Song E Napule

Mangia, mangia! I don’t know if the Chef here is Neapolitan, but he sure looks and sounds the part. He’s a buoyant, vital presence, stretching in the doorway of this tucked-​away little gem on Houston and courting customers in Italian.
A pizzeria has been here in one form or another as long as I can remember (DeMarco’s, anyone… Mezzaluna?). I don’t know if there’s any continuity, but the quality has always been good. In its present incarnation, this thing-​crust hideaway is serving some of the best fresh-​out-​the-​oven pizza in New York City.
Shockingly (and luckily) booking a table for lunch on a Sunday only took one quick phone call. We sat outside people-​watching while the pizza-​master rattled off his daily specials. They also dropped off some fresh bread with a ricotta dip. My younger nephew, who recently appeared on Chopped Junior, went with the bolognese pasta, a dish he uses to benchmark the baseline competence of any Italian restaurant. It was spectacular (I verified), the best he’s ever had.
As for the rest of us, we gorged on the red Sicilian pie (tomato sauce, smoked mozzarella, eggplant, basil, shaved caciotta, and extra virgin olive oil.) and the white Filetto Di Pomodore Pizza (cherry tomatoes, buffalo mozzarella, basil, and extra virgin olive oil). Wa-​wa-​wee-​wa! The only knock is there were too many cherry tomatoes on the white pie for our taste. Otherwise both pies were to die for.
The chef was extra generous upon hearing of the nephew’s culinary ambitions, treating him to a very rich white-​sauce shrimp pasta dish, as well as all of us to some killer pana cotta.
Can’t recommend this place enough, but do us a favor and keep it hush hush.

Came here with two friends on a Saturday evening to this cute, small restaurant. We ordered a pizza and a pasta to share, but the thing that was unforgettable was their bread! Food was good but their bread was delicious!
The outside of the restaurant would not attract you too much but it’s nice when you walk in! Everything was tasty overall and service was great!

This place was one of the coziest places I’ve ever eaten at. We ended up stumbling into this boutique street view restaurant to experiment with some authentic Italian food. The best part of this experience was the owner who came out and greeted us, and recommended his top choices. The food is prepared fresh, and the quality was superb. I will certainly be revisiting this little piece of heaven.

Stopped in for a late Saturday lunch. The restaurant seats about 20, I believe there were six other guests.
Good bread came first, an often reliable indicator of the integrity of the restaurant. We were blown away by the grilled calamari appetizer. Beautiful presentation of fresh, tasty, tender squid, both the intact bodies and the tentacles. On the side were a few slices of perfectly grilled eggplant and zucchini in a light bath of oil.
Our daily special pizza was one of the two or three best I have had in NYC and better than any I have had in Italy. It featured, burrata, marinated anchovies, nduja, shaved lemon, caciotta cheese, and a topping of arugula. Wood fired, with just a touch of blistering. We had to finish the 16″ pie, it was too good to leave any behind.
A long conversation with the patron, Ciro, ensued after I inquired about the spicy nduja, (imported from Italy) and he comped us to some panna cotta.
Wines by the glass, a super Tuscan and a pinot grigio sufficed for us.
The cons here are: it’s cash only; and if you need to use the facilities, you walk through the kitchen. A small price to pay for food with the savor of authentic Italian ingredients.

Delizioso! What a find. And you know when the owner Ciro gives you a big bear hug as walk in the door you’re in for something special. Don’t expect a fine dining atmosphere or comfy digs, but if amazing authentic Italian food with a personal touch is your thing, Song E Napule is for you. Dinner for 4 comprised of their grilled squid starter, two pizzas, the ravioli special, and two bottles of wine their best wine all for under $ 200 (before tip). Cash only, but they have an ATM in the restaurant. A great alternative to the pretentious restaurants throughout Greenwich Village and NYC. I can’t wait to return.

I love how Unilocal can point me to a hidden little gem like this one.
Walking by you would not be terribly impressed. The location & décor is a bit hole-​in-​the-​wall. Along the one side you have this wood paneling. It seems like half of the dining room is actually on the sidewalk. Welcome to NY! :)
Being a denizen of these parts, I know there are a lot of touristy spots. And they’re full of pomp & pageantry but the food sometimes falls flat.
Not so with Song. This place is absolutely ridiculous. First they bring some bread with this red wine syrup & oil for dipping. The syrup was thick & sweet. I’d never had anything like it before. Stir it up in the oil, and dip your bread for a real delight.
For appetizer we shared a kale salad with pine nuts, and a couple of glasses red.
For our mains, I had a margharita pizza which I’d put in the league of Paulie Ghee. Serious serious goodness here. My date had the gnocchi & the reaction on her face was that it was absolutely divine. That’s good because she was hesitant when we first walked in.
The place is super festive, with spanish music playing in the kitchen, an asian waitor and the italian chef checking on everyone to make sure you’re happy & of course that you love your food!
Will definitely come back here again. Hopefully a few times before they get really big. That’s gonna happen believe me.

Delicious real Italian-​style pizza, from a real Italian — Owner is friendly and dedicated.

The owner is so Italian and so friendly, it makes it very fun to dine here. I wasn’t blown away by the pizza or the pasta though. Solidly tasty but not my ideal: pizza crust is thin but soft and the pasta is homemade but too much sauce applied. Not a bad spot to grab a quick bite with a friend or (not first) date but it’s tiny so plan accordingly.

Grazie Ciro per averci fatto sentire a casa! Translation: thanks Ciro for making us feel at home. Small cozy place run by a super friendly Italian owner. Both my wife and I are Italian and we both had pizza… we must confess those were the best pizzas we have had in a long time — much better than some that we have recently eaten back home in Italy but, more importantly, so much better than the average overpriced flatbread (yes, they don’t deserve to be called pizza) that you would regularly find in New York. Every table was offered with some fresh bread and ricotta and, when the check came, we got complimentary panna cotta. A great finishing touch! Great coffee too. Will definitely be back! GRAZIE!!!

I will start with this: My review can never fully capture the full experience of this place. Ciro is the owner and he is a true neopolitan. He knows what pizza is. (We’re not talking about your «New York» utility slice of pizza. We’re talking about what true pizza napoletana is.) The pizza, the ingredients, the ambiance, and the owner, Ciro, are everything that Italian style pizza stand for. Getting good pizza (Italy style pizza) is an on-​going trend now in NYC as well as other cities. I’ve tried a good amount of them, easy to say that Song E Napule is THE BEST in the city, hands-​down, no contest. Go visit Ciro, have some pizza and a Moretti, sing some Renzo Arbore songs, and have fun with the strangers next to you (don’t be shy). It’s a great experience.

This place is great! I was craving pizza and pasta like CRAZY last week (I guess it was the cold). My friend and I met up here.
It’s a small restaurant, so go early to grab some seats. The place filled up quickly. We went on a Wednesday around 6:30 PM. We were lucky, and got to see by the window. We ordered a pizza to share (alcicce e Fughi Pizza) and the gnocchi. Both were absolutely delicious. I would definitely have to come back here again.
Also, the service was amazing. The owner came out to talk to us every now and then.
One caveat! This place is cash only! So make sure you head to the ATM beforehand!

I’ll keep this short & sweet… all these reviewers are NOT wrong. This place is fantastic! If I lived in this ‘hood I’d have to invest in an entire new wardrobe because I’d be eating their pizzas weekly and wouldn’t fit into any of my clothes.
Service was fantastic. It was snowing on the day my friend & I came for dinner and if the staff saw people peeking in, they’d go outside in the cold and welcome them inside. How often do you see that? We came at an «off» time (4pm on a Sunday) and it was packed. I can’t imagine how they manage to accommodate all their customers on a Thurs/​Fri/​Sat night because the place is very small (a.k.a. «cozy» in NY terms!) but if you have time to spare, I promise that ‘Song’ is worth the wait!

I’ve never been here so I cannot rate this place. Somehow Unilocal posted my review for another restaurant here… sorry guys
Of course it won’t let me delete it, only edit.

Food is phenomenal. Traditional, quality Italian food. Squid ink pasta with shrimp was delicious. Be sure to ask for recommendations etc. The owner/​chef provides wonderful, personal service that makes you feel like you’re in a friend’s kitchen.
Don’t forget it’s cash only.

We were excited to try this restaurant because of all the good reviews, we called in advance few times but the waiter said call 30 minutes prior to arriving which no problem we did because of all the awesome reviews. We get to the place, it’s awfully small, which is also okay. We asked if there’s as a bar the owner or chef whoever he was said No, only wine and beer which is also okay so we asked if it was okay to step out to call
Our friends to ask if they were fine with just wine and beer — he responded in the most unprofessional rude manner I have experienced in a long time. He waived his hand and said «forget you» and walked away. I was taken back by his behavior — in this day and age who does that? We just needed a minute to ask our friends if that was okay and this man reacted this way. I probably will not go back to this place regardless of the reviews or the food. For me the most important thing is customer service. So if you can’t be nice, I don’t care how your food is.

Come here and get pizza before it becomes so famous that you have to wait for hours.
Pizzas are delicious. They pay attention to dough, and that’s the aspect most of American pizza places disregard.
The staff is friendly, the phase is cosy. You want to come back here.
They also serve magnificent bread and awesome desert that comes with your check.
I totally recommend everyone to go here instead of some overrated and overcrowded places.
My personal wish: please, add some tissue paper in addition to the one that wraps forks and knife. Really, guys. But even without it you are perfect!

Ciro is the Numbers one in terms of pizza in NYC. I have only been here twice and I have been treated as family. Need to check this place for the pasta, I bet I will be pleasantly surprised.

Delicious! We had a large vegetariana pizza rosse ($ 17) and the spaghetti alla bolognese ($ 18). The complimentary bread and ricotta as a starter and panna cotta as a sweet finish were both unbelievable. I highly recommend this cozy, intimate Italian gem.

I have been craving for fresh ‘Italian’ pasta ever since I came back from Rome. I’ve tried almost every place, but disappointed until now. I had the Gnocchi and the first bite instantly transported me to the best Italian meal I had.
The place is cosy and the chef takes the times to talk to each and every customer, making you feel right at home. The tiramisu is to die for. The chef gave us a free dessert for making us wait for 5 minutes which is unheard of in New York.
If I was a ‘Michelin Men’, I would definitely give it a star. A definite visit to anyone who wants to have an amazing dinner. Perfect for dates or casual time with friends.

Love the dine-​in experience — kale salad, house-​made rigatoni, and pizza were all delicious.
Delivery was a different story — because their pizza is so thin and on the wetter side, it arrived completely squished to one corner, in a giant pizza clump. Also, perhaps because it is so thin, it was only lukewarm when it came :(

Loved it! Tiny place with cheerful front-​of-​house staff, exuberant Italian chef offering greetings and advice («Buona sera! The special is PORCHETTA from ARICCIA — you can look it up – it is the BEST you will EVER taste!!!»), and an outstanding menu (pizza! pasta! PORCHETTA!), all of which induced us to order way, way more than we should have… Food was absolutely delicious. Pizza and PORCHETTA! esp. were out of this world.
They do now serve beer and wine.
Go here! But do not make it so popular that we will not be able to get in…

DELICIOUS pizza marinara and the staff was all fantastically friendly.
We were just wandering around Greenwich Village and we noticed this very authentically Italian looking menu so we stopped in for a late-​night pizza. We weren’t even hungry but we couldn’t resist.
It was totally delicious; hit the spot; all good things.
The best part of the evening was when the owner (or chef or someone in charge) came out and chatted with us. Just bc he’s awesome. Loved it. Such a nice, personable person, as was our waiter and the delivery guy who was the first one to tell us we should come in bc the pizza was great. He was right.
Another truly great NY experience. I find this to be one of the friendliest cities on earth.

I’ve gone to Song E Napule twice now and it’s been a fantastic experience each time. The owners are a couple and truly make you feel like you’re at your italian grandmothers house when you’re there, a real family feel. The staff always makes great recommendations (which you should truly trust) and i’ve never been let down there once. It may not look like a good place from the street, but the food and experience gives this SOHO gem
a ⁵⁄₅

Been twice the past few months.
Venue: (¾) cozy, casual, and smaller venue. There is outside seating for warmer days. The issue is that when we went the owners saw their regulars or friend and with the smaller venue things got loud quickly. This can be lively which it was that night, we left pretty quickly after that. Not good for dates or catching up a friend.
Food (⁴⁄₅)
Eggplant appetizer (⁵⁄₅) tasted fresh and was just amazing. The sauce tastes homemade and was amazing. My friend dipped his bread to get the last of the sauce.
Gnocchi (⁵⁄₅) I would say the best gnocchi I have had in the city. In a red sauce that is amazing
Pizza (³⁄₅) too soggy for me. It has a lifespan of 5 minutes so if you don’t eat it quickly or if the guy is busy still topping your pizza than it gets soggy.

Let me say how Song E Napule and Italian food in general in New York are some of the greatest things that can be found! We stumbled Song E Napule after a quick scan through Unilocal and man, was this place right. I read that people said it was BYOB, but now Song E Napule does serve alcohol! We sat right at the bar to get some view of the food action in the oven and in the kitchen!
FOOD: We started with the house salad, which was pretty good. Lightly dressed and a good variety of leafy greens, the house salad was a cut above the rest. After that, we got a truffle pizza with great thinly sliced prosciutto on top. With the oven right there, you see the pizza go in for a few minutes and quickly baked to perfection. The crust is perfectly crisp, the toppings fresh, the pizza is a must. After that, we got the squid ink pasta, which takes you back to the great land of Italy. Cooked to al dente perfection, completely flavorful, it is great. It tastes homemade, I’m unsure if they actually make it in the back (the space does seem small), but you definitely know that it is not the store bought stuff. This is quality. To wrap it up, the panna cotta. Not too sweet, the right texture and consistency, Song E Napule, your panna cotta is delicious!
SERVICE: Let’s just say impeccable. Austria, who I am to believe is a co-​owner in the business, is so friendly. She quickly served us, engaged with us in conversation, and has a delightful demeanor that makes the meal all that much better! You can tell she likes seeing a smile on people’s faces as they enjoy the great food that comes out of the kitchen, so when you’re happy, she’s happy.
This Italian joint in Greenwich Village is a great find and now I somewhat regret writing this stellar review because I want to keep this little secret all to myself. We did show up at around 2:30 PM on a Saturday afternoon, which got us seated right away and was a little busy. Overall, I love this place and know that I would take people in the future!

After reading all the great reviews we decided to come here for dinner. This place is tiny and you will have to wait outside which I didn’t mind since it wasn’t to cold out and I had time to catch up with my dinner companion.
We were finally seated and were giving some warm bread with a creamy white spread, not sure what it was but I didn’t really like it so I just enjoyed my bread with some olive oil.
We shared the Capricciosa pizza (mozzarella, ham, artichokes, mushrooms) it was delicious. We didn’t think we were going to be able to finish the whole pie since it was large but we did :)
We also got some Italian wine which was delicious.
I really enjoyed how lively this place was, they were playing some Italian music and everyone was clapping and dancing in their seats.

I had called last week to inquire about a reservation and learned that they don’t take weekend reservations anymore. We were told to expect a wait of about 30 minutes, so our group of three was thrilled to be greeted very warmly and seated immediately at the window upon arriving on Saturday around 8. The indoor space is very tiny — enough seating for around 3 – 5 parties — but there’s some outdoor seating too, so I think we were aided by the warm weather and the fact that three groups were dining outside.
Song E Napule is indeed still BYOB, which is great. Everyone seemed to know this and brought either beer or wine. Props to the couple outside who downed an entire double bottle of wine by themselves, although this act did lead to some extreme and unbridled PDA.
We started off with some complimentary bread served with peppered ricotta while we contemplated the menu. We ended up ordering a large (16″) Tartufata and a small (12″) salcicce e fungi. That amount was enough for dinner that night and breakfast the next morning — all for about $ 20 each.
The tartufata (truffle crème, mozzarella, prosciutto di parma and truffle oil) was very nice. The truffle crème and mozzarella is a great combo, and the prosciutto only added to the sensuousness of the dish. The crust was chewy and fluffy all at once. We didn’t like the salcicce e funghi (tomato sauce, mozzarella, sausage, mushrooms, basil and EVOO) quite as much. I thought the sauce was a little tart, and compared to the truffle pizza, it just seemed lackluster.
I would definitely go back for the truffle pizza and for the warm, friendly, accommodating ambience.

Quand je suis arrivée dans ce restaurant (on avait réservé une demi heure avant et heureusement car il est petit et c’était plein à craquer) j’étais fatiguée de ma journée, j’avais qu’une seule envie, rentrer à l’hôtel !
Mon fiancé a voulu me faire aller mieux et a tenté de trouver LE resto qui allait me requinquer et bien je peux vous dire que mon amoureux c’est le plus fort !
Une ambiance à l’italienne: bruyante, généreuse, chantante (oui oui le chef et les serveurs ont même chanté pour mettre l’ambiance), une équipe avec qui il est facile de discuter de son dernier voyage à Naples, de pizze évidemment…
Nous commandons une pizza chacun et elles sont tout simplement délicieuses ! Dans mon top 3 des meilleures pizze au monde, oui oui rien que ça !
Le chef est napolitain donc ce sont des pizze comme là bas, épaisses et moelleuses sur les bords, fines au centre.
Les ingrédients sont de très bonne qualité et la garniture n’est pas fade du tout !
Pour le dessert nous nous laissons tenter par un cheesecake et une panna cotta. Ils sont exquis, et autant vous dire que ce cheesecake (à la ricotta) est le meilleur cheesecake de NYC, sans aucune hésitation !

I found this place on Unilocal and wanted to see for myself if it was deserving of the rave reviews. My verdict, it definitely deserves 5 stars. Not only is the food amazing, the owners are so sweet and you really feel like you’re being welcomed into their home. The restaurant is pretty tiny and I really wanted to sit outside. The owners were so accommodating with adding an extra table outside just for us. The chef/​owner then explained to us his long list of specials with each sounding more delicious than the last. All the pasta and pizza are fresh and handmade and my only regret is not being able to try everything.
Food: First off, we were brought bread with some ricotta cheese to spread on it. I’ve never had bread with ricotta cheese before and now I am a huge fan. The ricotta was creamy and light with hints of black pepper that really brightened up the flavor. I don’t usually like to fill myself up with bread, but it was so good I couldn’t stop eating it. For my entrée, I ordered the Genovese pasta (with slow cooked veal ragu) which was the owner’s recommendation. The amount of care and pride he has for his food is very noticeable in the quality and taste. The large rigatoni pasta has that nice bite that homemade pasta usually has. The veal ragu was full of flavor and the meat was very tender. I basically wanted to lick the bowl but regained my social graces at the last moment. One of my friends ordered the pasta special (linguine with tomatoes, eggplant and sausage) and it was also fantastic. My other friend ordered the pizza with prosciutto and truffle oil which is apparently a house specialty. The pizza has a thin crust and holds the toppings very well. The dough is delicious and chewy and the toppings were so flavorful and memorable. My friend couldn’t finish his pizza and I happily obliged to help him out.
We were trying to catch a movie down the street so we didn’t stay for dessert, but next time I will for sure be back to try some. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the food and friendly atmosphere of this family owned restaurant. The chef/​owner at one point started singing in Italian and it was so wonderful to see the joy he takes in his food. I will absolutely be back here again and it’s only 5 minutes walking away from the indie movie theater. Last note is that the establishment is cash only and it’s BYOB so be sure to bring cash and a bottle (or bottles) of wine.

This place is excellent! Trust the five star reviews and definitely try it. Had dinner here last night and it was delicious.
First of all you should definitely make a reservation if you are planning on having dinner because it is a tiny place that doesn’t have much seating. While we were eating last night several groups of people came by and were turned away because there simply wasn’t enough room for them & they didn’t have a reservation.
Austria, who owns the place with her husband, is incredibly sweet! Extremely welcoming and friendly and made our experience great. She gave us several recommendations for which pizzas to try (there are SO many that look amazing) and when we still weren’t sure, offered to make us a pie with half of one type and half of another. Now unfortunately I can’t remember at all what either of them were called but they were both so delicious and I am a super picky eater! Everything tasted fresh and so flavorful. I ordered the shrimp linguine which was also really really good.
It doesn’t seem like you can go wrong here, I will definitely be back again!

Best Italian food I’ve ever had. It’s carb heaven here.
My friend and I came on a Saturday night around 6pm and the (very small) restaurant was almost full. There were 14 seats inside and maybe 6 or so outside.
We got seated and quickly looked at the menu since we were in a hurry to catch a show at 7. I was hoping the service would be fast enough so we could make it on time. Right after we ordered we got our first serving of delicious carbs… a bread basket. Great bread, served with olive oil and vinegar. We finished the whole thing.
Now onto the really good stuff.
We first got our Tartufata Pizze Speciali which was truffle crème, Mozzarella, prociutto di parma, truffle oil. 12 inch pizza for $ 22. (They also have 16 inch ones). My first bite of the pizza sent me to heaven. It was so much umami in one pizza. The thin crust was warm and slightly crispy on the edges, the cheese super melty, the truffle crème and truffle oil just a burst of flavor like you could really really taste it, and prosciutto wasn’t overcooked that it became hard (which happens often on pizzas). I love this dish because of the strong truffle flavor. Right when I finished up my first slice the pasta was here so we were making good timing.
The jumbo rigatoni was so big I had to slice up each piece to eat. They buy fresh pasta (unfortunately they don’t make it fresh because of the limited space in the restaurant) and so it takes only 6 – 7 minutes to cook unlike store bought pasta. Perfectly cooked. And the slow cooked onion and veal sauce it was smothered in… Just delicious. It tasted like home. Something that you eat when its cold outside and you’ve got the fireplace going. Just so home-​y. Generous portion too.
They gave us complimentary panna cotta afterwards and it was very cold and creamy. Very sweet at first but the after taste left in your mouth is almost refreshing and cleansing. Great way to end the meal. If you’re not a huge eater, a pasta and a 12 inch pizza to share should be plenty. And best thing was we finished right before 7 and made it to our show in time.
The owner is so sweet. We were told this is how he makes food from his hometown, Napoli. Sure tasted authentic!
(Also note about their bathroom just because I found it very strange… You have to walk through their entire (very small) kitchen to get to it.)

Saw that this place is now new so read some reviews on Unilocal and decided on a nice 70’s spring weather in April to dine alfresco. Lucky for us, there was one table available outside at 7:30pm!
We were seated by the hostess promptly. Water was served. We also found out that they allow BYOB so definitely next time! Saw a father dining with his son and a bottle of red.
We ordered a pizza to share and veal rigatoni. Both were delicious. The pizza sauce was just right, a little soggy in the middle but crunchy at the crust. The veal pasta was perfect Al denote and the sauce was nothing like I’ve had before, PHENOMENAL!!! It reminds me of butternut squash sauce.
Definitely be back and will be ordering weekly for delivery!