Savor the Flavor: Best Pizza in New Mexico

Cafe Rio, Ruidoso, NM

Cafe Rio is a small, funky, hole-in-the-wall makes made-from-scratch thin crust, hand-tossed pie that captures the definitive New York-style pizza pie. Foldable big slices are slathered with rich tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese as a base for a wide variety of available toppings. Calzones, spicy bread sticks and roasted whole garlic round out the New York flavors found here. House root beer tastes great with a hot slice.

The Pizza Barn, Edgewood, NM

If you are looking for the perfect ratio of crust, sauce, cheese and toppings in your pizza, you might just find it at the big red building right off I40 that is The Pizza Barn. The pan-style pizza has a thick crust which begins with dough made fresh every day and then is topped by the Barn’s signature marinara sauce and, of course, mozzarella cheese. Add your own toppings or try one of the specialties of the house: The Route 66 with roasted green chile, the Barn Burner with green chile and jalapenos and crushed red pepper or something slightly out of the New Mexico box, the Artichoke Roundup. Wine plus 22 beers on tap. 

J.C.'s New York Pizza Department, Las Vegas, NM

This is a place to have a pizza party for the whole family … there’s a three-lane bowling alley, pool tables and video games, plus the pie is straight out of the Bronx. In typical New York pizza fashion, all the elements are there: Thin, foldable crust, light tomato sauce and homemade mozzarella cheese. Try the sans tomato sauce white pizza or the Sicilian, a 14” thick crust that comes with a choice of toppings. 

Zeffiro Pizzeria Napoletana, Las Cruces, NM

The Italians know pizza. Naples, Italy, is considered by many to be where modern pizza really took off. Zeffiro’s serves a traditional Neapolitan, or Naples style, thin crust pizza. The dough is made fresh daily from just four ingredients: Flour, water, salt and yeast. It’s left to rise for 24 hours. Pizzas are cooked in a 900-degree wood-fire oven that creates a flaky and crispy crust. If that weren’t enough of a taste sensation, toppings run the gamut from fresh asparagus to fennel sausage to Hatch green chile and a cornucopia of other ingredients. Fresh baked breads available too. 

Taos Pizza Outback, Taos, NM

Pizzaholics this is the place for you! You can’t eat just one slice. The thick crust has seasoned braided edges that are rolled in toasted sesame seeds. The cheese is tucked neatly under the edges for that stuffed crust experience. Gourmet toppings include items like anchovies, artichoke hearts, fresh basil pesto, capers, smoked salmon. This funky place may look like a throwback to the 1960s, but the food is absolutely contemporary. Good selection of microbrews, as well. 

Straight Up Pizza, Albuquerque, NM

No messing around here, this is New York-style pizza with a New Mexican edge. The pizzas begin with a dough and marinara sauce that’s made daily, from scratch. The southwestern flair comes from green chile, jalapenos, fire-roasted red peppers or a spicy marinara option. The pizzas are hand-tossed and it’s quite a floor show. Once made, the pies are baked in a super-hot oven and arrive at your table piping hot. Sizes range from a personal 10 inch to a large 18 inch. 

Key Insights at a Glance

• Pizza restaurants in New Mexico have their own unique take on making the best pies, often incorporating green or red chile into their recipes.
• Cafe Rio in Ruidoso offers New York-style pizza with thin crust, rich tomato sauce, and a variety of toppings, along with calzones and roasted garlic.
• The Pizza Barn in Edgewood serves pan-style pizza with a thick crust, signature marinara sauce, and mozzarella cheese, offering specialty pizzas like the Route 66 and the Artichoke Roundup.
• J.C.'s New York Pizza Department in Las Vegas serves traditional New York-style pizza with thin, foldable crust, light tomato sauce, and homemade mozzarella cheese.
• Zeffiro Pizzeria Napoletana in Las Cruces offers Neapolitan-style pizza with a thin crust made from fresh dough and cooked in a wood-fire oven, with a variety of gourmet toppings available.
• Taos Pizza Outback in Taos serves New York-style pizza with a thick crust, seasoned braided edges, and gourmet toppings like anchovies, artichoke hearts, and smoked salmon.
• Straight Up Pizza in Albuquerque offers New York-style pizza with a New Mexican twist, hand-tossed with dough and marinara sauce made daily, and options for green chile, jalapenos, and fire-roasted red peppers.