is a square slice. If you’ve never made one, our explainer on Sicilian pizza or our Detroit-style pizza guide will get you into a sheet pan fast.

Build the base right

Every one of these slices sits on a classic foldable crust. Our New York-style pizza at home guide covers it, and if shawarma caught your eye, our halal pizza sourcing guide helps with ingredients. For more flavor inspiration, try our best topping combinations.

The Bottom Line

NYC Pizza Week runs through Oct. 4 at 21 independent shops, with a portion of every Signature Slice going to Slice Out Hunger. If you’re in the city, grab a Slice Map and start texting scores.

If you’re not, steal the ideas. Your kitchen doesn’t charge by the slice, and the commute there doesn’t cost $3.