The best pizza in Iowa, according to Iowans

Where can you find the best pizza in Iowa?

January 10, 2025

Best Pizza in Iowa

Last year, our audience told us where to find the best pizza in the state of Iowa. This year, to celebrate National Pizza Week (Jan. 12-18, 2025), we’re bringing it back.

And we’re asking: is there a new place missing from this list?

Whether you’re bar-hopping, out-and-about, or looking for an easy dinner option, Iowa has no shortage of pizza locations. That’s why we asked our audience for recommendations for the best spot in the state.

They gave us about 350 comments and about 125 different spots. But a few rose to the top.

Number one was Pagliai’s, both the Iowa City and Grinnell locations, with a whopping 123 endorsements.

Pagliai’s was officially opened in 1957 by the son of immigrants from Northern Italy. According to the history section on the website, the Pagliai family first shared their recipes shortly upon arriving in Zook Spur, Iowa, a former mining town on the border between Polk and Dallas counties.

The original restaurant was a bar in Ames, but as the food grew more popular it took on restaurant status. The family was able to expand to Grinnell in the mid-60’s.

Karen Wallace told us on Facebook, “Was great first time I visited in the 60’s, still as great today.”

Mabe’s Pizza in Decorah took the No. 2 spot, with 92 endorsements.

The restaurant was originally Mabel’s Lunchroom (named for founder Mabel White), and it opened in 1953, without pizza on the menu.

It was renamed Mabe’s Pizza in 1968 when pizza became a permanent menu item.

Great Plains Sauce & Dough Co. in Ames came in No. 3, followed by Casey’s (all locations), and Wig & Pen Pizza Pub (Iowa City and Ankeny locations) rounding out the top five.

Because so many spots were mentioned, the following is not a complete list, but we want to give some love to the smaller locations around the state because there was so much enthusiasm from every corner. I grabbed every restaurant that had five or more endorsements.

(One problem: Napoli’s. There are multiple restaurants with this name all over the state, without seeming to be connected. Maybe it’s safe to say your luck will be good at any of them!)