For More than 60 Years, Iowa’s Own Pagliai’s Pizza Has Been Serving Up Heaven By The Slice

In 1953, an Iowa pizza legend started, when Sam Pagliai started serving his parent’s old-world pizza recipe in a neighborhood bar in Ames. It was the start of a very good thing. A pizza joint followed and in the 1960s, the family opened a new location in Iowa City. That Iowa City location, A & A Pagliai’s Pizza, is still around and it’s an institution. It’s the oldest dedicated pizza restaurant in town and the only Pagliai’s Pizza still owned by the original Pagliai family. The restaurant continues to win over scores of new fans, slice by slice. Here’s why this Iowa City restaurant is a piece of pizza heaven that you have to visit.

Pagliai's Pizza is located just north of downtown Iowa City. If you wander by the restaurant, you can see the workers making pizza through the windows.

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The restaurant also makes and sells frozen versions of its pizza that are coveted by people around the country who can't make it here in person.

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The pizza is made with a traditional Pagliai family recipe that's been passed down through the generations. All the ingredients are fresh and delicious - even the meat is ground daily, in house.

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Customers rave about the pizza - especially the unique crust. If you like a deluxe pizza, order the "Palace Special." It's topped with sausage, beef, pepperoni, mushrooms and onion.

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On Valentine's Day, treat someone special to a special pie.

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There are pizza restaurants that are local secrets that only a select few know about. Pagliai is not one of those places!

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If you can’t make it to Iowa City’s Pagliai’s Pizza, extended members of the family own restaurants in Grinnell and Johnston, and locations can also be found in other states, including Ohio and Kentucky. If you’re still hungry to explore Iowa City’s pizza scene, head to the Airliner, another legendary spot.