When a city has a name like Sunrise and is in the sunshine state of Florida, you'd expect it to be in a coastal position and lined with glamorous beaches. Sadly, Sunrise is neither. Sunrise is bordered by the alligator-infested Everglades, so swimming locally is pretty much off the agenda of the majority of residents unless it's in a pool.

When locals and visitors do go exploring the nearby wetlands, it's on an airboat where their feet are well clear of the water. You won't need an airboat to surf the Sunrise streets in search of pizza. Pizzerias began appearing in Sunrise when the original urbanization, designed to be a retirement golfing village, began expanding in the late 1960s.

There wasn't much to attract new settlers to the area other than a house built upside down by developers back then. There’s not a lot more now, but thankfully, pizza in Sunrise, Florida is and always has been, served the right way up.

While you may find a few variations of type on the pizzeria menus, the mainstay of the city and what Sunrise is known for is its thick crust pizzas. They're a hearty bite cooked in true Italian style. Whether that's because the city population likes it the best or it's what the pizza chefs prefer to prepare is unclear.

The deep crust pies you'll get in Sunrise have a base leavened with yeast so when baked the crust is decked with crunchy, charred bubbles. It's a crust that's left bare of sauce and cheese too but given a light coating of oil before cooking to make sure it crisps up nicely. When it comes to topping ingredients pretty much anything goes, but two popular additions are roast chicken and that all-time classic pizza favorite pepperoni. If you're not into tomato sauce, that's not a problem in Sunrise as most restaurants have thick-crust, white pies on their menus too.

Best delivery pizza in Sunrise, Florida

When you order a delivery pizza, you want what you get at home or work to be just as good as if you were eating in the establishment that's making it. You'll get the best delivery pizza in Sunrise when you order from Sal's Italian Ristorante on Sunshine Boulevard.

Sal's Italian Ristorante is exactly as its name implies. A traditional-looking premises with that touch of Mediterranean ambiance created by the gleaming terracotta tiles, polished wood, and bare brick interior. A few pink plastic flowers in wall vases add a lovely touch of contrasting color.

Sal's delivery pizza loses nothing of its quality from being packed in a box and transported to wherever you happen to be. There'll be no soggy thick-crust pizza arriving at your door when you get your delivery pizza in Sunrise from Sal's. They do a great stromboli and calzone too.

Best takeout pizza in Sunrise, Florida

When you really fancy indulging your every whim and want what could easily be classed as an entire meal as pizza topping, you'll get the best take-out pizza in Sunrise from Goodfellas. They really know how to put ingredient combinations together to create an unusual, but very tasty pie.

One great thing about getting a takeout pizza in Sunrise from Goodfellas is you won't be bored while waiting for your pizza to cook. There's a huge TV on the wall above the bar, but more entertaining is watching the chefs in the open-plan kitchen as they go about preparing your pie. It's reassuring to be able to see just how immaculately clean and shiny all the stainless steel in the kitchen area is too. Goodfella's have got absolutely nothing to hide when it comes to preparing, cooking, and serving great pizza.

Best pizza near Sunrise, Florida

Weston

Weston is a city right on the edge of the Everglades, around thirty miles from Miami and where a lot of high earners choose to live. If it sounds idyllic, add alligators, snakes, and bears to the scenery and it's suddenly not so enticing. The same can't be said about the pies from Anthony's Coal-Fired Pizzas. The sauce is made from specialty Italian tomatoes imported by the boss himself. If that's not dedication to pizza making, then nothing is.

Plantation

Plantation is a city only five miles south of Sunrise, but one with a totally different sporting history. Plantation is the birthplace of numerous professional NFL and MLB players, several tennis players, writers, actors, and singers. Could it be something in the water or maybe the pizza in Plantation that's helped so many on the road to success? There's only one way to find out and that's by dropping in at somewhere like Gianni's Pizza Center and trying some for yourself.

Coral Springs

Coral Springs is a city less than ten miles north of Sunrise with a surplus of outdoor recreation and cultural activities. Whatever you think of, nature reserves, art galleries, museums, and Coral Springs has it. They have great pizza too, made by a family who opened their first pizzeria in the city way back in 1988. Since Pasquale's Pizza Company now has four establishments in Coral Springs, that can only mean they're pretty darn good and the locals love them.