Una Pizza Napoletana

When I first went to Una Pizza Napoletana, I thought it was heaven on a pie. Yasu S. told me about the brick oven, pizza by the pie joint. I thought it was interesting how there was no official closing time and that they closed «whenever the dough ran out».
The second time, I became annoyed at the service and the pizza didn’t taste anywhere close to heavenly. They wouldn’t let you add any toppings to their pies and their Coca Cola bottles were infant sized.
I am still sad to learn of their closing, but am glad to hear that their brick oven will get additional mileage out of it at the new Motorino in the East Village! Motorino is set to open on Mon 9÷14÷2009:
Here a great interview with Anthony Mangieri, the Una Pizza Napoletana chef:

No big deal that this place closed. The pizza was good because the execution was perfect — just the right sweet/​tangy balance to the sauce and exquisitely blistered crust. However, too little sauce is applied to each pizza, so it feels more like eating flatbread.
And at $ 21, it was wildly overpriced. I’ve been to Naples and, you my friend, are no Naples pizza.

Man… I read the New York Magazine review for the top Pizza in NYC and I have this placed bookmarked. The owner sounded like a cool dude, I’m so there. Thursday, I’m on the train reading the NY Times and the owner wants to take some time off and maybe move to Califonia? WTF Man? I was reading how the dough sits overnight and this cool oven from Naples.
Dude, first the Dodgers, Joe Torre and now this? Yeah, make Pizza for those mamalucs who put pineapple and canadian bacon on their pizza.
NYC — I still got your back.

Simple. Fresh. Ingredients.
Amazingly delicious!
Go with a few friends, and get one of each of their four different pizzas. This ain’t no new york slice kinda place though… expect to pay for those amazing (expensive) ingredients (cash only).
They’re open until the dough runs out, so don’t go too late…

I waited nearly two years to eat at Una Pizza. And now that I’ve had my first bite, I’m sad I didn’t go earlier. This is definitely worth the hype. It’s definitely worth a try. It’s definitely meant for a special occasion as the price is not exactly cheap.
The simplest, purest ingredients — honestly — is what the menu and marketing materials and the word of mouth claim. And that is exactly what you will receive.
The dough — Absolutely delightful. With its morsels of Sicilian sea salt and naturally leavened softness. It’s crispy on the outside and gets thinner and doughier towards the center. It’s a treat. It’s better than any Naan or flat bread I’ve ever eaten in my entire life.
The sauce — This is pure San Marzano tomato based and simply spread. Hits the right notes with the dough, but the lack of spice and other additives make something to be left desired. Alone, the sauce does not stand out, together with the theme of the pizza, it’s exactly what needs to be there.
The cheese — Again, just right. Not too much, not too little. Pure bufala mozzarella. What more can you ask for?
With fresh basil leaves and extra virgin olive oil also added to the mix, this pizza is simple, to the point and leaves you wanting to come back for more.
I had it with a pitcher of cold NYC tap water which was equally tasty.

So I met this guy in a bar, and right off the bat, he’s telling me all about this crazy awesome pizza place that was one of the most perfect first date spots in the city. Likewise, when he asked, I obliged, thinking that it was going to be a hot date with a hot guy and that I was not going to eat more than five bites of anything on my place (it sucks to be a girl sometimes).
Well, as luck would have it, my hot date turned into a boys night, with me swept up in the mix. I probably should have been annoyed, but this whole situation just made it easier to stuff my face with some of the best pizza of my life.
We ordered every pizza on the menu (there’s only four, haha), and everyone in our party had a different favorite. My first choice was the one sans sauce, just olive oil, perfect salt/​spices, the freshest buffalo mozzarella, and fresh picked basil.
However, the main point of the story is not the toppings, but the dough! Arguably, the best dough I have ever had… which makes sense why their schedule revolves around the dough-​schedule. Apparently, they make it from some really old-​fashioned/​authentic method, preparing the first batch on Tuesday, and letting it rise until Thursday, when it is turned into pizza. This process is repeated until Friday/​Sunday
That said, Una Pizza Napoletana is only open four nights a week, from 5pm until the dough runs out, and you can’t make any substitutions. Totally worth the wait though (about 20 minutes for five of us!), and the money!

I had heard rumors of the so called «Pizza nazi» in the East Village. Limited hours, very limited menu with no substitutions and some of the priciest pies around ($ 21 for a 10″-12″ pie) But I also heard that Una was making some of the most authentic and delicious Neapolitan pizza in New York. So after spending the day baking in the sun at Yankee Stadium we were ready for some pie.
We were able to walk right in around 6:30pm on a Sunday and grabbed a tiny table in the cramped space. People are not eating at Una for the ambiance, I’ll tell you that! Looking at the menu we saw the options, or lack thereof. No salads, no sides, only beer, wine and pizza. But hell, that’s all I really needed so I was fine with it!
We decided to split two pizzas — the Margherita and the Filetti. They were both really great — the Filetti featured cherry tomatoes that added a dash of sweetness to the pie and the Margherita was perfect in it’s simplicity.
Sizewise, the two pies were more than enough for the two of us. I actually took home approx. ²⁄₃ of a pie (mmm, lunch!)
As good as the pizza was at Una I probably wouldn’t rush back unless someone really wanted to try it. Definitely the most expensive pizza I had on the trip and the lack of ambiance/​menu items was definitely noticed.
I’d put them a touch ahead of Keste pizza wise but for overall value, they fall behind. So what’s #1? Stay tuned…
#1 ???
#2 Keste Pizza & Vino
#3 Una Pizza Napoletana

My pizza quest started 25 years ago with a Chef-​Boy-​R-​Dee pizza in a box. My dad and I would toil over the best way to mix the dough, spread on the canned sauce and packaged cheese, and make sure we cooked it just right. At the time, it was the best pizza (mainly b/​c we made it ourselves). Over time we started to make our own dough, make our sauce and use higher quality ingredients. Fast forward 25 years.
I now have a mild obsession with pizza and try to make it at home 2 or 3 times a week. I have modified my oven to reach tempertures of 700+ degrees and my pie cooks in about 4 minutes. I use starters, pre-​ferments, and take notes every time I bake. IT’s really good. I heard about UNA from many people and the CHOW obsessives site. I thought I would give it a try.
Now I went there strictly for the pizza… so I’m not going to comment on the environment, although I will say that I feel like that is an important thing in restaurants. My wife got the Bianca and I got the Margherita. The M had great flavor… clean, balanced, and a fair amount of char on the bottom. Perhaps this is the style (VPN), but the bitterness from the char almost eclipsed the other flavors. IMO, the char should play a supporting role in the pie… with coffee, the bitterness is important, but generally is not the star of the show. My wife’s Bianca was hand’s down… simply amazing. I actually liked her’s better. It was just garlic, EVOO, salt, and buffalo mozz. The combination and proportions were great. I tried to re-​create this one at home, but still have work to do.
Bottom line… The pizzas were great, the prices were a tad much (albeit he uses the BEST ingredients and the rent is ridiculous there) and it was an experience to dine there. IF I were to go back to NYC or live there, I’m not sure this would be a regular place that I would dine. IMO, the Bianca was great, but my Margherita that I make at home was better.

Una Pizza Napoletana (UPN) serves only four kinds of pizza, and when I first dined at UPN, I thought: Um, I need more than four kinds of pizza. Well, I was wrong.
The pizza varieties include Marinara (San Marzano tomatoes, extra virgin olive oil, oregano, fresh garlic, fresh basil, sea salt), Margherita (San Marzano tomatoes, mozzarella di bufala, extra-​virgin olive oil, fresh basil, sea salt), Bianca (mozzarella di bufala, extra virgin olive oil, fresh garlic, fresh basil, sea salt) and Filetti (fresh cherry tomatoes, mozzarella di bufala, fresh garlic, extra virgin olive oil, fresh basil, sea salt).
And they are all amazing.
My favorites are the Margherita and the Bianca. And all pizzas are prepared using their small brick oven, fueled by a wood fire, Just opening the door to walk into the restaurant gets the saliva flowing.
But the dilemma is that it’s incredibly tiny, and as delicious as the pizzas are, I am not one to wait. Even if the pizza is as delicious as it is at UPN. If you don’t mind waiting, and have lots of time to kill, and above all else you are a pizza snob, UPN is the place to go. Otherwise, you can take your chances, arrive 10-​minutes til opening (5 PM), or slide on over to S’MAC instead for the best macaroni and cheese in NYC.

I heard about Napoletana from a friend about two years ago, and I’ve been trying to make plans to go ever since, but since I heard about the price, I told myself it would have be a special occasion.
The Place: It was empty when I went, which made it seem a little… sterile. The tiles and the uniform lighting didn’t do anything for me, save for make a potentially romantic venue somewhat bland. However, I liked our waiter a lot, he seemed very authentic and he was very helpful in pairing a wine for us (a Gragano, which was light, sweet and oddly bubbly, easily the highlight of the meal).
The Pizza: Roughly 12 inches in diameter, the Margherita pie was small, but I was expecting it. I shared one, and to be honest, I think I could have eaten 2 myself. The Margherita is a standard pie, with traditional Buffalo mozzerella (mozz. made from water buffalo’s milk) San Marzano tomatoes, fresh basil, E.V.O.O. and sea salt.
All the ingredients were fresh and mixed very well, but I have some problems with the pie itself. The center was a bit soggy, and the outside crust was burned, which leads me to believe that they cook the pie too fast in an oven that is too hot. I was in no rush, and the restaurant was empty, so I was a little irked. I also wanted a bit more cheese, but that might be because I’m a cheese monger.
I’d like to go again and get a second try at it, but not at 21 bucks a pop.

I’ve been wanting to try this place for a while having heard about the incredible ingredients that were flown in from Italy every week. It is, however, quite expensive as the other Unilocalers have already stated, so I hadn’t gotten around to it until the other night. There are only four types of pizza and four red wines and four whites available. I love a restaurant with a short menu, it says they do a few things very well.
My date and I shared the Marghrita (Buffalo mozzarella, extra virgin olive oil, fresh basil and sea salt) and by recommendation tried the penisola sorrentina gragnano– a bubbly red wine that was suppose to go well with pizza.
The pizza was good, but not great. Based on the pizza alone I would give the restaurant only 3 stars. The crust was delectable: so chewy and warm, yet not doughy like it hadn’t been cooked quite enough. The sauce was good as well as the cheese, but not a stand out.
The wine pairing was excellent; it went very well with the pizza. It was slightly bubbly, yet dry. The wine is the reason for the extra star.

$ 21 for a personal-​sized pizza! Eek. And one pizza is not enough to be shared by two. The pizza was good, but I can’t justify coming here again when Luzzos is just as good and is half the price. Cons: the crust is really burnt, the middle of the pizza gets soggy, and the wait is 45 minutes for a pizza. And I kind of get that the pizza uses fresh ingredients which makes it expensive, but even the tiny sodas are $ 3.
I tried the bianca, which was deliciously cheesy and garlicy, and the margherita, which was my favorite.

An out-​of-​town friend suggested we try this place, and am I glad he did! Lucky for us, we did not have to wait at all, which is surprising, I hear. It is a small, somewhat charming space, and the main attraction (of course) is the Naples-​inspired pizza. There are only four options to pick from, and I like that. After all, Italian food is meant to be simple, right?
We ordered the classic Margherita pizza, and it arrived shortly thereafter. It was a simple pie with fresh mozzerella, basil, olive oil, and only a smattering of sauce, and we devoured it in all of 5 minutes. While everything about the pizza is delicious, I have to say what sets this pizza apart is the dough. It is absolutely perfect– crispy, chewy, and melt in your mouth fresh. «It’s like buddah!!,» as Linda Richman would say.

One 12 inch pizza is $ 21. Cash Only. Wine is $ 10 a glass. 30 minute wait to get your pizza– so I hope you aren’t hungry because there are no appetizers.
This is not cheap eats.
But the food is good quality, great ingredients. The pizza is good– but if you have a problem with salt be warned– the pizza is very salty.
Great ambiance, very European. Simple. Chic.
I will not return.

Una Pizza Napoletana does not live up to its SELF-​hype. You can tell the minute you walk into the place that the restaurant and its staff think they’re ALL THAT. Get real, people! Pizza is not something to be snobby about.
Although the pizza at Una Pizza Napoletana isn’t bad, it isn’t anything special. In fact, I would say it’s very forgettable pizza. If you’re looking to have a really tasty pizza in a nice, non-​snobby environment, try Luzzo’s, which is around the corner from Una Pizza Napoletana on 1^st Avenue.

«We have no quarrel with the man who sells a cheaper pizza … he knows how much his is worth!»
… is the confident assertion on the menu. Sometimes, we take ourselves too seriously. Well, at least Una Pizza Napoletana (UPN) does.
There are all kinds of quirks in this place, and they aren’t necessarily of the endearing kind:
(1) There are no salads, no pastas, no desserts.
(2) There are only 4 types of pizza (Marinara: no cheese, Margherita: tomatoes, cheese, and basil, Bianca: no tomato, Filetti: cherry tomatoes, mozzarella)
(3) The pizza is served in one size only: 12 inch diameter
(4) The pie comes whole, and customers need to use knives and forks to cut it at the table
(5) There are no accompaniments: red chili pepper flakes, garlic powder, etc.
(6) They take no reservations
(7) They are open 4 days of the week only (Thursday — Sunday) and the owner stops making pizza when the day’s allotment of dough runs out.
A more charitable way to look at UPN would be to credit the owner Anthony Mangieri with having exacting standards and being a stickler for authenticity. He uses the best ingredients: San Marzano tomatoes, Buffalo mozzarella, Sicilian sea salt, and flour that is neither bleached nor enriched. UPN uses a wood-​fired brick oven that allows the pizza to bake in two minutes. At its best, the pizza emphasizes the credentials of Mr. Mangieri as a baker. The bread is sublime. Yes, I emphasize bread. Because, that’s the dominant influence in the pizza.
Sadly, that’s where the magic stops. In the two occasions that I’ve been there, there have been serious issues with execution of the other elements. The tomato sauce has been overshadowed by the crust, while the salt has also been way too pronounced. On another occasion, there was so much olive oil that the pizza was positively dripping with it, and the cheese was coming off the slice, as a result. Another change of late is that the mozzarella comes from a dairy farm in California, as opposed to being imported from Italy. There is a tangible difference in the taste, as a result of the changing of suppliers.
Coming back to the assertion of knowing what the pizza is worth, there are tell tale signs for the owner. I have found UPN more than half empty at 8 pm, on a Friday night. The market knows that many superior options abound nearby. And, that the money saved on a $ 21 pie can buy many blue chip stocks right now :)

I have a major problem with establishments thinking very highly of themselves and imposing that upon their customers.
Case in point — Una Pizza Napoletana. They have less than a handful of pizza choices, and not only can you not make any changes, there is NO RED PEPPER FLAKES. This to me, is a sacrilege and blaspheme to the art of pizza.
The pizza itself seemed a bit greasy to me, but I kindof liked the crust. However, I will never get past the inability to customize or add pepper flakes. I’ll just head to Di Fara!

File under: overrated but also kind of tasty.
The pizza is expensive and there is absolutely NO variety. The place was already very busy when I got there (half an hour after it opened) but the pizza was disappointing and not worth the hype. They also don’t cut up the pizza (apparently it’s served whole in Italy) and there’s no rolling pizza cutter to cut up your pizza, so you’re on your own. The pizza tastes good so I can’t completely hate on Una Pizza Napoletana, but it’s really expensive and there are a lot better options in the city.

If you like your pizza to taste overwhelmingly burnt, or if you like pure salt flavor, then check out this place.
Also make sure you like to pay way too much money for above pizza. And expect inattentive service too! Joy.
I walked in and was seated, then a couple sat down next to me a few minutes later. The waiter took my order, then came back and told the couple there was a special. (would have been nice to know, considering they have very few options on their menu and «NO substitutions»)
Then the waiter brought my pizza and just put it down on the couple’s table. They kindly passed it over to me saying, «I think this is yours — we ordered the special.»
Not recommended.

Maybe it’s because I have a certain «Pizza Prototype» that I use as my standard for the perfect pie and unfortunately Una just does not measure up. I like a thin crunchy crust that still has a fold-​able consistency when I eat. The pies I ate here were almost puffed up like fresh baked bread and way too chewy for my tastes. The dough to sauce and cheese ratio is waaaay too stacked on the dough side.
Another gripe, the price. Una apparently pays a premium for their (admittedly) fresh ingredients and the costs get passed down to you… boo… factor in the cost of the overpriced drinks (tiny bottles of imported italian sodas), the wait outside the place for a seat, and the wait inside the place for your pies, it all adds up to an over-​hyped and over-​priced pizza place.