There is only one deep dish pizza place in San Francisco that I get truly excited to visit and that place is Little Star Pizza.

With various locations in the East Bay, Mission, and Western Addition, it has the neighborhood street cred with fantastic accessibility. I have only been to the Divisidero location, though I’d encourage you to try out the one closest to you– I’m sure they’re all good. Little Star does not offer your light and pretty Italian-style pizza. This is the kind of cool pizza joint you go to for casual brewskis and a tasty slice (or 3).

Top: Outside sign, Bottom: 'The Classic' Pizza

Although I almost always get the ‘Classic’ deep dish (sausage, mushroom, onion, bell peppers), their thin crust pizzas (like the pesto one) are delicious too. In terms of flavor, I think what sets Little Star apart from other deep dish places (like Paxti’s) is the crust. While many places get the texture and thickness wrong by making it too flaky or biscuit-like, Little Star keeps their crust crispy, thin, and full of the cornmeal-y grit that stands up well to the heavy toppings.

They also serve a few other items aside from pizza, like a caprese salad and spicy chicken wings, but you’d have to tell me how those are. When I’m at Little Star, my entire food-capacity goes strictly to pizza (and maybe a beer).