It’s a funny thing, when a restaurant tells you you’re not allowed to order more food. But that’s exactly what happens every night at Una Pizza Napoletana, a Lower East Side pizzeria that only makes one dough per diner. The restaurant is on so many best-of lists that getting your hands on even one of those Neapolitan pies requires diligently refreshing reservation pages, along with other people who casually use terms like “leoparding” and “bakers percentages.” But, if you truly love pizza, the pay-off is huge.
photo credit: Emily Schindler
The first thing you’ll notice when your server sets an uncut, still-smoking pie in the literal spotlight on your table is how the gravity-defying crust springs up around the center, like the walls of an old city. That crust is the result of over 30 years of tinkering with different flours and techniques by chef and owner Anthony Mangieri, who you’ll see over in the back, stretching pizzas next to a domed brick oven. It’s the sixth version of his restaurant (with locations in New Jersey and San Francisco along the way), and it’s sparse but comfortable, with a jazzy James Bond-esque soundtrack, and a poster of the Italian The Good, The Bad and the Ugly in the bathroom.
Mangieri and another pizzaiolo work like lab techs behind glass windows, treating the very wet, naturally leavened dough like a high-volatility substance, with intentional, delicate movements that don’t disturb the air bubbles formed over 30+ hours of mixing, resting, and fermenting. Those bubbles pop only once you bite into them, in bursts of hot, bready air. That chewy, yet barely-there crust needs nothing more than some sweet San Marzano sauce, squeaky fior di latte, and a few scraps of grassy basil, which is what you’ll get on the perfectly simple margherita.
photo credit: Emily Schindler
That won’t stop you from wishing you could try one of their five other pies, like the Bianca with garlic, the Cosacca with pecorino, or the weekly seasonal special. Una Pizza’s strict one-pie policy can put a slight damper on the experience, unless you manage to get in with a few people who don’t mind sharing. Once you’re in, stretch out your meal. Get a bottle of wine—a red from the foothills of Mount Vesuvius maybe, or something else from a handful of mostly Italian and French options—and an obligatory almond cremolata or sorbetto.
In case you don’t have the patience for reservation-refreshing, there are many great options around town for good Neapolitan pizzas that also cost less than $27. But to experience the city’s most obsessively perfect pie—maybe even the city’s most obsessive single dish—there’s nothing like Una Pizza.
How to get into Una Pizza Napoletana
Una Pizza Napoletana is open Thursday through Saturday, and they release reservations two weeks in advance at 9am. Walk-ins are only accepted for drinks and dessert. For a guaranteed reservation and a chef’s table-like experience, you could consider the The Tavola, a VIP banquette that costs $450, food and beverage not included.
Food Rundown
House Marinated Olives
Start your meal with this bowl of assorted olives with rosemary sprigs and an orange peel. It’s the only standard appetizer, although specials, like lupini beans, roasted red peppers or a charcuterie plate are available some nights. These olives are great to munch on between bites of pizza—especially since there aren’t any salads here.
photo credit: Emily Schindler
Burrata
If they have the burrata, it’s another good choice. The cheese is as sweet as ice cream, and it’s served over a spread of ‘nduja that gently smolders with mild spices.
Margherita
Some say the colors of the Italian flag represent the green hills, snow-capped Alps, and blood shed during the country’s unification. Others say it’s a nod to basil, mozzarella, and tomato. One bite of Una Pizza’s simple but perfect margherita, and we’re convinced the second theory is correct.
photo credit: Emily Schindler
Bianca
Think of this as a blank slate of mozzarella, garlic, basil, and sea salt, which you can enhance with grated parmigiano reggiano, Calabrian hot peppers, anchovies, or pepperoni. You can add these toppings to any pie except for the Cosacca and the special, which changes every night. We like the anchovies, even if the salt bombs can overpower some bites.
photo credit: Emily Schindler
Cosacca
This tomato pie is the same as the margherita, except there’s a little bit of grated pecorino Romano on top instead of buffalo mozzarella. The truth is, no specific pizza here is necessarily better than any other—because they all have the same otherworldly crust. Whatever you want or don’t want on your pizza, you can’t go wrong.
photo credit: Emily Schindler
Corn, Cotija, & Roasted Peppers
There’s always one special pie available, and it usually highlights the season’s produce. This late summer pie is essentially an Italian version of elote, and it’s great. But unless you’re a regular (tell us how), stick to the classics.
Gelato
This almond cremolata gelato is a perfect way to end your meal here, though they do usually have a seasonal sorbetto too. It’s nutty, creamy, and light, and goes great with an espresso.
photo credit: Emily Schindler
Sorbetto
The texture alone is enough reason to order this dessert. Almost as smooth and creamy as the gelato, the fruit sorbetto comes in a small, metal chalice and is a refreshing way to end your meal. The flavors, like lemon with mint, change daily.
photo credit: Emily Schindler
