I ate the ‘world’s best’ street pizza near Bob Dylan’s old flat – I left disappointed

Maybe it was my jet lag. Perhaps it was the pizza. When I arrived at the famous L’Industrie Pizzeria in New York’s even more famous Greenwich Village, I was tired and grumpy. I had just come off a seven-hour flight from London and went straight into the city. After one skyscraper view, tens of blocks walked, a visit to Hotel Chelsea, a selfie in front of Carrie Bradshaw’s apartment, and even a knock on Bob Dylan’s door, all I wanted was a good Big Apple pizza.

So I decided to try L’Industrie Pizzeria. A small but widely praised spot, L’Industrie has made a name for itself among pizza lovers in the city for its thin, crisp crust and artisanal toppings. It’s often recommended as one of the must-try New York slices by food bloggers and locals alike. Even better, its branch in Greenwich Village is located near Bob Dylan’s official apartment when he first arrived in New York. 

I arrived and found myself in a queue that stretched down the block. I was shocked – is this what life outside Britain looks like? I waited for almost an hour, forcing my eyes not to close, as it was the middle of the night back in London.

The long waits at L’Industrie are no surprise. Massimo Laveglia, the Tuscan-born chef behind it, has been perfecting New York-style pies since opening the first store in Williamsburg in 2017. His pizzas are, as Time Out reports, beautifully blistered and crisp, topped with Italian classics like Prosciutto di Parma and creamy burrata. 

In 2025, L’Industrie was awarded “World’s Best Street Pizza” by the Best Pizza Awards, a Europe-based organisation founded in 2015 by a Polish neuroscientist and an Italian gastronomist to celebrate the undeniable excellence of the simple dish.

Once inside, the waiter, despite the absolute chaos around him, patiently answered my questions about the menu. I went for a pepperoni and their famous burrata slice. That’s a farewell to $11. 

Carrying my two semi-giant slices, I sat down at the pleasant next door bar Jungle Bird, which kindly offers to host the hungry pizza-eaters too overwhelmed by the overcrowded L’Industrie. I ordered a fresh IPA. Another $6 gone.  

Then came the first bite. I was hungry. I was desperate for that moment of bliss. But to my disappointment, the pizza was just… okay. It was kind of lukewarm, the pepperoni was a bit dry, and the burrata slice, though visually promising, was small and fairly plain in taste. It wasn’t bad, don’t get me wrong. It just wasn’t particularly exceptional. It didn’t “slap”. 

After I finished my portion, a friendly family from Brooklyn sitting next to me, seemingly too cool to fall for the hype, asked: “Was it worth the wait?”

To L’Industrie’s credit, it boasts a 4.7-star rating on Google, with fans describing its slices as “sooooo good”.

For me, that euphoria is still waiting to be discovered. Multiple times, I even confused the name with Joe’s Pizza, its big rival. Clearly, I was so underwhelmed I didn’t even remember L’Industrie’s name.

Maybe this means I need to come back to New York and do a proper tasting session. One that includes both L’Industrie and Joe’s. 

I wouldn’t mind that excuse at all.