By Last Updated on July 6, 2023
My wife and I are devout pizza fiends. Pizza is our favorite food. We’ve lived on Amelia Island since 2012 and have seen the pizza scene here ebb and flow. In order to help you find the best pizza on Amelia Island, we’ve ranked the various local pizza bakers across a variety of categories.
What about the best pizza in Fernandina Beach?
This presents an opportunity to clear up confusion about the difference between Amelia Island and Fernandina Beach. Amelia Island is a geographic location. It is a barrier island in northeast Florida. Fernandina Beach is a municipality. If you live on Amelia Island, your mailing address is Fernandina Beach. You can’t send a letter to “Amelia Island.”
There are portions of the Fernandina Beach municipality off of Amelia Island and there are areas on Amelia Island not within the Fernandina Beach city limits as a political designation.
Got that? Either way, on to the best pizza on Amelia Island!
Best pizza downtown
Arte Pizza Wood Fire & Grill (109 N. 3rd St., 904-277-1515)
Fernandina Beach’s historic Victorian downtown offers many dining choices. Espana for tapas and Le Clos for French are tops in fine dining. Amelia Tavern’s pretzels and seltzers are worth the visit. For pizza, it’s Arte Pizza.
Arte Pizza’s Napoli style wood fired oven creates a crispy, charcoal-kissed crust on these otherwise fresh and delicious, straightforward pizzas. Arte has experienced ownership and management changes in recent years which have resulted in an occasionally inconsistent product we’ll keep an eye on for you.
Also best for:
Garlic knots… only if you really, really, REALLY love garlic. Arte Pizza also has the best overall menu of any pizza place on Amelia Island if you happen to be dining with – gasp – someone who doesn’t like pizza. Arte’s lasagna entrée, panini sandwiches, calzones and meatball appetizers are all outstanding.
Open daily.
Outdoor seating available.
Best pizza at the beach
V Pizza (2709 Sadler Rd., 904-659-0026)
A locally owned boutique pizza “chain” from Jacksonville, V Pizza opened its first location one block from the beach on Amelia Island in 2021. All pizzas are 13–14,” lightly charred and well done, and finished with extra virgin olive oil, Pecorino Romano and oregano. Gluten free and cauliflower crusts are available.
Pick your own toppings or choose from V’s specialties, which include a variety of “spicey” options.
Also best for:
V Pizza’s wood fire roasted sandwiches are as good as the pizzas.
Open daily.
Outdoor seating available.
Best pizza slice
Moon River Pizza (925 S. 14th St, 904-321-3400)
Doughy and served piping hot out of the ovens, Moon River Pizza is the only place on Amelia Island where pizza is served by the slice. Moon River does serve full pizzas as well.
Ultra-casual Moon River offers a galaxy of toppings, Kristi’s favorite is plain old pepperoni, mine favorite is the T-Rex slice with pepperoni, Italian sausage, sliced meatball, bacon, ham and extra mozzarella cheese.
Also best for:
Cheese sticks. For a couple, sharing an order of Moon River’s bread sticks plus one of its super-sized slices for each diner will satisfy even big eaters.
Closed on Sundays.
Outdoor seating NOT available.
Best pizza and beer
First Love Brewing (22 South 8th St. Suite 5; 904-310-9721)
What’s better than pizza? Pizza and craft beer. First Love Brewing excels at both.
Since we’re focusing on Amelia Island pizza here, we’ll tell you that First Love Brewing’s owners travelled to Chicago to train under a master pizzaola, import flour from Italy and pair all pizzas with one of their craft beers brewed on site – OK, we had to slip in some beer.
If this matters to you, and it matters to us, First Love Brewing pays its employees a living wage including benefits and paid time off.
Also best for:
Beer – duh!
Closed Monday and Tuesday.
Outdoor seating available.
Best pizza delivery
Townies Pizzeria (819 T.J. Courson Rd.; 904-277-4755)
Best known for its wacky flavor combinations and names – the “Fuery” pizza with Townies original buffalo sauce, chicken and blue cheese crumbles – Townies serves New York style pizza in small, medium and large sizes.
Townies sources its ingredients locally – some even grown on site – makes its sauce and dough fresh on location daily and its highly involved in community causes on Amelia Island.
Closed Sunday and Monday
Outdoor seating available?
Best pizza for big groups
Coastal Pizza (1916 S. 14th St., 904-491-9998)
Casual, priced right and served in “junior,” “kinda hungry” and “hungry” sizes, Coastal Pizza serves up flavorful, populist, traditional crust pizzas with a wide variety of toppings. Groups and families will feel comfortable here, not go broke, and get in and out in a reasonable amount of time.
Also best for:
Draft beer not brewed on-site; a wide selection.
Closed Monday.
Outdoor seating NOT available.
What do you think?