Violet East Village

"Regional pizza extraordinaires Matt Hyland and Emily Hyland of the popular Pizza Loves Emily restaurant group have decided to shut down Violet, the year-old East Village restaurant that focused on grilled Rhode Island-style pies." - Erika Adams

"Violet offers a variety of pizzas and non-pizza dishes, but the main focus is on their grilled pies inspired by Al Forno’s in Providence, Rhode Island. The pizzas, however, face several issues, especially with their heavy and unbalanced toppings that overshadow the quality of the crust. The classic pizza with tomato, havarti, and scallions, the 'nduja pie, the duck prosciutto pizza, and the 'achaarlic bread' all have flaws that detract from the overall experience. Despite the unique concept and the potential, the execution falls short, making the pizzas at Violet a disappointment." - Ryan Sutton

"Violet, the grilled pizza and seafood restaurant from Emmy Squared’s Matt Hyland, brings a new brunch option to East Village starting this weekend. It kicks off Saturday, March 30 at 11:30 a.m., and brunch dishes include an everything bagel-spiced grilled pizza with hollandaise, smoked salmon, and a poached egg, as well as grilled chorizo with a cheese curds Johnny cake, mornay scrambled eggs, and grilled cherry tomatoes." - Kayla Kumari Upadhyaya

"Of all the potential regional-cuisine mashups, Rhode Island-Indian—which is how you could describe some of the food at Violet, a hotly anticipated new restaurant in Alphabet City—has got to be pretty high on the list of unexpected contenders." - Hannah Goldfield

"The Pizza Loves Emily Group has opened their sixth restaurant in Alphabet City. Violet, named after Rhode Island’s state flower, focuses on grilled cuisine—specifically, pizzas inspired by chef Matt Hyland’s favorite stomping ground in Providence, Al Forno. (Fun fact: he and Emily had their first date at the ristorante.) Pies are grilled on both sides and topped with items like grilled winter squash, broccoli and pistachio pesto, or clams and duck prosciutto, and served with scissors for cutting. A selection of pastas including gnudi with smoked squash purée, ricotta and sage brown butter; pork and duck tortellini with dashi brodo and Sichuan oil; and baked fusilli with vodka sauce, ricotta and herbs is also on offer." - Abbe Baker