Best Pizza in NOVA

If you’re trying to settle an argument about where to get pizza in Northern Virginia, the honest answer is that the two spots locals bring up most often ask for different things from you. Stracci in Del Ray rewards patience and planning. Pupatella in Arlington rewards eating on the spot. Which one “wins” depends on whether you’re planning a night out or just want a good pie right now.

Stracci: worth building a plan around

Stracci, tucked into Del Ray in Alexandria, comes up again and again as the pizza people describe in superlatives — one commenter called it the best pie they’d ever eaten, and another framed it as date-night pizza: polished, a little fancy, the kind of meal you build an evening around rather than grab on the way home.

Related reading: Cheap Date Night Ideas in Falls Church.

That reputation comes with a catch. Multiple commenters pointed out that actually getting a Stracci pizza takes effort — pickup slots fill up fast, walk-in waits can stretch long even right after opening, and getting a table isn’t a sure thing. None of that seems to change people’s minds about the pizza itself; even the people complaining about the hassle still said it was good. The practical takeaway is that Stracci isn’t a last-minute decision. If you’re thinking about it, order ahead or go on a quieter weekday rather than showing up on a whim.

Pupatella: excellent, but only if you eat it there

Pupatella’s reputation is almost the mirror image. In the dining room — at the original spot near Ballston or the South Arlington location — the pizza gets consistent praise, with people describing it as reliably excellent visit after visit. It’s Neapolitan-style, which means a softer, wetter center than a New York slice, and that’s by design rather than a flaw.

The sharp split in opinion shows up around delivery and takeout. Several commenters described getting a soggy or undercooked pie when Pupatella traveled, even for a short drive home, and said the experience didn’t match what they’d had in the restaurant. Others pushed back hard on the whole premise, calling it overpriced or overrated regardless of how it’s eaten. But the people defending it were specific about why the gap exists: Neapolitan pizza is meant to be eaten within minutes of coming out of the oven, and anything that delays that — a drive, a delivery bag — works against it. If you’re going to try Pupatella, the clearest path to a good experience is sitting down and eating it there, not ordering it to go.

So which one should you pick?

These two don’t really compete for the same moment. Stracci is the choice when you’re planning a dinner out and don’t mind reserving ahead or working around a wait — the payoff described by fans is a genuinely memorable pie. Pupatella is the choice when you’re near Ballston or South Arlington and want to eat immediately, in the restaurant, rather than box something up for later.

What both have in common is that neither is a fallback for pizza-when-you-just-want-delivery. If that’s what you need tonight, neither spot’s strongest fans would tell you to order it to-go.

Community research sources

• Reddit discussion 1eoznbo
• Reddit discussion 1px3fsb

---

From NOVA This Week.