Una Pizza Napoletana

The lore of Una Pizza Napoletana made me think it would be a bustling space, filled with people trying to snag a last minute seat at the bar. But it’s quite the opposite. The space is calm, albeit a little cold - not dissimilar from the energy of its creator, Chef Anthony Mangieri. The enormous oven at the rear operates as a stage of sorts, with Chef Mangieri looking out at his audience and prepping each pizza by hand. He spent 30 years perfecting his naturally leavened dough and apparently only trusts himself to execute it. This seems to be the reason for the limit of one pizza per person, and why it may take some time for your personal pie to arrive (we waited about 30 minutes). The payoff of his 10,000 hours is clear in his perfect Neapolitan dough, topped with a select few high quality ingredients, which shine on their own as much as the pizza as a whole. I highly recommend the Cosacca (the Chef’s favorite), which opts for Pecorino Romano instead of buffalo mozzarella, allowing the rest of the ingredients to come through more prominently. While I believe that pizza is wildly subjective, this has been named the best pizzeria in the world for good reason.

Who to Bring: Perfect for a trendy yet down to earth date or a small group willing to share the whole menu. Your chef-iest friends along with pizza purists will love you forever if you can get them a seat here.

What to Wear: Keep it casual but trendy.

Reservations: These hard to get tables are available on OpenTable and drop 2 weeks out at 9AM. I lucked out by being an OpenTable Gold Member with priority notify, and ended up with a 6PM reservation on a Thursday night. 15 to 30 pies are reserved for walk ins, so it’s worth lining up around 4:30 if you’re willing to wait.

First Row: Cosacca; Margherita; Bianca; Second Row: Almond Cremolata; Interior