This is a guest feature from pizza enthusiast @SliceOfSF
The Pizza Shop
The Pizza Shop is your quintessential, no frills, New-York-style, slice shop. They have a lot of different pies, served by the slice, and a very fun deer mural on the wall. If you seek thin, crisp, simple pizza, this is your spot.
Escape From NY
All of the Escape From NY locations are consistently solid. They have become famous for a potato pesto slice with massive cloves of roasted garlic but just about all of their pies will satisfy a pizza craving. Most importantly, they take pride in supporting the neighborhoods in which they do business…and they stay open late.
Tony’s Slice House
Tony is famous for a reason. All of his places do a good job and the Slice Houses are no exception. From a daily sicilian, to a grandma, to a cupping pepperoni slice, you’ll leave satisfied. FYI, the widest selection is at the Haight Street location.
Golden Boy
Golden Boy is a San Francisco institution, plain and simple. People line up all hours of the day and night to grab a square slice from them. The clam slice is unique and a must.
Victor’s
Polk Street is known largely for sloppy bar crawls but you might be surprised to find out that Victor’s actually serves good pizza by the slice. It is easy, quick, cheap, and has quite the authentic feel.
Zante
A unique pizza experience. Anyone who claims to love pizza must try Zante Pizza. They claim to be the inventors of Indian pizza and find someone that can convince you otherwise…I’ll wait. Chicken Tikka goes pretty well on their strongly spiced dough. Go out of your way for this place at least once.
Serrano’s
Weirdly enough, made to order slices are a thing in San Francisco and it wouldn’t be a slice list if there wasn’t at least one. This spot will take 10-15 minutes but will churn out a customized, single, made-to-order slice that is the size of your head. It is basically a personal pizza and only $5. Be careful, you WILL burn your mouth.
Arizmendi Bakery
A child of the famous co-op in Berkeley, the Cheeseboard, Arizmendi has several locations and one is in the Mission District. Every day, they serve a single style of pizza that employs the freshest, local ingredients they can find. It is perfect Dolores Park picnic food or a snack for a sidewalk stroll. Maybe grab a sweet baked good on your way out too?
Marcello’s
The Castro is not known for its food but across the street from the famous Hot Cookie sits Marcello’s Pizza, a wonderful slice shop with a multi-layer rotating oven. It is not likely that a better pesto slice exists in the city.
The Mill
The pizza at The Mill, a bakery owned by Josey Baker, is gorgeous. It is a whole grain, naturally leavened crust that showcases the best qualities of the flavorful breads they sell as well. They always have plain cheese, pepperoni, and a rotating seasonal flavor. FYI, it is only served from 6-9 but the Mill’s Pizza is California cuisine embodied in pizza. Simply delicious, fresh, and one of the best in San Francisco.
Arinell (For the Square)
It is hard to talk about slice shops without mentioning Arinell. This historical, 30 year old, Mission District hole-in-the-wall is a favorite among longtime San Francisco natives. While their oddly shaped pies are chopped into large, floppy triangles, the squares here are hard to beat. Go for the square and expect some sass.
Vive la Tarte
Great focaccia can be hard to come by but thankfully Vive La Tarte exists. Not only do they produce amazing baked goods but also rotating, generously topped focaccia by the slice (lunch time only).
Pizza Squared
For anything in the square pizza game, look no further. Pizza Squared focuses on the newly popular Detroit Style Pizza as well as sicilian and all by the slice. They also have some fun asian flavors and frequently rotate their offerings.
Mythic Pizza
Maybe it is because they are next to Toronado so most of the clientele has been drinking, but when the plain cheese pizza from Mythic is fresh, it is pretty good. It definitely serves an important purpose by helping soak up all of the alcohol consumed in the Lower Haight.
Goat Hill
Goat Hill, while known as sit down staple to those in Potrero (did somebody say all you can eat pizza on Mondays!?), also services Soma with a takeout window pedaling delicious sourdough pizza by the slice!
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