Boca Raton's Best Pizza: We Ranked 6 Mom and Pop Shops, East vs West

Boca Raton has a delicious problem: there are so many mom and pop pizza shops that nobody can agree on the best one. Ask ten neighbors and you will get ten different answers, usually with the kind of conviction normally reserved for sports teams. So we set out to settle it. We threw the question out on social media, thousands of you voted, and then we hit the road to taste the front-runners for ourselves.

Joining for the tasting was AJ Slamino, who you might know from his food reviews. To keep it fair, we split the city in two, lined up three shops in East Boca and three in West Boca, and ate our way through all six in a single day. That is a lot of pizza, and by the end we felt every slice of it. Below is how each shop stacked up, the two winners we crowned, and the full video so you can watch every bite and the reveal for yourself.

How we scored it

This was not a casual munch and a shrug. At every stop we rated the pizza from one to five across five categories: crust, sauce, cheese, structural integrity, and the vibe and service of the place. Structural integrity matters more than people think, because a great slice should hold its shape when you pick it up rather than collapsing into a folded mess in your lap. We tasted the same way at each shop, compared notes, and saved the city's most-hyped spot for last. Then we each named a winner for East and West, separately, to see if we would land in the same place.

East Boca

Patsy's (near Mizner Park). The Patsy's name goes all the way back to 1933 in East Harlem, and they have run the same recipe for over 100 years, right down to their own flour, their own tomato sauce, and their own way of cutting the cheese. You can taste the heritage. This is a thick, sturdy slice you genuinely cannot fold, with a lightly charred bottom that gives it real character. The sauce is all natural plump tomato with nothing added, which is rare, and it landed in that sweet spot of not too sweet and not too salty. It is a different style of pie than you will find at most corner shops, and if you like a slice with some backbone, it delivers. Bonus: it sits right by Mizner Park, so you can pair it with a downtown stroll.

114 Plaza Real S, Boca Raton, FL 33432

Tucci's (Yamato Road and Federal Highway). Tucci's is a true neighborhood spot, the kind of place where you might have gone to high school with the family that owns it. This is the classic foldable New York slice, easy and familiar, with a distinctive layered cheese that caught our eye. It is an unfussy, get-in-and-get-out kind of pizza, the slice you grab when you want something reliable without a fuss. Casual, friendly, and built for everyday cravings.

341 Yamato Rd, Boca Raton, FL 33431

Bella Amici (Federal Highway, just south of Delray Beach). Bella Amici does it the old way, and they have been doing it from the same spot for 25 years. They reach for olive oil where most places use vegetable oil, and they blend three different cheeses by hand every single day. The pie comes out thin, but it folds without flopping, and the cheese and sauce hit a balance that is hard to argue with. Not too much, not too little. We kept coming back to the same three words: a solid pie.

7491 N Federal Hwy, Boca Raton, FL 33487

West Boca

Aunt Lulu's (West Boca). Everything at Aunt Lulu's is made in house and done the old fashioned way, from the meatballs to the chicken to the sauces. Nothing bought in. The slice is soft and runs on the saucier side, and the sauce carries a noticeable Italian seasoning, parsley and all, that sets it apart from the others we tried. It came out so hot it could have used a minute to settle, and the crust could lean a touch crispier, but the flavor is the real deal. It tastes like the pizza a lot of us grew up on, which is exactly the point.

19785 Hampton Dr, Boca Raton, FL 33434

Brooklyn Boys (West Boca). Big, cheesy, and proudly sloppy, Brooklyn Boys is a fold-the-flop kind of slice. You can see the flour dusted underneath, and while it runs hot and messy and is a little tricky to hold, it is a genuinely fun, satisfying piece of pizza. It leans heavy on the cheese, so come hungry. A good, honest slice that does not pretend to be anything it is not.

9967 Glades Rd, Boca Raton, FL 33434

Thick and Thin (West Boca). The people's champ. When we asked Boca for its best mom and pop pizza, roughly eight out of ten comments said Thick and Thin, so we saved it for last on purpose. It was also the busiest spot we visited all day, with a steady line and boxes flying out the door. The slice is sturdy with a little crunch, the cheese sits at the perfect level, and the sauce runs a touch sweeter than the rest in the best way. The shop has been around for over 40 years, and you can taste that consistency in every bite. A great pizza today and the same great pizza tomorrow is exactly why a place sticks around four decades.

23062 Sandalfoot Plaza Dr, Boca Raton, FL 33428

The category awards

After six shops, here is where the standouts landed between the two of us:

• Crust: Bella Amici, with Thick and Thin right there too.
• Sauce: Patsy's earned big points for keeping it pure tomato with no shortcuts, alongside Tucci's.
• Cheese: Thick and Thin and Bella Amici.
• Vibe and service: Patsy's and Bella Amici, who had us the most excited about what they do and were genuinely fired up about the project.

And the fun version of it: date night goes to Patsy's, bring-the-kids goes to Tucci's, and for the real Italian mom and pop feel it is Bella Amici and Thick and Thin.

The winners

After all of it, we each made our pick separately, and we landed in exactly the same place on both sides:

East Boca Winner: Bella Amici.

West Boca Winner: Thick and Thin.

Two judges, zero arguing. When you taste your way through six shops and still agree down to the last slice, that tells you something.

One honorable mention

We have to give a shout to the New York Pizza Place over in Mission Bay. It did not make the bracket for one simple reason: a good friend owns it, and we did not want the bias to cut either way, for it or against it. The pizza is great, so go check them out.

20449 State Road 7, Mission Bay Center, Boca Raton, FL 33498

A bonus round

Here is the twist. After we wrapped and started editing, so many people messaged saying we had to try one more spot that we could not ignore it. That spot was Stella's Pizzeria in West Boca, and we went back for a solo bonus tasting, complete with a $7.99 lunch special and a can of Coke. New York style, folds beautifully, with a great sauce-to-cheese balance and a crust that hit just right. A worthy surprise to close out the day.

19585 State Road 7, Boca Raton, FL 33498

Plan your own Boca pizza crawl

Want to taste-test it yourself? Start on the east side: Patsy's in Mizner Park, Tucci's on Yamato Road, and Bella Amici up on North Federal Highway near the Delray line. Then head west to the Glades Road and 441 corridor for Aunt Lulu's, Brooklyn Boys, Thick and Thin, and the bonus pick, Stella's. Bring a friend, split the slices, and score them one to five just like we did. It makes for a fun afternoon and a great excuse to finally settle the debate at your own table.

Thinking beyond the pizza? The same East vs. West split shapes where Boca families choose to live. For a detailed look at the differences between East Boca and West Boca neighborhoods, schools, lifestyle, and home prices, see our East Boca vs. West Boca guide. You can also explore our guide to the Best Neighborhoods in Boca Raton for Families in 2026.

Your turn

Did we get it right? Did we get it wrong? Boca takes its pizza personally, and we want to hear it. Tell us your favorite mom and pop slice in the comments, and let us know which spots we have to hit next. The next ranking is only as good as the tips you send us.