This Is The Best Pizza Place In Arizona, Hands Down

There are a lot of places that come to mind when you think of good pizza, be it the classic Neapolitan-style of the Old World or one of the various styles from across the U.S., but Arizona likely isn't one of them. The Grand Canyon state is better known for, well, the Grand Canyon, among many other natural wonders. But truth be told, some of the very best pies in the country — and perhaps the world — can be found in Phoenix, Arizona, at a spot called Pizzeria Bianco.

While it is now a limited chain, with six restaurants located across Phoenix and Los Angeles, the restaurant that represents Arizona on our list of the best pizza places in every state started in the late 1980s with just one location, originally tucked into the back of a grocery store. From that humble beginning, the rise of Chris Bianco's career as a pizza maker and restaurateur has been meteoric.

In 2003, Bianco won the first James Beard Award for Best Chef in the Southwest, and, notably, was the first pizzaiolo to be so honored. He was also the star of the first episode of the pizza-centric season of "Chef's Table." That same year, Bianco was again honored by the James Beard Foundation as an "Outstanding Restaurateur" — so it's no wonder that Gordon Ramsay also ranked it among the best pizza restaurants. Clearly, with accolades like that, we hardly need to sell his restaurants further, but if incredible pizza isn't worth celebrating, what is?

The menu at Pizzeria Bianco reflects what is so often lauded in Italian cuisine: it is not overly complex, nor trying to stand out in too many places with wild creativity. Instead, the menu is built simply on high-quality ingredients and expertise in craft. There are several of the classic Neapolitan pizzas on offer, including a simple marinara topped with just tomato sauce, garlic, and oregano and the familiar royally-linked Margherita pizza. Other pies on the menu make careful use of ingredients like fennel sausage, smoked mozzarella, and gaeta olives, all of which show controlled creativity — venturing away from the norm to highlight exceptional flavors while still paying respect to tradition.

Perhaps the most unique pizza on offer is the "Rosa," a pie topped with red onion, Parmigiano-Reggiano, rosemary, and Arizona pistachios that was adapted to local ingredients from a thin focaccia Bianco tasted on a trip to Liguria. "The first thing you want to do when you want to make pizza is find out what pizza you want to make," Bianco told Tasting Table in an exclusive interview back in 2022. For him, that involves a careful selection of high-quality ingredients from sources he respects. The application, then, is also a matter of great care. "You start with good things and you try not to screw them up," he explained. "Sometimes the most important ingredient is what you leave out."

Between Bianco's mountain of accolades and the mindset of care and respect for pizza, there is little doubt that this is some of the finest pie out there. However, nothing compares to firsthand experience. Any pizza-loving residents of and visitors to Phoenix (or Los Angeles, for that matter) should be sure to stop in and see for themselves.