Famous Ben's Pizza

So this was just a random place we passed that smelled nice, once we went in though all the variations of slices looked incredible we could barely choose which one to try. One slice was enough to fill us up for adventuring further but it tasted so damn good. I was hoping we'd make it back to the neighbourhood to try some of the other slices but I will definitely be going back the next time I'm in town

Amazing pizza here, so good i forgot to capture my first slice. The music brings the vibes all together her, these guys know what they’re doing.

Had a quick bite while strolling around SoHo. While I was going to college at NYU this was a spot to go (over few decades ago) and still good. Broccoli pizza was sour so we returned and got spinach pizza. That slice was the best. Reasonable price for city and good pizza for a quick bite.

Perfect place for a get off the plane from Chicago slice of pizza joint. Guys are super warm and welcoming. Seats soft and the Pizza 🍕 totally crispy and cheesy and other world Sicilian. We’ll back!

I have been coming here for 50 years. One of the best pizza restaurants in NYC. And slices are only $3-a real bargain by NYC standards. Highly recommended.

Famous NYC pizza place in SoHo with different options and varieties. Having tried a few places with pizza slices in the city, I found the prices to be a bit expensive for a slice and also a bit high for the quality. Overall not bad.

I went there after suffering at another place, the pizza is delicious, place is not sexy… looks ok… decent offerings and slow service, missing items I had paid for, and had to wait for the food long time…

Post-TNSR this was the spot that was still open heading home to SoHo late night. Had the pepperoni and it was super good so I had another slice and the Margherita was equally crispy and tasty down to the crust. The corner spot felt lively late night, super chill spot to hang out, have a cold beer and some quality pizza.

Pretty good slice shop! Lots of options. It wasn't the best but boy did it save me at a good time of hunger! I'd visit again and try some of the calzones

The slices weren't that good for the price chargers. I wasn't that satisfied. The grandma slice (1st pic)was ok since pizza is mostly fun with the tomato sauce, not as thick as other brands grandma slice and for the price, mmmm. The eggplant slice has tomato sauce but sauce tasted differently for some reason, maybe because of it not being as hot as the grandma slice idk. The Italian fest slice (2nd pic) had onions, and peppers which was cool to give it that crunch, no tomato sauce so it's about the crunch n protein on it. It was not heated that well so it was room temp. Just wasn't hot enough!

Get the cheese or peperoni here and skip rest. Those 2 have a high turnover and are always fresh. The other specialty pies look and taste like they've been sitting for a while and while this is customary to make pies ahead of time, these pies need more ingredients (sauce and cheese etc) to keep them moist. I got the broccoli Rabe and sausage and it was dried out and honestly tasteless. The Margherita was pretty dry too ,down to the crust . Sevice is super friendly , some of the older Italian men (staff)in there sing and are always joking around with each other and the customers . Wish the pizza was as good as the atmosphere. Outdoor seating is cute . Indoors is always hot - no AC in the summed and warm and toasty in the winter. Sandwiches are good too - pricey for the quality . Tourist trappy vibes . They don't take Apple Pay so they have an ATM on the premise . Cash and other cards accepted. Bathroom is small but I'm always grateful there's one especially in this area.

pizza is good but inside is extremely hot. When the outside is 90F, How could eat inside like sauna? Pizza average NYC price $6 I won't return to eat inside. bathroom sets up.

When you first walk in you're greeted with a variety of pizzas, bottled beers and tomato sauces that they have available. The staff is very friendly and eager to take your order. There's plenty of seating for dining in. They have a very clean food prep area for pizzas and for other entrées in the back. It's a little pricey, but well worth it. I will definitely come back again if I'm in the area.

Fast and friendly service! Pizza here is great, recommend you go by. Offers indoor and outdoor seating.

Came here with my Mom when she was in town as she had yet to get a NY slice. Ben's was close to her hotel on the walk back after a long day of shopping... We F'd up Banana Republic. Vibes were UP in here, as there was a guy singing along to what sounded like some Italian music as he flipped pizza dough in his hands. Felt NY af. We each got a slice of cheese and it rang up at over $10. Like damn. Has any other market inflated more than the pizza by the slice market over the past 5 years? Pain. But, the Pizza was great. The crust was the perfect amount of crisp, and had hang time when you picked it up. The cheese to sauce ratio was near perfect, the only thing I'd say was my slice had a little too much crust. See attached picture. They're even flexing a laminated 8.1 on Dave Portnoy's pizza reviews right by the register in here ahahah. He's really dominating the pizza market. A quick google search tells me 8.1 is pretty good on his scale. He even says 8.1 "sits amongst the gods" ahaha. Respect. IG @jnov_ Tikotk @jnov__

Stumbled upon this place on the way towards Times Square. Friends wanted to eat some more pizza while in New York. We asked the owner what pizza was good, but instead said everything was good. Thankfully a regular recommended the Vodka and Margherita Pizzas. So, my friends and I opted for one of each, including their garlic knots. The pizza and garlic knots were indeed quite delicious after a long day of walking and visiting the Statue of Liberty. This is great place to just hang and grab some food with friends.

I came here on a Tuesday night for a late dinner. Good, no frills pizza joint. I tried one of the Sicilian slices and really liked it. Certainly on the expensive side, but oh well.

Just stopped in here for lunch a lil while ago I had a Palermo and Sicilian slice both of which were undoubtedly delicious!!..I heard a lot of good things about this place as well the pizza so I decided to make the trip out and I'm glad I did!!. The staff was fast and friendly as well!!. Can't wait to come back!.

their triangle pizza slice is soo yummy with pepperoni omgg delicious! bought two one triangle with pepperoni and another sicilian middle slice i prefer the thin triangle pizza packs in more flavor and it's huge. and for two pizzas you get a free drink. either soda or water i opted for water. they open late only pizza shop open till 1am everyone else near the club closes at 12am! inside they have seating but after 12am they said go outside. outside they have a lot of seating and the chairs are comfortable. i would recommend here after the clubs if you're hungry and looking for a good quick bite to eat after night out of drinking and dancing listening to music

Fast service & their pizza has a thin crispy crust characteristic to it! Garlic knot was also great tasting. They have a single bathroom on premise

So good! Our first touch down introduction New York pizza. We were on a strict diet and it was so hard to eat only one and sit for 20 minutes thinking we should buy another one. So we ended up coming back the next day to get another one! Must be something about the water but the Pizza was full with amazing flavor and enough oil to sop up napkins. My hands were greased up but I just licked it very happily. The cheese was perfect amount of string and not so much that it chokes you. Of course this is New York in a corner street and it's a very casual affairs so ambience wise I think it's perfect just as New York should be ! Limited seating outside but really everyone should just eat and go and let everyone through to have a great taste of this pizza place.

Overall solid place for a quick bite. Good selection of foods to choose from. Pizza was a nice size slice. Price was on higher side for a quick slice but was really good. Staff were all really nice. Adequate seating in and outside for a quick stop. Would recommend and definitely again if in the neighborhood.

Solid SoHo pizza. I regularly come here for lunch when I am hopping around downtown Manhattan. I recommend this spot for a good slice.

Not everyday you can find a Sfincione slice. Read about it on Eater and came to finally check it out. In the case, they call it a Palermo slice. It's a Sicilian-originated slice that's topped with crispy bread crumbs, grated cheese, and oregano. Quick counter service with friendly staffed. Definitely different, but worth a try if you're nearby.

Strolling through Soho, my old stomping grounds when I lived in the city. I had to stop at Ben's to relive the good old days when I was a student and Ben's was one of the best and cheapest per slice you could get. LOL the place looked the same, but run down. I can't say the people that worked there were friendly like in the good old days. My friend and I ordered a Pepperoni Slice and a Margarita Slice with a soda. Service was a bit abrupt, seating very limited. The pepperoni slice came out fast. My friend said it was barely heated and just tasted barely ok (frozen grocery store pizza would of been better). I was still waiting and waiting for my Margarita slice to the point my friend was finished and I had to ask 2 times and got "its coming it's coming". So I ate by myself. As my friend waited for me, he saw a sign spend $10 get a soda free... would of been nice for the cashier to tell us that when we placed out order. So disappointing, maybe not as good because I'm not a starving art student anymore, but just had to go for nostalgia reasons. Atmosphere: typical NYC pizza place. Service: barely OK. Pizza: barely OK ------

The best thing about these pizzas is the crust. Super crispy and crunchy. Very satisfying. Small indoor area but outdoor seating is just fine.

I love the pizza in here. I like to get the vodka pasta slice and the pepperoni rolls. The lasagna slice is amazing too. I got me a regular pepperoni slice on this visit and I like how the cheese was thick and the slice wasn't too oily. I like how you can order here then find a seat to wait before you get your slice. It allows you to settle in. Overall it has that old school but soho aesthetic to the pizza shop.

I could remember this place to be one of the first pizza places I'd ever been in as a kid... Right in Soho Manhattan by Mom's old place of work decades ago and a place we spent many evenings waiting on car ride home. Became an even more famous place being in the Tom Hanks movie Big and years later appearing in the Men In Black movie. Onwards to the food, right? So walking in the place you've got the ordering counter and pizzas on display behind a glass case on the left, dining area with two seater tables and some tables joined together to fit larger groups, mirrors on the wall to the right of the dining area, and at the back you got a pickup window from the kitchen. Pizzas I saw on display range from old fashioned pepperoni pizza(which was a slice that I ordered, r.i.p. pescatarian diet), upside down pizza which is a grandma pizza to my knowledge with the sauce on top of the cheese(the other slice I had), margherita pizzas, I think there was a half ziti/meatball pizza there and some broccoli pizza and a white pizza, beverages ranged from fruit punch and lemonade to cans of soda but not sure if they serve alcohol but I saw none out on the dining area among the guests. Guys at the front counter taking the orders are there and attentive to the visitors so you aren't waiting to order unless they're all busy putting orders together. Inside the place they also had some nice music playing to keep it fun. A/C D/C, The Eagles, Phil Collins, etc. Tables were almost all taken when I got there today since it was such a nice day out. Forever my pizza place to go in NYC

Made a quick stop into Ben's Pizza while in Soho. The service was quick and pizza tasted decent. Crust was really good but felt there was room for a more flavorful sauce. They have lots of seating inside and they're well spread out. Ben's is a great spot to grab and go while exploring the many stores around it.

But the best thing that I could say about Ben's is the people that work here are super friendly, they are open late, they are close to Tribeca, and they are open late... Did I say that already? As far as the pizza goes, I would honestly walk a few more blocks and go to Joes or John's... I'm sorry to say that because the place looks amazing and they have super cute outdoors seating but that's where it ends.

Overall 4/5: I thoroughly enjoyed this pizza. We stopped in for a quick bite and were not disappointed. Definitely thinking about that pizza right now from home. Food 5/5: The pizza was great, thick crispy crust with amazing sauce!! I got the sicilian and my friends got pepperoni and the upside down pizza. All of them looked so yummy, if i'm ever back in town i will definitely try the upside down pizza. Vibe 4/5: Not the cleanest inside, all the tables were dirty. The music they played was definitely a vibe though. So only a point off for the tables. Service 4/5: Quick, friendly, nothing too crazy. The food came out promptly and we were helped immediately. Thank you, Famous Ben's Pizza.

WOW! The flavors, the size, the texture of their pizza is the BIZ!!!! Fun local vibe, awesome location, and love that when you order different slices and order to go they still box up for you as if you got a whole pizza. The workers were very friendly and didn't have to wait long at all.

As I was strolling through NYC, saw a sign "voted best sicilian pizza" and had enough room so ended up entering the store and ordering an onion pizza. The onion pizza was great, I had never eaten one with just onions, it felt like they had a whole small sweet onion on the pizza. This why I believe NYC is well known for pizza, each store has something different to offer. The restaurant also have pasta, specialty items and offer catering services. They have different locations. Voted one of the top five "Best Pizza Stores" in New York by the "Daily News," "New York Post," and CBS News. They are also featured in movies which include Men in Black and Sex in the City.

Their food was absolutely amazing I LOVED it!!!!!!! Best pizza ever they had thin dough to the cloudiest Dough ever I highly recommend to anyone who wants the best pizza in NYC

this place is so overpriced and the pizza is literally disgusting. disgrace to new york pizza.

Where do I start? This was worse than a dry dollar slice, but better than cardboard. Also, a regular slice is $5.25! It just was not good. Di yourself a favor and either just go to a dollar slice place or Prince Street Pizza.

Excellent pizza Fast service Nice guys Yum yum I can see this place being packed at night Good location Lots of indoor and outdoor seating

To the owners of Ben's pizza: Please come save your company before it goes out of business. Things def need to be monitored. Lets start with the pizza: Terrible. Lacking flavor, floppy crust, cheese doesn't even come out melted. I def feel the recipe needs to be monitored to make sure these workers are serving the pizza correctly. Not only did the price go up, but the quality went way down. Your workers all look like they don't want to be there, and I feel that is 100% reflecting on the pizza they are serving. Ben's has been around forever, but with the competition and inflation, I would def suggest you monitor the situation at hand so another business in soho doesn't leave the area, and it would because of who's there working the shop. Sorry for the awful review, but the staff and pizza def need adjustments.

Meatballs in the spaghetti were still frozen when served. They were not very kind and opened half an hour later than posted

I am a local and I cannot recommend Famous Ben's. The pizza is okay, but there's better in the neighborhood for your money. Also, one of the managers is mean to the customers; I recently witnessed him cursing out a customer for no apparent reason. There's better pie and better customer service to be had.

Very casual (gritty) place with efficient, unfriendly staff. The pizza is great with excellent mozzarella. Go there for the pizza and old fashioned local color in upscale soho. Five stars for the pizza.

Good pizza, fast service. Standard pizza place but really good food! That's about all I have to say

Just looking for a quick cheap bite late last night, 10/27/23. Food was good enough, but otherwise stay away from this rip-off joint. $18 for just one primavera slice and one chicken sandwich? I don't think so!...

Famous Ben's Pizza is a New York-style pizzeria that opened in Manhattan, New York in 1979. It was founded by husband and wife Ben and Debbie Aliotta. Famous Ben's makes the traditional New York-style pizza (based on Neapolitan pizza) that you may find at any New York City pizzeria. However, they are most well-known for their 'sfincione' or Palermo-style pizza. This Sicilian style of pizza is very thick and cut into squares. It is essentially focaccia bread with pizza toppings. The pizzeria has been featured in several films and TV shows over the years (including "Men in Black II") and numerous celebrities have visited there. Pop star Madonna infamously visited the pizzeria in 1992, during which her driver jumped from the car and attacked a paparazzo. In addition to pizza, Famous Ben's also serves calzones, stuffed breads, heroes, pastries and Italian ice. Today the pizzeria is owned by business partners John Notaro and John and Ronald Pasquale. A second location opened in Valley Stream, New York in 2016 but it has since closed. My wife and I visited Famous Ben's Pizza in September 2019. We were on a Cannoli Crawl in Lower Manhattan. In addition to places that made cannoli, we also visited other establishments that featured Sicilian foods. Our tour was led by Allison Scola, who has a wealth of knowledge about cannoli and Sicilian culture in general. When we walked into Famous Ben's, we were greeted by longtime employee Lucio. He brought out one of their famous Palermo pies and everyone quickly grabbed a square to munch on. In addition to tomato sauce, each slice is covered with a thick topping of olive-oiled and browned bread crumbs with a coarse puree of onions underneath. Supposedly, in Sicily, where pastas are often dressed with bread crumbs, they were sometimes considered a substitute for the dried cheeses like Romano and Parmesan that were enjoyed with abandon in other parts of Italy. The pizza was very tasty!! Now we know why they are called Famous Ben's. We would definitely stop in again if we find ourselves in SoHo.

The two stars are for the convenience and may have been a bad night at bens. We went to a concert at the bitter end. Came out I was hungry past by a few places saw a few people in Ben's. Ordered 2 slices and a sausage roll. Brought it home but ate it the next day (today). I warned the sausage roll took a bite and spit it out. Totally disgusting , not sure if I will go back. To be honest after having something that bad in my mouth I'm leery to experience it again.

Went back to Ben's Famous Pizza yesterday, May 29, 2023 to find the joint more abysmal and more of a ripoff than two years ago. A slice is $4.95 and it didn't look good from inside the display case. This joint needs to go under and disappear into history. I stayed there about 7 mins. checking out the display cases which I was tempted to scrawl ... RIPOFF!

This was our second visit to Ben's and we loved it the first time. This time the pizza was just mediocre, but staff was VERY rude on more than one occasion. They don't want to be there and it shows. Good customer service goes a long ways, especially when there are so many places to choose from to get good pizza in NYC. We will go to Joe's next time we're in town.

Best pizza I have had in my life. So genuine and generous people. I felt like royalty.

Wish this place had good pizza because it's in a great location but every time I've been here the pizza is sooo bad like inedible bad

I grew up spending a lot of time going to traditional New York City style pizza joints in my younger years, so I have a strong fondness for them. Famous Ben's is an example of such a place, with a long counter and clear shelves showing off all types of pizzas. Some pizza places just have your standard pies and toppings (which is great), but Ben's likes to have some different pies to offer including the one I absolutely love: the Palermo. This interesting slice features sautéed onion, grounded up into a sauce held together with bread crumb & olive oil. The crust is somewhere between your traditional square slice and a regular triangle slice. The thickness is perfect as a delivery system for the sauce. The flavor is absolutely killer. It is just pure savory flavor in a slice, just don't go to a party or job interview after having one! Ben's has been around for a long time and whenever I go there is a constant stream of customers going in and out. Pandemic notes: there is no inside seating (they have some outside) and the staff was wearing masks.

Stopped by here for lunch while walking around Soho. We got slices of Cheese and Vodka pasta pizzas. Didn't like the cheese much (felt those 99 cents slices were better than this). Vodka was good and pretty filling for lunch although it's a carb explosion. Pay cash and you get a free soda.

Great classic pizza spot that is known for its Sicilian / Palermo special that looks like an eggplant parm pizza. Didn't get to try this one but it looked great. They had a ton of unusual flavour options that looked amazing - ranch / chicken and some great mozarella with pesto - I had the Sicilian pepperoni which was great, fresh, crunchy, buttery base that was soft with the perfect crunch when you bit into it, great balance of tomato and cheese and then spicy mini pepperoni toppings that were perfectly cooked and lightly crisped, if you love a classic Sicilian pepperoni this one is great 9.5/10. Also had their American slice classic cheese which was very good, a little crunchier than I like but nonetheless very decent 8/10

I still love this place. The delightful staff and tasty beautiful food. My pizza is always so magnificent... Each bite makes me smile. The tables are pretty puny but it gets the job done as long as you didn't shop first. Here's a picture of my pizza before I shoved it in my pie hole. Even the crust is divine. I brought my British friend and a friend from Florida so that they can experience the BEST. Mmmmm. Yummy stuff

Small shop in the West end of SoHo that looks pretty unassuming, but stopped in for a quick slice of the Grandma's Sicilian slice (what they are known for). This pizza was quite alright - not as saucy as I would like it, but the cheese was great. Just under $5 it is a bit expensive for a slice however. Wouldn't necessarily come back again, but it was a fine one time experience.

An affordable lunch destination in Soho is as rare as a clean street tile in NYC, but this is one spot that's clearly free of dog territory markings. Sure, it's mighty greasy, but it's pizza not sweet green. This is the pizza I remember eating with my family when visiting the US in the '90s, before people were worried about silly things like calories. Just walk it off and enjoy your food!

This place used to have the best calzones in New York. A few years ago I had the best broccoli and chicken calzone, it was so good I wanted more after I was full. Yesterday I came in to get one only to see they don't make it anymore and so I got spinach and mushroom with chicken. It was terrible. The filling is too tangy, the chicken is overcooked and dry, the mushrooms are from a can, so they're more salt than flavor. I don't know what happened to this place but it really went downhill and I won't be back. Even the sauce is nasty and overly sweet. Skip this place and get John and Joes in the Bronx just off of Pelham Parkway If you want good, authentic, fresh food.

Stumbled upon this spot tonight while walking around Soho craving cheese and carbs. Their neon sign in the window says they were "nominated to be NYC's best Sicilian slice"...didn't say by who, but if I remember correctly it happened back in 2011. I blinked twice and declared, "well, I'll be the judge of that!". Two warm Sicilian slices later it was definitely solid. That tomato sauce is some of the best I've had recently (that isn't Joe's). The music here is also fantastic. Went from my Paula Abdul, to some other 80s song to a relatively unknown Ace of Base song that wasn't a single and wasn't on their "The Sign" album...but I digress. Sicilian here is fantastic at $4 a slice. Other pizza slices are $5.50+. For creative toppings I kind of get it but they're also regularly sized slices with a thin crust, those slices feel overpriced. I mean, even a white slice is $5.50 - and there's no sauce on it! That's pretty crazy. I would totally come back here again for their Sicilians.