Detroit-Style Pizza Goes Global – Michigan Favorite Served in Australia and Beyond

Detroit-style pizza has gone from a regional favorite to a full-blown food trend over the past few years. The square, crispy-edged pie born in Michigan can now be found all over the U.S. — and apparently all over the world, too!

Yep. Even Australia.

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Detroit-Style Pizza Is Going Global

A recent post in Reddit’s r/Detroit caught attention after a Michigan native visiting Canberra, Australia spotted a restaurant called Grease Monkey (Greasy's for short) proudly advertising “Detroit Style Pizza.” The sign even says the pies are “Born in the Motor City.”

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The comments quickly filled with nostalgic and confused reactions from Michigan natives who never expected Detroit-style pizza to show up around the world.

Some users said they grew up eating Detroit-style pizza without realizing it was considered its own thing outside the state. Others shared stories of spotting Detroit-style pizza joints in Portugal, Korea, Japan, and beyond.

What Makes Detroit-Style Pizza Different

So what makes Detroit-style pizza so special?

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The style traces back to Detroit in 1946, when Buddy’s Rendezvous began baking pizza in rectangular blue steel pans originally designed for automotive factories. Instead of a thin crust, Detroit-style pizza features a thick, airy dough baked in a deep pan, with cheese spread all the way to the edges. That cheese caramelizes against the metal, then sauce is layered on top.

Australia’s Take on a Motor City Classic

Grease Monkey appears to take the Detroit inspiration seriously. According to Australian publication Out In Canberra, the restaurant introduced Detroit-style pizza back in 2019 after already building a following for burgers and fried chicken.

The owners told the publication:

And it's not just one location. Grease Monkey has multiple restaurants throughout the Canberra region

Greasy's also leaned into the Motor City connection, noting the pizzas are cooked in square pans inspired by automotive parts trays from Detroit. That said, some of the toppings may raise eyebrows among Detroit pizza purists.

The restaurant’s “Detroiter” pizza comes topped with chorizo, pineapple, Spanish onion, and jalapeño ranch. Other pies feature combinations like tandoori chicken with mango chutney, garlic prawns with herbs, and hot honey with pepperoni.

Honestly, some of them sound delicious to me!

One Reddit user joked, “That may not be a real Detroit, but that does sound good as sh--!"

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They even do fun specials like a pie topped with spaghetti and meatballs and Christmas dinner pizza, made with turkey, ham, mushroom, cherry tomato, cranberry sauce, cheese, walnut stuffing, sage, and duck fat glaze.

Unfortunately, the original poster never actually got to try it...They admitted they “got a bit messed up” and ended up eating at the brewery next door instead.

From Local Favorite to Global Menu Item

Still, the bigger takeaway is simple: Detroit-style pizza isn’t staying local anymore. From Michigan to Australia and beyond, the Motor City original is showing up on menus in places most people might not expect, like New Delhi, Glasgow, and London.