FEBRUARY 17TH, 2026 // LOS ANGELES - The success of Pizza City Fest proves that Los Angeles is in fact a Pizza City. For its fourth consecutive year, the two-day pizza-focused celebration will be held atop the Event Deck at L.A. LIVE on April 25-26 and spotlight the best pizzerias in Los Angeles and beyond.

Pizza City Fest highlights the area’s vast pizza landscape and the diverse talents of the region’s top pizza makers. Aficionados and casual pizza fans alike will have the exclusive opportunity to taste unlimited offerings from 20 premier artisans, plus a pair of dessert options, each day. The pizzerias will be serving up a variety of toppings, sauces and pizza styles including: Neapolitan, Chicago Tavern-style, New York-style, Artisan, Grandma Pie, Detroit-style, New Haven Apizza, L.A.-style and more.

Founded in 2022 by three-time Emmy and 13-time James Beard Award-winning food reporter, Steve Dolinsky, Pizza City Fest continues to delight and unite pizza lovers with events in three major U.S. cities including Dolinsky’s native Chicago, Nashville, and Los Angeles.

“We’re so excited to be returning to L.A. for our fourth annual event. The pizza scene in SoCal is as robust as ever,” said Dolinsky. “We’ve added nearly a dozen new options this year covering multiple styles. From Santa Barbara to the Inland Empire and down to San Diego, we’re saving pizza fans from spending hours in their cars to try the best pizzas. Since everything is baked fresh on-site, the taste and experience is just like eating in the pizzeria.”

Each year, Dolinsky curates a strong roster of returning Pizza City Fest fan-favorites and he continues to rotate in new pizzerias to show off their bold flavors and unique culinary skills. The 2026 lineup welcomes 10 first timers. Dolinsky has also assembled an incredible lineup of chefs, authors and experts who will share their knowledge through a series of panel discussions and demonstrations throughout the weekend, including Pizzeria Mozza co-founder Nancy Silverton, who will be speaking on the “Dough Whisperers” panel on April 25.

Pizza City Fest is proud to announce the return of Culinary Careers Program (C•CAP) as its official charitable partner for the 2026 event in Los Angeles. The nonprofit provides culinary, job and life skills to more than 25,000 underserved high school students and adults annually. C•CAP focuses on a culinary-and-wellness curriculum, which is an integrated approach to employment in the food industry through apprenticeships and job shadowing opportunities, as well as more than $2.5 million in higher-education scholarships each year.

General admission tickets for Pizza City Fest are $99 per day for Saturday, April 25 and Sunday, April 26 from 1-5 p.m. VIP tickets are $199 per day. VIP guests receive one-hour early admission (12-5 p.m.), access to an exclusive VIP Lounge, preferred seating for panel discussions and demonstrations and an exclusive Pizza City Fest swag bag.

Tickets for children ages 4-10 are $59 per day with paid adult admission. Children may also receive one-hour early entry access to the VIP Lounge only when accompanied by an adult with a VIP ticket.

All tickets include unlimited pizza tastings, beverages, desserts and admission to the panel discussions and demos. Groups of 10 or more qualify for discounted ticket pricing. For more information, contact premiumevents@cryptoarena.com.

American Express® Card Members can purchase tickets before the public beginning on Wednesday, February 18 at 10 a.m. PST through Thursday, February 19 at 11:59 p.m. PST. The public on sale will begin on Friday, February 20 at 10 a.m. PST.

For more information and to purchase tickets, go to lalive.com/pizzacityfest.

Saturday, April 25

Angel City Pizza (Venice)
Anna Pizza (Valley Village)*
Bub & Grandma’s Pizza (Highland Park)*
Emmy Squared (Downtown Los Angeles; Santa Monica)
Esco’s New York Style Pizza (Mid-City)
Fat Lip Pizza & Beer (Corona)
Fat Nattys (Los Angeles)*
Joe’s Pizza (Southern California)
Mievè (Miracle Mile)*
Mike’s Firestone Pizza (Fullerton)*
Mexiforno (Mobile Truck)
Old Gold Tomato Pies (Los Feliz)*
Riip Beer & Pizza (Huntington Beach)
Slice House by Tony Gemignani (Southern California)
Thunderbolt Pizza (Long Beach)*
Tribute Pizza (San Diego)
Triple Beam Pizza (Southern California)
Truly Pizza (Dana Point)
Wallflour Pizza (Eagle Rock)*
Woodstock Farina (Mobile Truck)

Dessert: Lei’d Cookies (Culver City) and Uli’s Gelato (Los Angeles)

*Indicates a new participating pizzeria in 2026

Panel Discussions & Demos

2 p.m. The Dough Whisperers with Nancy Silverton of Pizzeria Mozza & Osteria Mozza and Aaron Lindell of Quarter Sheets. Moderated by Steve Dolinsky.

3 p.m. Demo – The Pizza Principle: A Home Baker’s Masterclass with Thomas McNaughton and Ryan Pollnow of Flour + Water, San Francisco. Moderated by Karen Palmer, L.A. Contributing Food Editor, SF Gate.

Book Signings: Nancy Silverton

Sunday, April 26

Apollonia’s Pizzeria (Mid-Wilshire)
Bettina (Santa Barbara)
Chi-Pie (Reseda)
Detroit Pizza Depot (Hollywood)
Due Fiori (Long Beach)*
Little Dynamite (Mar Vista)
LaSorted’s (Silver Lake; Chinatown)
Nonna Mercato (Long Beach)
Ospi (Venice; Brentwood; Costa Mesa)
Ozzy’s Apizza (North Hollywood; Glendale)
Naughty Pie Nature (Echo Park)
Petramale Pizza (Mobile Truck)
Pie Trap Pizza (Covina)
PiiZaa (Mobile Truck)*
Pizzana (Southern California)
Prime Pizza (Southern California)
Prince St. Pizza (Southern California)
Secret Pizza (El Sereno)
Speak Cheezy (Long Beach)
Two Doughs (Agoura Hills)

Dessert: Wanderlust Creamery (Los Angeles) and Levain Bakery (Los Angeles; Venice; Beverly Hills)

*Indicates a new participating pizzeria in 2026

Panel Discussions & Demos

2 p.m. Demo – Mastering That Portable Pizza Oven in Your Backyard with Daniele Uditi of Pizzana. Moderated by Luca Servodio, The L.A. Food Podcast & The L.A. Countdown

3 p.m. It’s Not the Water! NYC Pizza Exists in L.A. with Esteban Gutierrez of Esco’s New York Style Pizza, Sean Lango of Secret Pizza and Vito DeCandia of Angel City Pizza. Moderated by Noah Galuten, “The Don’t Panic Pantry Cookbook.”

Pizza City Fest Partners

Pizza City Fest acknowledges the valuable contributions of its esteemed partners, who play a vital role in making this culinary event a success. Be sure to check out their larger-than-life activations, dedicated bars, sampling and more from this year’s incredible partners including:

Absolut® Tabasco™
Coca-Cola
Greco & Sons
Grande Cheese Company
ABM Building Maintenance and Facility Services
Melissa’s Produce
Los Angeles Magazine
Chef Works Inc.

About Pizza City Fest

Pizza City Fest was created in 2022 by award-winning food reporter Steve Dolinsky. He’s written two books on the subject, launched a weekly tour business, produces and hosts a bi-monthly podcast and is now taking the next logical step – creating a series of pizza festivals with three objectives in mind: showcase a region’s unsung pizza artisans; educate and inform the public on how to make better pizza at home and what goes into great pizza; finally, to give back to the community through charitable partnerships.

About L.A. LIVE

L.A. LIVE is a vibrant, 4 million square foot entertainment destination located in the heart of Downtown Los Angeles. It is a place that truly captures the essence of the city's lively and dynamic atmosphere. L.A. LIVE offers a wide array of entertainment options, including world-class music venues, a sports and entertainment arena, restaurants, clubs and hotels. Developed by Los Angeles-based AEG, L.A. LIVE is considered to be the nation's most active “live content and event campus.” It features 260,480 square feet of conference center and ballroom facilities, a 100,000 square foot special events deck, the famous Lucky Strike Lanes and Lounge, a one-of-a-kind GRAMMY Museum and it’s all centered around Peacock Place, a multi-use outdoor event space. L.A. LIVE showcases more events, award shows, sporting competitions, concerts and hospitality options than any other destination in the world.

VALLEY-VILLAGE

Pizza City Fest Returns to L.A. LIVE With 40 of Southern California’s Top Pizzerias, April 25-26, 2026