Best Pizza in Destin/Fort Walton Beach

The most hotly contested topic I see in the Destin forums and Facebook groups is, "Who has the best pizza in Destin?" My friends and I LOVE pizza so every year we have a pizza party and we buy a 'meat lovers' pizza from the most recommended restaurants. We eat the pizza carefully and intentionally, and then cast our votes. No one will EVER agree unanimously on the best pizza, but this is how WE do it, and it seems pretty fair. I haven't seen anyone else going through the expense of purchasing all the pizzas at the same time and eating them all together. So here we go!

Let's get right to it--PIZZA!!

#1 Pizza: Lost Pizza Co.
There is a Lost Pizza Company in both Destin and Fort Walton Beach. Last year was the first year they made it into our top three finalists, and they took home the crown on their first entry. Their crust is not too thin, and not too thick. It is just right. They put chicken on their meat lovers pizza, which is a topping I don't normally see on that pizza. Their pizza was loaded with toppings and cheese, and their sauce was not too skimpy nor too much. It was just right! I don't know what else to say about this pizza except that IT IS DELICIOUS! What it is: It's the pizza we agreed was overall BEST. What it's not: authentic "Italian food" pizza. That is a different space I'll hit on later. If you just want some good ol' American style pizza, GO GET THIS. (I don't not get paid in any way for my recommendation!) PS. The BBQ nachos here are to die for and when I go for lunch, I have a feast upon them with my pizza.

#2 Pizza: Vinny McGuires
I'm telling you right now, this pizza is freaking good!! You order a pizza here by building it yourself, topping by topping. That means, of course, it is built EXACTLY how you like it, which is hard to beat. We always get the smoked sausage, plus ham, bacon, meatballs, all the good stuff...I think the sausage is homemade...but at any rate, this pizza is delicious and won our contest easily in 2022. An interesting thing about this pizza is the size of it. While keeping the pizzas warm for our contest, we noticed that Vinny's wouldn't fit in the oven. The oven door wouldn't quite close. It is the largest pizza of anywhere. While I didn't consider it overpriced (especially considering it has like 5 pounds of meat on it!!), some poeple complain about $40 for a pizza. I look at it like $40 just fed my whole family and you can't go to ANY restaurant and do that, not even fast food. But then add to the fact that it's several inches larger than the competitors...it just makes it that much better. This pizza couldn't have been more than half a point behind the winner. I mean seriously they were almost tied.

#3 Pizza: FUBAR
Fubar Pizza is delicious. They have many other things on their menu that are all good. Also, FUBAR offers the only pizza place that I know of with Waterfront dining. It's very fun to go sit outside on the water. Their crust is perfectly thin. They have delicious meats on the pizza and they don't skimp on toppings. FUBAR is a dive bar...the resturant is nothing fancy at all (but did I mention waterfront, sunset?). Service is hit or miss. If you want to pick it up, you can order a pizza online and it will be ready on time. (This is true for first and second place titles too.)

Here are the top 3 side by side. Left: Vinny McGuires. Middle: Fubar. Right: Lost Pizza.

#4 Pizza: Merlin's
It has been a little while since I have been to Merlin's pizza, and they didn't make it into our top three for the grand prize winner last year. However, locals and visitors alike RAVE over their pizza, so I listed this pizza in fourth place. They make their sauce and dough fresh daily, and they don't use cellulose in their cheese nor soy in their meat. This is a good quality pizza. While the taste of the pizza wasn't in my top three, it is still a winner. If you are located close to this location, GET THIS PIZZA!

#5 Pizza: Buffalo Jack's Wings & Pizza
Buffalo Jacks is located in Sandestin which is quite a ways from where I live in Fort Walton Beach. So to be fair, I don't have this pizza often. However, IT IS DELICIOUS PIZZA. One of the things you must consider when choosing a pizza is the distance between you and the pizza. Traffic through Destin can be insane. At the wrong time of Day, it could take an hour to get from the Baytowne Wharf to the Destin Harbor (meaning, from Buffalo Jack's (close) to Vinny McGuires). You are going to have to SOMEWHAT choose a pizza based on your location. Every pizza on this list is AMAZING so just get the one closest to you. If you have been in the sun all day, or better yet had a few cocktails, all these pizzas will be the best meal you have ever had, EVER.

So at this point, I'm just going to list other highly recommended pizzas! It is not fair to continue to "order" them as we didn't taste all these at the same time side by side. I have had them all. I will comment with my experience.

Pazzo Italiano
Mimmo's
Fat Clemenza's

These are authentic Italian pizzas which are not really like the "American" pizza I have grown to love. These are on a thin authentic crust, and not "loaded" with toppings. It also isn't loaded with sauce (but has enough cheese). I like a "heavy" pizza and these are lighter pizzas. I could eat the entire pizza by myself. It is DELICIOUS pizza, and I have listed these three in the order I preferred them. If you like AUTHENTIC pizza, then this probably moves up into first place for you. PS. The other Italian dishes at these places are ON PAR! I do love Italian food in general.

Jet's Pizza
I have only had Jet's Pizza once but I would definetely have it again. It was good. It was a square pizza instead of round which makes tons of sense really. But the top 5 pizzas on the list really put Jet's in the shadow. Was it good? Absolutely good! If you need pizza and this one is close to you, don't hesitate.

Grimaldi's
I used to have a little condo where I could walk to Grimaldi's. I have to admit I never truly liked their pizza. Not only the crust, but the entire pizza was thin. I just didn't feel like there was much substance to it. I think there are better local pizzas in town, so I would recommned that you try one of those instead. If you are located near Grimaldi's, then you are ALSO fairly close to Lost Pizza Co. Did you notice who was in the number 1 position? I rest my case!

Best Delivery Bucetti's Beach Pizza
I am a property manager on Okaloosa Island and I get asked all the time about delivery. I don't know much about delivery in Destin other than chains, but on Okaloosa Island, Bucestti's is the ONLY delivery, and their pizza ain't half bad. They ALSO have a BEACHFRONT pickup point with a few barstools down the boardwalk if you want to enjoy a quick lunch with a friend. (This is not a restaurant by any stretch of the imagination.) I had pizza with a friend beachfront on a beautiful Fall day (think, just-right-weather but crispy sun with the crispy pizza.) If you want a memorable pizza experience on Okaloosa Island, or pizza to show up at your door, this is the place for you.