Quick and affordable bite in New York (because people want to eat): 8 x Pizza in New York
...So that we still have room and desire for a number of cocktails and beers and enough time to explore the rest of the city. After all, New York never slept, right? Don't mention it.
New York heart pizza for ever. Real. It may be due to the Italians who have been 'hiding' in Brooklyn for years, but here you will find the best pizzas in the entire country.
The very best? Perhaps secretly the underdog of New York pizzas: Ops New York in the (great and creative) neighborhood Bushwick (also Brooklyn). The pizza oven here is covered with a mosaic of tiles, the wooden ceiling is worth craning your neck and the long zigzag bar is a nice place to linger for a while. Even without company. The menu is minuscule (it fits between thumb and index finger) and the tables are also just a bit too small for a bottle of vino and a salad – which you should definitely order (did I really say that?) – and the pizza that makes its entrance while balancing on an empty tomato can. And what an entrance. Cracking blackened sourdough crust with enough chew. Tomato sauce on point. Real Neapolitan gold here, and that in New York. No coincidence with a trio of kitchen heroes who previously made a name for themselves at Achilles Heel, Estela and Buvette (just look it up and save it for your next trip).
Hidden deep, very deep in the neighborhood Bedford-stuyvesant, Bed-Stuy for intimates, on a corner with black and white murals by Shantell Martin (another thing to google and never forget) Saranghina Pizza New York. Everything here falls into the category 'Handmade Heaven', even the illustrations, and that is why it is - precisely - a bit outside the lines. The business has several dining rooms and is rustic to say the least, decorated with "garage sale knickknacks", old butcher's plates and old and new crafts are celebrated everywhere. All the bread here is baked in-house, and the pasta is freshly rolled. In short, it is an Italian everyone's friend that is well worth the trip to Bed-Stuy.
It is never disappointing, not in the winter when you can choose one of the aforementioned dining rooms, and not in the summer when you eat your pizza under the grape branches on the patio. With a spritz for brunch or a bottle of wine during dinner: or just both (there is a lot of street art in the area, nice for a walk). Or else you can drink cocktails in the dimly lit bar or bring the whole group of friends together on Sunday Family Dinner. The in-house baker Saranghina Pizza New York sits next-door and delivers to tutto Manhattan. Via! Via! Via!
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Or else you can drink cocktails in the dimly lit bar or bring the whole group of friends together on Sunday Family Dinner. The in-house baker Saranghina Pizza New York sits next-door and delivers to tutto Manhattan. Via! Via! Via!
No longer a secret: Roberta's in the Bushwick neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York, is a new classic. This even goes so far that you can now find Roberta's all over the world (even in... Dublin!), there isn't a festival in America where you won't see the red food truck appear and it's almost impossible not to have heard of them. But the one and only original Roberta's is still in Bushwick, and you still have to join in to take a seat in the dark room. Fortunately, the business has not lost its strength: we are always treated in a friendly manner and the pizzas remain delicious. In the country in the summer? Then next door there is a large 'takeaway' Roberta's where you can get your pizza very quickly. Which you can then enjoy quietly on the large square at a picnic table. Not as nice as the patio of the actual restaurant, but a great alternative.
Because in New York you will end up with a slice in your hand, Pizza lover or not (do they exist?)… A mini list where we think you can simply eat the best points to go (or to stay):
Favorite Paulie Gee's has opened a slice shop a few doors down in Greenpoint, less exotic, just as delicious. If we can tip something, it is The Freddy Prince pizza: a square with cheese first and then tomato sauce. You really have to taste it! best pizza is simply the best. Also a nice place for a white tip: lots of cheese, sesame on the crust, and golden brown caramelized onion. Yum!
Joe's is an oldie and there are several locations throughout New York. Always good.
Prince Street Pizza Detroit-style pizzas are a thing in New York, but if you're craving a square pizza, which is that Detroit thing, Prince Street Pizza stands head and shoulders above the rest. The Spicy Spring is the one to go for, a pizza topped with spicy diavolo sauce, fresh mozzarella and the kind of spicy pepperoni that curls up in little fat-filled cups after it comes out of the oven. And you certainly can't accuse them of skimping on the toppings. Fat? Yes. So dive into the pile of napkins. You need them.
En Scarr's of course, one of the best in town. Do your thing with the famous Zingy sauce, the pizza does not have a weak crust, the cheese is good and the pizza is not greasy. Eat the point on-the-go or walk to the back where you can hang out with your point and pint of beer at the 80s American bar - which we think looks a bit like Netflix's Stranger Things (photo right). You won't be the only one: this is the darling of very creative LES (Lower East Side).
Back in Williamsburg you can also go for a classic slice best pizza. Sounds incredible, 'Best Pizza', but fortunately the place really lives up to its name.
Queens doesn't really have a very good reputation, not even when it comes to pizza. However, we slept in it Boro Hotel – highly recommended if you already know the city well and are not scared of getting in and out of the metro every now and then. The hotel is modern, fresh, spacious (unique in New York) and affordable! Plus: it's home to Beebe's.
Although there are a number of special pizzas on the menu, you can always customize your pizza as you wish. Margherita 'vodka style' or plain or blanc with mozzarella, home-made ricotta, pecorino and garlic. And then throw all kinds of toppings on top, from anchovies to sweet fennel sausage. Let's throw it.
The Stracciatella is also nice, a pizza that is covered with homemade stracciatella cheese and then topped with arugula. It is not without reason that it is one of the most popular pizzas on the menu. The Hot Italian is also a crowd favorite, and the Mike's Hot Honey for some sweetness. Or the classic Roni, you can't go wrong with either. The Italian meatballs can also be added, call it a dessert.
Definitely go to DUMBO (which stands for “down under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass” – grab your bike!) for the best views of Manhattan. Grab an ice cream or a lobster roll on the wide pier, or settle down for a lengthy lunch at the classic River Café. All good. But what you shouldn't do is join the line at Grimmaldi's, one of New York's most famous pizzerias. Patsy Grimaldi sold Grimaldi in 1998 and, surprise, opened Juliana almost next door in 2012. He was no longer allowed to use the Grimaldi name, but he could in his old space at 19 Fulton St., home to the coal-fired oven he used for decades. More people know this now and so there is also a queue for Juliana, although surprisingly less long than the one for Grimaldi. But everything, the crust, the sauce and the toppings is way better. The House Special No. 1 is topped with mozzarella, scamorza affumicata (Italian cow's milk cheese), pancetta, scallions and white truffles in olive oil: there's no pizza like this in NYC.
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