Where’s the best pizza in North Carolina? These two shops made Yelp’s nationwide list
Two of the nation’s best pizza shops are here in North Carolina, new rankings show.
Fahrenheit Pizza & Brewhouse in Asheville joined Cugino Forno in Greensboro on a list of the top 100 places to get a pizza pie, according to the restaurant review website Yelp.
To make the list, Yelp said it studied pizza-related businesses across the United States and “ranked those spots using a number of factors including the total volume and ratings of reviews,” according to a report published Feb. 8.
Among the two North Carolina pizzerias that received national recognition, Fahrenheit Pizza & Brewhouse came out on top with a No. 17 spot in the rankings. The restaurant calls itself a “go-to neighborhood pizza place” that serves cheesy slices, wings — and of course, beer.
“Fahrenheit began with a dream,” the restaurant said on its website. “The dream of building a community around a neighborhood table, that serves delicious, crispy, New York style pizza, and follows in the tradition of Asheville’s Beer City America fame, crafting amazing brews.”
Many customers can’t get enough of the restaurant, helping it to score more than 4 out of 5 stars on Yelp. Some were fans of the crust, sauce and toppings served from an off-the-beaten path location.
The business said it uses an oven with a rotating stone, which warms to 800 degrees and makes pizzas “with a crisp, yet chewy, crust,” according to its Yelp page.
Further down on the Yelp list, Cugino Forno ranked No. 97 in the nation. Though the business has storefronts in Clemmons, Durham and Winston-Salem, the honor went to its shop in Greensboro.
“We import nearly 80% of our ingredients from the best sources in Italy, providing a taste you can’t get anywhere else,” the business said on its website. “In addition, each one of our pizzas are cooked in a 900o oven imported from Naples containing stone from Mt. Vesuvius, making your experience at Cugino Forno just that more authentic.”
The restaurant also scored more than 4 out of 5 stars, with some Yelp users raving about the salads and desserts, including the traditional Italian treats cannoli and gelato. Others said they were fans of eating pizza made from quality ingredients.
“The pizza is very unique, it’s made exactly the same as in Naples in the 18th century,” co-owner Joseph Ozbey told The News & Observer as the restaurant was planning to open its Durham location in 2021. “You can see it start to cook right in front of your eyes the second the pizza goes in the oven.”
While those shops have customers craving their pies, North Carolinians have been curious about another pizza place. Last year, data showed Domino’s was the state’s most-searched pizza brand on Google Maps.
And in 2020, a study of cellphone data found Little Caesars was the pizza chain North Carolina residents went to more than any other, McClatchy News reported.
On the more recent Yelp list, the overall top-ranked shop was Cheese Board Pizza in Berkeley, California.
This story was originally published February 14, 2022 at 7:49 AM with the headline "Where’s the best pizza in North Carolina? These two shops made Yelp’s nationwide list."
