Il Leone
Pizza restaurant · Park Slope ·
Neapolitan pizza with fresh ingredients, lobster pie, meatballs
Neapolitan pizza with fresh ingredients, lobster pie, meatballs
"A Brooklyn reboot of the Peaks Island, Maine, pizzeria turning out wood-fired Neapolitan pies from a $24 margherita to a showstopper lobster pie at market price; owner Ben Wexler-Waite still plans seasonal returns to Peaks Island." - Tierney Plumb
"Back in the city that raised him, Ben Wexler-Waite is serving naturally leavened, Neapolitan-style pies alongside antipasti like crispy pan-fried artichokes, saucy meatballs, and burrata with prosciutto di Parma. Ingredient devotion shows in the Margherita Del Leone ($24), with a sauce made from greenhouse-grown cherry tomatoes, mozzarella di bufala from Campania, and organic basil snipped from a live plant above the prep station. Do not miss the Isola, the famous, photogenic lobster pie (MP): Maine lobster scattered over hand-milled San Marzano tomato sauce with a generous drizzle of Italian white wine. The wine list is refreshingly accessible, with bottles in the $50s–$60s and glass pours around $15; the Aglianico ($18) tasted like briny black olives and pairs beautifully with the Calabrian salami pie ($22) or the one topped with pecorino and locally foraged mushrooms ($24). Cocktails lean Italian, including a martini made with Malfy gin or Vérita vodka. Blond wood and candlelight make this a shoe-in for date night, and my eye is on the back patio as a prime spring hang to share a couple pies and down a few Negronis with friends. The wine list leans heavily on Campanian producers; Wexler-Waite traveled Italy to seek out lesser-known winemakers and has visited most on the list, so ask for a recommendation to go with your pies." - Nat Belkov
"Out on an island in Portland, Maine, chef and owner Ben Wexler-Waite has been firing up trek-worthy Neapolitan pies; now, this Brooklyn outpost brings wood-fired pies both traditional and special, the latter shaped by seasonal ingredients — see: the Isola, made with Maine lobster." - Melissa McCart
"There’s a new form of lobster on bread coming to Park Slope—and without a hot dog bun in sight. Instead, Il Leone, a Neapolitan pizzeria that currently operates out of a trailer just outside of Portland, Maine, makes lobster pizza. They’re bringing their naturally leavened pies to the former Bar Vinazo space." - bryan kim, willa moore, will hartman, molly fitzpatrick
"There’s a new form of lobster on bread coming to Park Slope—without a hot dog bun in sight. Instead, Il Leone, a Neapolitan pizzeria that currently operates out of a trailer just outside of Portland, Maine, makes lobster pizza. They’re bringing their naturally leavened pies to the former Bar Vinazo space. We haven’t been here yet, but want you to know this spot exists." - Will Hartman
