Welcome back, Polk County.
Mike here.
We've seen both the best pizza in Winter Haven AND also the best pizza in Polk County, so now it's time for locals to tell us the best pizza in Lakeland.
But, fair warning, this list is VERY similar to the Polk County list, so it seems like a lot of the best pizza is in Lakeland...
Katie and I LOVE pizza, so we actually started The Best Food In Polk county articles talking about pizza in Winter Haven; but now I'm excited that this list is throwing a few new spots for us to make our way to.
We recently made Calogero's in Lake Alfred one of our go-to spots for woodfire (definitely a 10/10), and at the moment if we want NY-style our go-to is Palace Pizza Downtown.
That said, for you thin-crust lovers we'd recommend J. Burns!
But alright, without further ado:
The Best Pizza Places in Lakeland.
And, as always, this isn’t just a list I’ve put together based on my own preferences…
This list was built from HUNDREDS of votes, from locals just like you.
Let’s go 
Special Author’s Note:
Whenever we have a pizza review our top 10 list I always mention the fact that Katie and I consider ourselves picky when it comes to pizza; being from Long Island, NY (and Katie from New Jersey). That said, this list is based on local votes, not ours. That's what our food reviews and my final vote at the very bottom are for!
First Place: Palace Pizza
The Best Pizza Place In Lakeland, Florida
Palace Pizza — 114 S Kentucky Ave, Lakeland
Taking the top spot is Palace Pizza.
What stood out wasn’t just how often it came up ... it was the fact that it literally showed up everywhere.
Across nearly every Lakeland discussion we reviewed, Palace was one of the first names locals mentioned.
This is also mine and Katie's go-to spot for NY-style pizza. You can read our full review for Palace Pizza here.
With voters sharing:
- “Palace all day.”
- “Best pizza in Lakeland.”
- “Palace Pizza hands down.”
If you’re looking for a reliable, go-to pizza spot in Polk County, Palace is one of the safest bets.
Second Place: 716 Pizza Joint
The Second Best Pizza Place In Lakeland, Florida
716 Pizza Joint — 1950 S Combee Rd, Lakeland
Coming in second is That 716 Pizza Joint.
If Palace is the most consistent pick, 716 is where the old school Polk County tastebuds come in and take the win.
AND it just came in as the number two pick for the best wings in Lakeland.
This spot had some of the strongest reactions of any place on the list.
With voters sharing:
- “716 all day.”
- “Best pizza outside of Buffalo.”
- “Nothing compares to 716.”
The votes were close for Palace and 716, which definitely says a lot.
Third Place: J. Burns Pizza
The Third Best Pizza Place In Lakeland, Florida
J. Burns Pizza — 2 Lakeland Locations & 1 Winter Haven
Coming in third is J. Burns Pizza.
This is one that consistently takes the top three across every one of our threads.
So if you like thin-crust, this is your jam.
It also came in at number three on our list of the best pizza in Winter Haven; with two spots in Lakeland being mentioned over and over again.
With voters sharing:
- “J Burns is the best.”
- “J Burns every time.”
- “If you like thin crust, J Burns is really good.”
It may not have the hype of 716 or the reach of Palace, but every time we asked locals about pizza, J. Burns was right there near the top.
It also seems to be the up-and-coming spot that may just slowly take over the county.
Fourth Place: Il Forno
The Fourth Best Pizza Place In Lakeland, Florida
Lakeland (North & South locations)
Moving up a slot from our full Polk County list is Il Forno.
It didn't have the same loud fan base as some of the other spots on this list specifically for pizza ... BUT this is a place that continuously gets sent in as the fan favorite place to eat in all of Polk for Italian food.
It even got the nod on The Best Italian Restaurants In Winter Haven for "Worth The Drive"; having received so many votes, even when it was for a different town...!
With voters sharing:
- “Il Forno is really good.”
- “Il Forno for sure.”
- "Il Forno is the best."
If you’re in the Lakeland area and looking for a solid, reliable pizza spot AND incredible Italian food in general: Il Forno is the spot.
Fifth Place: By The Chef
The Fifth Best Pizza Place In Lakeland, Florida
By The Chef Pizza — 1212 Florida Ave S
Rounding out our Top 5 is By the Chef Pizza.
If authentic New York-style pizza is what you're after (like Katie and I), this is the spot that has earned a devoted following among Lakeland locals.
This is the one I'd call our hidden gem of the bunch, and I'm excited to confirm that suspicion for one of our next food reviews.
Voters said things like:
- "By the Chef Pizza! Real NY style. The best!"
- "By the Chef by a mile."
- "Best thin slices!"
This is definitely one of the spots that Katie and I are most excited to try.
The New York-style and speciality slices look like they're exactly what I have been missing.
Other Great Pizza Places In Lakeland, Florida
If you’re anything like me, you want to try all the best pizza in Lakeland, Florida so you can be the judge for yourself.
So here are the rest of the top ten pizza places in Lakeland, Florida (in order 6-10):
- #6 — Romeo's Pizza & Pasta
- #7 — Primo's Pizzeria
- #8 — Pizza Odyssey
- #9 — KC's Artisan Pizza & Wine Bar
- #10 — Pizzeria Valdiano
Which gives us the full top 10 pizza spots in Polk.
And brings us to the moment you’ve all been waiting for…
My personal opinion (that no one asked for 
).
Here are my top pizza spots:
- Palace Pizza
- J. Burns
- Saving This Spot
As always, I'm reserving that third spot until I have tried every spot on the list, and there are still quite a few I need to get to.
As I mentioned above: By The Chef Pizza is one that I'm most excited for, but I also haven't even been to 716 yet so that alone means I can't give a fair assessment of the top three.
I'm not a big thin crust guy (being from New York); BUT ... I almost wanted to put J. Burns. It has grown on me a bit since I wrote the Winter Haven article and saw how many of you voted for it.
THANKS!
Thanks for reading this edition of The Polk Squeeze today.
Share this with a friend who's been looking for the best pizza in Lakeland.
- Mike Romaine
Never Miss An Event Or Story
Not a fan of Pizzeria Valdiano anymore.
The really bad thing is the cost for 1 pizza!
Clicking on the 10% tip button and they include the tax in that 10%. Bad business practice in my opinion.
Then is the Non-Cash Adjustment fee.
The NCA charge was 4.29%!
Banks charge 1.4-3.4 percent for credit card transactions fees.
But this was a debit card that is backed by Discover card. So the NCA charge is illegal as it is, even if it was rung in as a credit card instead of a debit card transaction,
it’s illegal.
Plus, Discover in-person rates are often in the ~1.4%-2.4% range. This place charges 4.29% and never even tells you about the fees, they leave you to discover it when y‹ finally look at your receipt to try to find out why their pizza cost 30 bucks.
Also there appears to be no NCA when you order online.
My receipt can be found on a popular review App.
Thanks for this! Which on the list is your favorite; if you were to pick just one?
A pizza list without Ciao Bella Pizza and Pasta is an incomplete list. 😢
We’ll definitely continue to update the list as more local recommendations/votes come in! 🙂
You have to try Folds Pizza in The Joinery, best Neapolitan pizza around. The crust is amazing.
Definitely definitely on the list for our personal reviews! We love The Joinery and there’s a good shot Folds only didn’t make the list because it’s so new and not enough locals know about it yet to vote/recommend for this list.
Had J Burns pizza. They burnt the pizza to a dried out piece of cardboard. Yuck. And quite expensive
We always like Mellow Mushroom
Katie and I enjoy Mellow Mushroom. Doesn’t make us fall out of our chairs, but it is good. Thin crust is never our first choice, so J. Burns isn’t our top — but it usually gets a ton of local votes from those who DO like thin.