Cleveland chef Marisol Doyle ranks among world’s top pizza chefs

Marisol Doyle’s Leña Pizza + Bagels climbed to No. 48 on The Best Chef Pizza 2026 list, putting the downtown Cleveland restaurant inside the world’s top 50 and adding another layer to a rapid rise that already included a No. 9 finish in 50 Top Pizza USA 2026. The newest ranking was announced June 24 in Milan, where the awards said they drew more than 600 guests, including 500 pizza chefs and more than 200 international journalists. For a restaurant at 331 Cotton Row, that kind of attention does more than boost pride; it can pull more diners downtown, sharpen demand for staff and suppliers, and give Cleveland another business with national reach.

The momentum is steady rather than sudden. Doyle’s ranking improved from No. 83 in 2024 to No. 77 in 2025 before reaching No. 48 this year, while Leña’s U.S. standing moved from a No. 38 debut on 50 Top Pizza in 2024 to No. 9 in 2026. The 50 Top Pizza USA 2026 guide listed 116 pizzerias across 29 states, and the top 15 on the main list automatically qualify for the later world ranking. Leña also appeared as a Top 10 pizzeria in the United States only a month before the latest global honor, giving the Cleveland shop two major credentials in quick succession.

Doyle’s path helps explain why the recognition has stuck. The Best Chef Pizza profile says she was born and raised in Sonora, Mexico, and did not begin working with dough until 2016, when she launched a bagel business in Mississippi. She later trained at Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana and Scuola di Pizzaiolo in Naples, Italy. Leña opened in downtown Cleveland in 2023, building a reputation on precision and consistency rather than novelty alone.

That mix shows up in the food. Pizza Today has described Leña’s menu as wood-fired Neapolitan-style pies alongside American staples such as pepperoni and meat lovers, with weekly specials built from Mississippi sweet potatoes, honey-infused goat cheese, pecans and bacon jam. Doyle also dedicates the last weekend of every month to a Mexican-inspired pizza tribute, a detail that gives the restaurant a signature no chain can copy. Leña’s website places the shop in the rural Mississippi Delta, halfway between Memphis and Jackson, just off Highway 61, which gives Cleveland a destination business with a broader draw than a typical small-town dining room.

For Cleveland County, the business case is straightforward. Leña’s climb has turned a downtown address into a regional calling card, and the restaurant’s ranking now sits among 116 pizzerias in 29 states and 50 of the world’s best pizza chefs.