Best Pizza in South Denver: Where Locals Order on Pearl, Gaylord and Beyond

Finding the best pizza South Denver has to offer means knowing which street to drive to. South Pearl Street in Platt Park, South Broadway, Old South Gaylord in Washington Park, South University Boulevard by the University of Denver and South Broadway in Englewood each have a pizza spot locals swear by, and each one does a different style. This guide covers eight of them, grouped by style, with what to order, what you will pay and whether it works better for dine in or takeout.

We checked every place on this list in October 2026 against its own website, its current online ordering menu or recent listings. Prices come from those online menus as posted this month and can change, so treat them as a guide rather than a promise.

Which South Denver pizza spot fits what you want tonight?

Here is the short version. Tap a name to open it in Google Maps.

Pizzeria	Area	Style	Best for
Joy Hill	South Broadway near Platt Park	Wood fired sourdough	Dinner out
Kaos Pizzeria	Platt Park, South Pearl	Wood fired, local ingredients	Families, takeout
Homegrown Tap & Dough	Washington Park, Old South Gaylord	Wood fired thin crust	Beer and a pie after the park
Brooklyn’s Finest Pizza	Baker, South Broadway	New York	Quick slices
Sexy Pizza South Pearl	Platt Park, South Pearl	New York style slices	Late night
Viale Pizza and Kitchen	South Colorado Boulevard	New York inspired	Pizza plus a full Italian menu
Jimano’s Pizzeria	Englewood	Chicago deep dish and stuffed	Takeout for a crowd
Beau Jo’s Denver	University, near DU	Colorado mountain pie	Big appetites, lunch buffet

Where can you get wood fired pizza in South Denver?

Wood fired pizza is the style South Denver does best. The three spots below all bake in live fire ovens, so expect a blistered, slightly charred edge and a softer middle. These are pizzas to eat at the table, fresh out of the oven, rather than reheat the next day.

Joy Hill, South Broadway

Joy Hill is the most talked about pizza on this list. The Infatuation named it one of the best pizza places in Denver in its July 2025 guide, praising its wood fired sourdough pies, and food site LoveFood picked it as the best pizza place in Colorado in a list reported in November 2024. The room leans toward a cocktail bar, so it works well for a date or a dinner with friends.

What to order: the online menu in October 2026 lists 12 inch pies from a $16 Margherita up to $25 for The Hunter, with house favorites like Chilis N Pep, Mushroom Sally and an Elote pizza in the low $20s. At lunch you can get 8 inch pizzettas for $10 to $14, a good way to try two styles without overdoing it. Joy Hill is closed on Sundays, so plan around that.

Kaos Pizzeria, South Pearl Street

Kaos has been part of Old South Pearl Street for years, and it is an easy default for Platt Park families. Westword reported at the time that its opening was delayed by problems with the size of its wood burning oven, and that oven still defines the pies. The menu leans on fresh, seasonal toppings.

What to order: the Smokestack ($20) is the pie a University of Denver roundup of local pizza recommended, and the Godfather and the Bomb ($21 each) are the meatiest options. A plain cheese or a build your own pie starts at $13, kids pizzas are $8, and a gluten free crust adds $7, according to its Toast ordering menu this month. Happy hour runs 2 to 6 p.m. daily. Kaos is easy for takeout, and you can walk it home if you live in Platt Park.

Homegrown Tap & Dough, Old South Gaylord

Homegrown sits at the corner of Old South Gaylord Street, a few blocks from the east side of Washington Park. When it opened, the owner of Park Burger described it to Westword as a family friendly place with wood fired, thin crust classic and modern pizzas, and that is still the idea: a casual dining room, a bar with local beer on tap, and pies that come out quickly.

What to order: the Pigs & Pears ($20) is the pie a 2026 Denver pizza roundup singled out, and the White Mushroom Truffle ($20.50) and the Funguy ($21) are good if you like earthy flavors. A plain cheese pie is $14 on its current online menu. Homegrown also serves pastas, so it is a safe pick when not everyone in your group wants pizza.

Where do South Denver locals go for New York style slices?

If you want a big, foldable slice you can eat standing up, South Broadway and South Pearl both have you covered. These are the places to grab lunch on the go or feed a group on a budget.

Brooklyn’s Finest Pizza, South Broadway

Brooklyn’s Finest opened its South Broadway shop in 2023 in the former Cochino Taco space, its third Denver area location. Owner Carlo Conti described the menu to What Now Denver as authentic New York style pizza and Italian food. It sits at the north end of South Broadway in the Baker neighborhood, so it is an easy stop before a show or a night out along the strip.

What to order: a cheese slice is $4.50 and the signature slice of the day is $5.99 on its current Slice ordering page. Whole signature pies, with names like The Bronx Bomber, Hell’s Kitchen and Mulberry Street, run about $17. Most people order to go.

Sexy Pizza, South Pearl Street

Sexy Pizza is a Denver pizza shop with four locations, and the South Pearl shop at Iowa Avenue is the one that serves Platt Park and Washington Park. It stays open until 1 a.m. on Friday and Saturday nights, which makes it the go to for a late slice in this part of town.

What to order: the Sexy Sheikh is the house signature, and the Midwestern, with ground beef and giardiniera, is a fun pick if you grew up near Chicago. Its online menu lists cheese slices at $5.50 and specialty slices at $6, with whole pies starting near $20 for a medium cheese. There is a vegan pie too, with vegan sausage and vegan cheese.

Viale Pizza and Kitchen, South Colorado Boulevard

Viale is a sit down Italian kitchen on South Colorado Boulevard, less than two miles south of the Cherry Creek shopping district. Its OpenTable listing describes the pizza as New York inspired and lets you pick how you like the bake: crispy, blonde or no char. Reviews posted on OpenTable through October 2026 also praise the cocktails, calamari and bison ravioli.

What to order: pies run about $13 to $20, including The Denver Diavola and a pie called The Bonnie Brae Bronx. A gluten free crust is available. Viale takes reservations through OpenTable, which helps on a busy Friday.

Where can you find Chicago style deep dish near South Denver?

Deep dish is harder to find south of downtown. The closest dedicated spot we could confirm is just over the city line in Englewood.

Jimano’s Pizzeria, Englewood

Jimano’s started in Waukegan, Illinois, just north of Chicago, and its Englewood shop sits on South Broadway. When What Now Denver profiled the franchise in 2023, owner Robert Meason described it as Chicago style pizza and comfort food at a fair price, with five crust choices that run from gluten free to double dough. Its Uber Eats listing showed more than 460 ratings this month.

What to order: go for deep dish or the stuffed crust, which is what the shop is known for. If you want the full Chicago experience, add an Italian beef sandwich with giardiniera. Deep dish takes longer to bake than thin crust, so order ahead if you are picking up.

What is Colorado style pizza, and where do you get it in South Denver?

Colorado has its own pizza style, called the mountain pie: a thick, hand rolled crust piled high with toppings and sold by weight. Beau Jo’s is the name most people connect with it, and in July 2024 it opened a Denver location next to the University of Denver.

Beau Jo’s Denver, South University Boulevard

The Denver Beau Jo’s is near South University Boulevard and East Evans Avenue, a short walk from the DU campus and the University and University Park neighborhoods. Its website lists a weekday lunch buffet from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and an extra Tuesday night buffet from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m., plus happy hour Monday through Thursday from 3 to 6 p.m.

What to order: a Mountain Pie, sized from one to five pounds. Beau Jo’s suggests about a pound per hungry person. Save some crust and drizzle it with the honey on the table, which is the house tradition. If you want something lighter, the thinner Prairie Pie comes in four sizes, and gluten free or cauliflower crust adds $1.

What should you know before you order pizza in South Denver?

• Check the day. Joy Hill closes on Sundays. Most of the others are open seven days a week.
• Late night means South Pearl. Sexy Pizza is open until 11 p.m. most nights and 1 a.m. on weekends.
• Families with picky eaters do well at Kaos and Homegrown, which both have plain cheese pies and pasta.
• Gluten free crust is available at Kaos, Sexy Pizza, Viale, Jimano’s and Beau Jo’s, so ask about cross contact if you have celiac disease.
• Want a full night out? Pair pizza with a walk along South Pearl or South Broadway. Our Platt Park neighborhood guide covers what else is on the street.

Pizza is only part of the dining scene here. For more ideas, see our guide to the best restaurants in South Denver, our South Denver date night guide, and the Washington Park neighborhood guide if you are thinking about living near Old South Gaylord. If you are looking at Englewood, our Englewood guide covers the South Broadway strip where Jimano’s sits.

Frequently Asked Questions

What happened to Bonnie Brae Tavern’s pizza?

Bonnie Brae Tavern, the thin crust pizza institution at 740 South University Boulevard, closed in June 2022 after 88 years, as Axios Denver and CBS Colorado reported at the time. Some older pizza lists still include it, but it is no longer open. For a nearby pie today, Beau Jo’s is less than two miles south on South University Boulevard.

Which South Denver pizza place is open late?

Sexy Pizza at 1579 South Pearl Street stays open until 11 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and until 1 a.m. on Friday and Saturday, according to its website in October 2026. That makes it the easiest late slice in Platt Park or Washington Park.

Is there Detroit style pizza in South Denver?

We could not confirm a Detroit style specialist open in the South Denver neighborhoods this guide covers as of October 2026, so none is listed here. The closest thing to a thick, crispy edged pie on this list is the deep dish at Jimano’s in Englewood or the mountain pie at Beau Jo’s.

How much does a pizza cost in South Denver?

Expect about $13 to $25 for a whole pie at the wood fired spots, based on October 2026 online menus: Kaos starts at $13 for cheese, Homegrown at $14 and Joy Hill at $16 for a 12 inch Margherita. A single New York style slice runs $4.50 at Brooklyn’s Finest and $5.50 at Sexy Pizza.

Which South Denver pizza place is best for a big group or kids?

Beau Jo’s near DU is built for groups, with mountain pies sold by the pound and a weekday lunch buffet from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Kaos on South Pearl is another easy pick, with an $8 kids pizza on its current menu and plenty of takeout options.