What are the Best Wood-Fired Pizzas in NYC -- Neapolitan Style Pizzas

Wood-fired Oven imported from Italy -- Restaurant PizzaArte -- (left). Because of the high heat in these ovens, a classic Pizza Margherita cooks in under 90 seconds -pizza from Fratelli La Buffala (right).

What is a Neapolitan Pizza -- During the past few years we have seen a surge of Neapolitan style pizza restaurants. These restaurants serve individual pizzas as opposed to pizza. If they are following traditional Neapolitan style they will contain fresh mozzarella cheese and tomatoes from the San Marzano. The pizzas must all be cooked in a wood oven stove. These wood (oak) fired pizzas add a unique taste that is not found with gas or coal cooked pizza. Note: Neapolitan style pizzas generally have less cheese toppings than American style pizza and have a noticeable soupy center in the pie which means be prepared to eat them with a knife and fork.

MANHATTAN NORTH OF 59TH STREET

Fratelli La Buffula --2161 Broadway New York, NY 10023 --(212) 496-5303
Newly opened pizzeria that has 100 restaurants around the world. Imports their own brand of buffalo mozzarella. The crust in this wood oven pizza is excellent and very light and airy with the right amount of salt. Fratelli La Buffala Website -- Opened April 2012

Celeste -- 502 Amsterdam Ave (between 84th St & 85th St) New York, NY 10024
chef Giancarlo Quadalti changed style away from Neapolitan by draining tomatoes to give a less soup consistency... read review in . Slice review --Yelp (4stars) -- Zagat 24

Osteria Cotta--513 Columbus Ave (between 84th St & 85th St) Manhattan, NY 10024 --(212) 873-8500
Giuseppe Cangialosi, formerly of Emporio, heads up the wood oven pizza program at Osteria Cotta.
Yelp (4 stars) --website and menu --

MANHATTAN MIDTOWN

PizzArte -- 69 West 55th Street (between Avenue of Americas and 5th Ave) -- 212 247-3936
PizzArte owner Bruno Cilio is from Naples and so is his wood burning oven. The restaurant serves a duel role, doubling as an art gallery featuring a rotating collection of Italian art. New York Magazine writes : "Pizzarte:More of an all-around restaurant, PizzArte excels with its fritti and pastas, and its pizza might be midtown's best. Three stars from NYMagazine." -. yelp (3 1/2 stars) --PizzArte website

Capizzi -- Hells Kitchen 547 9th Ave (at 40th St) New York, NY 10018 --212) 695-6900 -- yelp 4 stars --Hours: Mon-Thu 11:30 am - 12 am Fri-Sat 11:30 am - 1 am Sun 12 pm - 11 PM -Hell's Kitchen, Midtown West, Theater District --Website and Menu

MANHATTAN 14ST -34TH STREET

La Pizza Fresca Ristorante - 31 E 20th St (between Broadway & S Park Ave) New York, NY 10003 --(212) 598-0141 This restaurant has a very nice feel to it that makes it pleasant to hang out in. While the pizza dough may have been a bit heavy for my taste and there was a bit more tomato sauce than other places, the cheese was as good as it gets, soft and fresh. But, what separates this place from the rest is the wine list. Even if I am just eating pizza I like having nice wine. La Pizza Fresca Ristorante has one of the best wines lists in the country for Italian restaurants (Award from Wine Spectator). With a pizza Margharita I had a half-bottle of Ca' Di Pian Barbera d'Asti 2008 for $25. .Yelp 4 stars--- Zagat 24. La Pizzaa Fresca Website --NY Magazine Review

Co.--230 9th Ave (between 24th St & 25th St) New York, NY 10001 -- (212) 243-1105
Co. (Company) opened in January of 2009 under the direction of Sullivan Street Bakery owner, Jim Lahey. His "no-knead" technique gives a more airy chewy taste to his wood oven fired pizza. See New York Times article --Restaurant website with Menus -- yelp (3 1/2 stars) -- Zagat 23 --Gayot's top 10 Pizza's in New York.

Rossopomodoro at Eataly -- 200 5th Ave New York, NY 10010 --(646) 398-5100
Rossopomodoro is a pizza chain from Italy that has branches all over the world. It is located in a back corner of the Eataly store.
Review by Slice

MANHATTAN SOUTH OF 14TH STREET

Keste Pizza e Vino 271 Bleecker Roberto Caporuscio the owner/pizzaiolo of Keste St (between Jones St & Morton St) New York, NY 10014 - (212) 243-1500
Roberto Caporuscio (read interview) the owner/pizzaiolo of Keste makes genuine Neapolitan style pizza. Keste is also the official location in the USA for APN (Associazione Pizzaiuoli Napoletani whose mission is to protect and preserve the Neapolitan pizza tradition and promote the art of pizza making. Note:..Robert recently opened Don Antonio with his maestro, Antonio Starita, third generation owner of one Naples’ oldest and most revered pizzerias, Pizzeria Starita a Materdei, have joined forces to bring authentic Neapolitan pizza to Midtown Manhattan at Don Antonio by Starita. --309 W 50th St (between 9th Ave & 8th Ave) New York, NY 10019 Keste website. -- Yelp (4 1/2stars) --Zagat 25 .--Gayot's top 10 Pizza's in New York.

Motorino 349 E 12th St (between 1st Ave & 2nd Ave) New York, NY 10003 --212-777-2644
When Anthony Mangieri left this spot and moved to SF, Motorino's Mathieu Palombino took over the spot including the wood burning oven. Now you can get toppings on your pizza and if you want them cooked more, it's OK to ask for it. There is an excellent lunch prix fixe for $12 that includes a pizza and a fresh salad with mesclun. Pizza has an airy (puffy) charred crust. Yelp (3 1/2 stars) --Motorino website and Menu -- Zagat 24 -- Gayot's top 10 Pizza's in New York --

Numero 28 --176 2nd Ave (between 11th St & 12th St) New York, NY 10003 -- (212) 777-1555 -- Original location at 28 Carmine St (between Bleecker St & Avenue Of The Americas)
This Neapolitan Pizza Restaurant was voted the “Best Pizza in New York” by Citysearch.com. It has a very large Italian following. Try the Margherita Reginella -The wood burning oven in the Carmine branch is clearly visible as you walk past the restaurant -- Yelp (4 stars) -- Zagat 25 -Slice Review --- Website and menu

Tre Sorelle -- 61 Reade St (between Broadway & Church St) 212) 619-1080-Hours: Mon-Sun 11 am - 10 PM (credit cards (yes) - reade st good wood-fired pizza in tribecca Yelp (4stars) -- 3 sisters Website and menu

Emporio-- 231 Mott St (between Spring St & Prince St) New York, NY 10012 --(212) 966-1234
This restaurant is part of the Aurora Group. -- -Zagat 23-- Website Menu -- NY Magazine Review

BEST PIZZA IN BROOKLYN

Lucali - 575 Henry St (between Carroll St & Summit St) Brooklyn, NY 11231 --(718) 858-4086
Lucali is a small restaurant with an open kitchen where you can easily see how the pizza is made. This is a BYO place.- Yelp Reviews (4 1/2stars) --- Zagat 26.--Gayot's top 10 Pizza's in New York.

Roberta's Pizza --261 Moore St (between White St & Bogart St) -718-417-1118-Mon–Fri noon–midnight; Sat, Sun 11am–midnight--Yelp Review 4 stars --Website and Menu --cbs 10 best list -

Paulie Gee's -- 60 Greenpoint Ave (between West St & Franklin St) Brooklyn, NY 11222 -- Closed on Mondays -- Open only for Dinner
Paul Gianonne opened in 2009. They make an excellent white pie: Fior DI Latte, Chopped Fresh Garlic, Pecorino Romano, Olive Oil, Fresh Basil -- Yelp (4 1/2 stars) --Website and Menu -

Barboncino -- 781 Franklin Ave (between St Johns Pl & Lincoln PL) Crown Heights Brooklyn, NY 11238 --(718) 483-8834
Barboncino is only open for dinner and brunch. Near the 2,3,4 or 5 train this place is worth a ride from Manhattan. The restaurant is run by Ron Brown and Jon Greenberg, who worked at Paulie Gee's. Barboncino website and menu -- yelp (4 1/2 stars) -- See Review in Slice

Forcella -- 485 Lorimer Street, Brooklyn NY 11211 --(718)-388-8820, 2nd location 334 Bowery St (between Bond St & Great Jones St)
Forcella pizzamaker-owner is Naples born Giulio Adriani. -- new** williamsburg and now at the also has Bowery -- 3 stars nymagazine -- Note: Forcella translates to "fried pizza" --Adriani's Montanara pizza ($10), is a margherita made with a crust shaped and flash-fried before being topped and finished in the wood-burning oven.
Slice Review -- Yelp Reviews (4 stars)- Website and Menu --Gayot's top 10 Pizza's in New York.

Franny's -- 295 Flatbush Ave (between Prospect PL & St Marks Ave) Brooklyn, NY 11217 --718) 230-0221
--Yelp (3 1/2 stars) Website for Franny's -- Zagat 25 --Gayot's top 10 Pizza's in New York.

Scottocasa -298 Atlantic Avenue, Brooklyn NY 11201 -718-852-8758-- --
Luca Arrigoni, who previously worked at Greenwich Village's Kesté Pizza & Vino. opened this new establishment in brooklyn. --4 1/2 stars yelp-- Website and Menu --

BRONX

Trattoria Zero Otto Nove -- 2357 Arthur Ave Bronx, NY 10458 --(718) 220-1027 --15 West 21st Street New York, NY 10010 (212) 242-0899
Chef Roberto Paciullo serves a Salerno-style pizza, which is slightly different than Neapolitan-style pizza. While both are cooked in a wood-oven, but where Neapolitan pizza is often "wet" in the center, with a puffy rim, Salerno's are crisper, less puffy, less wet, and have a lower crust. -- Website and Menus ---- Yelp (4 1/2 stars)

QUEENS

Basil Brick Oven Pizza-- Astoria 28-17 Astoria Blvd Astoria, NY 11102 --(718) 204-1205 --
Chef Daniele came to the US from the Piemonte/Liguria region of Italy. This northern style Italian pizza resembles Neapolitan-style versions, but Northern Italian pizzas are thinner since less dough is used, and cook for longer (three to four minutes versus a quick 60-second turn in the oven), making for a crispier dough. -- Website and menu--