Where Should I Eat Pizza Near the World Trade Center?
You really want to go to the West Village location of Joe’s for the true Joe’s experience, but if you need a slice Downtown, it’s the reliable option.
One of the side effects of obsessing over pizza is that people ask for recommendations. Frequently, they’re geographic-based in nature. Sometimes they’re from out-of-towners looking to get the most out of an upcoming trip to New York City, but they’re often from lifelong New Yorkers. This intermittent feature (Where Should I Eat Pizza…) aims to cast advice from questions that have slid into NYC Best Pizza’s DMs into a wider sphere.
“For slices really close to the World Trade Center, go to the Joe’s outpost. If you’re closer to it for some reason and in a pinch, Pranzo. For full pies, go to Adrienne’s for a square, or Kesté or Eataly for Neapolitan pies. If you have more time, walk to Scarr’s or over the bridge to DUMBO.”
The Question: “Out-of-town guests this weekend, we need pizza suggestions. In Manhattan, please. Thank you.”
Always: “What part of the City and what style!?”
Brass Tacks: “I think we are going to be somewhere near the World Trade Center. A slice joint is better.”
Where You Should Eat a Slice if You’re Downtown Near the World Trade Center: Manhattan’s a trickier place to get a good slice than an out-of-towner might think. There’s a lot of bad pizza in Manhattan and good slices are often nowhere near the City’s biggest tourist attractions. I once mapped out the disaster that was the slice Waste Land around the Empire State Building (to quote from P. Za Elliot’s The Love Song of J. Alfred Crustrock “Do I dare to eat a bad slice?), until recently Times Square and Midtown in general has been a pretty rough place to find a slice, and Downtown, well. Yeah.
There are at least two to three dozen pizzerias and places that serve pizza in the area. “Near” is a relative term, of course, but if you’re in the Financial District or near the World Trade Center and don’t mind walking anywhere rom 10 to 25 minutes for pizza you do have a few options.
FOR FULL PIES
Adrienne's Pizza Bar (54 Stone St) is on a picturesque cobblestone street that harkens old Manhatta and makes you feel like you’re on a movie set. Opened in 2004, Adrienne's has indoor and outdoor seating (great for cooperative weather). They do more than a dozen round 12-inch pies, pastas, and salads, but you're really going for the cheesy pan-cooked "old-fashioned square pizzas," red (crushed tomatoes, homemade fresh mozz, and Parmesan) or white (ricotta and freshh mozz) with your choice of toppings (sausage, pepperoni, and extra garlic makes for a great pie). Adrienne’s is cultishly loved and grudgingly good. It’s open for lunch and dinner. You just may be faced with a wait.
An old-fashioned square pizza at Adrienne’s.
Kesté Wall Street (77 Fulton St) There’s a FiDi outpost of Roberto Caporuscio’s Bleecker Street Neapolitan institution that’s also down there. Neapolitan pies means no slices, but they did introduce a “5-Dollar Pizza Popolare” early 2019, basically a cheaper version of their $9-$25 pies. If you haven’t had their Montanara, a fried Neapolitan pizza (think puffy tacos but Naples pizza style), it’s something worth trying at least once. Pretty big dining room, open lunch and dinner.
La Pizza — Eataly (101 Liberty St Floor 3) Eataly teamed up with the international Neapolitan chain Rossopomodoro for this outpost. It’s perfectly competent.
Adoro Lei (287 Hudson St) A hip little spot in Hudson Square with a clubby vibe where you can forget what time of day it is outside. This venture from entrepreneur Rick Froio, Adoro Lei’s Creative Director Michael DiBugnara, and Chef Mario Gentile does Neapolitan and New York City style pies. They’re friendly, the pies are playful, and the toppings are of good quality.
Lombardi’s (32 Spring St) As I’ve written for The Daily Meal: “Anybody interested in tracing America’s love affair with pizza to its origins will find the way to Lombardi’s. Gennaro Lombardi opened a grocery on Manhattan’s Lower East Side in 1897, and in 1905 he started selling tomato pies wrapped in paper. The pizzeria was run by the Lombardi family — first by Gennaro’s son, John, then his grandson, Jerry — until it closed in 1984, and was reopened 10 years later a block from the original location by Jerry and John Brescio, a childhood friend.” Research by a Chicago pizza historian has since been found to show that Filippo Milone came before Gennaro Lombardi,, but the place is still an institution.
Full Disclosure: I haven’t been to these sit-down spots and can’t say one way or another whether they’re worth the time: Il Brigante, Inatteso Pizzabar Casano, Harry's Italian, Gigino Trattoria, and Il Mattone.
FOR SLICES
Here are your options: Joe’s, Pizza Etalia (formerly Georgio's), Underground Pizza, Pranzo, Dona Bella, Da Vinci, Rosella’s, Artichoke Basille’s, La Bellezza, Skinny Pizza, Cafe Amore’s, and Little Italy. Know that anytime you have to rely on Little Italy II (a local mini-chain) for a good slice your’e in trouble (Joey Pepperoni more egregiously so). I haven’t been to Georgio’s since it became Pizza Etalia, Dona Bella is objectively horrible, and the siren call of completism hasn’t yet overpowered the scarring of eating other bad and mediocre pizza Downtown to draw me to Underground, Da VInci, or Rosella’s.
Joe’s Pizza FiDi (124 Fulton St) As I’ve written for The Daily Meal: “Since 1975, Joe’s Pizza has served fresh, hot, cheesy slices to tourists and residents alike, making it a truly iconic New York City landmark. It’s as synonymous with New York City as the Statue of Liberty or the Empire State Building. Everyone has a favorite slice joint, but if the city were to have just one, this would be it. It’s made every conceivable best-of list (many of them tacked on the walls and in the windows), and for good reason. The key to Joe's success is their traditional New York City-style pizza with thin crust, great sauce, and just the right ratio of cheese, sauce, and crust (just a bit less of the first two). It took about 38 years for Joe’s to try to capitalize on its West Village success, opening an East Village location a few years ago that turns out a similar-quality product — if with slightly less demand (consider this side-by-side comparison). That was followed pretty quickly by their first location in Brooklyn (in Williamsburg), as well as one near Times Square,” and here in the FiDi starting in early 2019.
Pranzo (34 Water St) On the other side of the island from the World Trade Center (so a bit of a hike) two blocks from the East River, Pranzo is a real workingman’s sliceria. Shuttered after Sandy, Pranzo reopened in 2013, and has been run by William Hertz and John Chiodi since 1995. Its site notes Pranzo is a "Golden Slice Award Winner." If you don't know, that means Robert Sietsema said it's a good neighborhood spot on Eater. I usually use Golden Slices as telltale signs places are to be avoided (the pictures always depict slices that are "good" if we've thrown up our hands)., but Pranzo serves the quintessential serviceable slice: a little cheesy, a little saucy, balanced. A legit thin crust with crispness and a dry floury bottom. You could eat it in a jam, but you don’t want to take someone there to show off New York City pizza.
THE SKINNY: JOE’S, ADRIENNE’S, OR A LONG WALK
Good Slices Near and Fast: If you're a New Yorker and you’re down there and need a slice (you know better, tsk, tsk) or you’re there with folks from out of town and need on-the-go or even stop-and-smell-the-roses, er… tomato sauce slices, go to the Joe's outpost. No, it's not the original but the new spots are usually pretty good, it’s dependable and it's classic New York City. When you say “near” it’s about as close to the World Trade Center as you can get decent pizza. Pranzo, out of the way, is okay in a pinch, but you should be making better plans.
Slices “Nearby” Where “Near” is 30 Minutes: If you have the time and enjoy walking, go get an actual good slice and save Joe’s for the West Village original location, the true Joe’s experience. Walk over to Scarr’s. For other buzzy and well-regarded slices, you also have Manero’s and Williamsburg Pizza about the same distance away.
Good Pies Nearby: If you want something New York-ish then Adrienne’s. If getting a style of pizza you can only get in New York City doesn’t matter, Kesté or Eataly.
Full Pies “Nearby” Where “Near” is 20-40 Minutes: If time is your friend and you haven’t been, Lombardi’s (to say you’ve done it) or Adoro Lei if you want to stay in Manhattan. If you like walking, cross over to the other side of Manhattan’s narrowest stretch and walk over the Brooklyn Bridge to DUMBO where you’ll find Brooklyn classics: Grimaldi’s, Juliana’s (or Juliana’s Time Out Market location), and soon, L&B Spumoni. It’s just a 40-minute walk and if you haven’t been, well, they’re checklist spots. Of course, this begs the question: Where Should I Eat Pizza in Brooklyn? But to quote Michael Ende's The Neverending Story, “That's another story and shall be told another time.”
Feel like I missed a spot? Or got something wrong? Comments are on. Or DM @NYCBestPizza.
NEED OTHER NEW YORK CITY PIZZA RECS?
The Best Pizza in NYC for Every Budget The single best slice or pie at every price point, from .99 cents to $30 (for First We Feast)
The Most Underrated Pizza in NYC From greasy slice joints in Queens to iconic red-sauce restaurants in the Bronx, it's time to shed light on the city's unsung pizza heroes. (for First We Feast)
