Williamsburg Pizza Union Avenue
Pizza restaurant · Williamsburg
265 Union Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11211
Highlights
Creative thin-crust pizzas, grandma squares & garlic knots
Creative thin-crust pizzas, grandma squares & garlic knots
"“Grabbing a slice” is a thing people say a lot, but don’t really do. You rarely ever just get one slice. When you’ve been working from home all day and realize that you’ve eaten nothing but Captain Crunch, you’re going to grab two, maybe three slices. When you stop on your way home from a bar, you grab three slices, but usually end up with one and a half after tripping on your way up to your apartment. The very good slices at Williamsburg Pizza, however, are big enough that a single slice usually does the trick. This paper-plate spot in Williamsburg doesn’t claim to be revolutionizing pizza and they don’t speak at length about where their flour is milled - they just serve some really good pizza. The round pies are solid (especially the ones that go heavy on fresh tomatoes), but you should come here for the buttery, cheesy grandma square pies. Get the one with soppressata and a ton of fresh melted mozzarella or the one with kale, sausage, and taleggio. Or if you want to prove that grabbing a slice is really never an accurate statement, then get both. Food Rundown Circle Pies These pies are massive. The housemade mozzarella and sweet tomatoes are very good, and there’s a solid amount of pecorino and basil as well. The crust kind of feels like the house bread that’s put on the table as an afterthought at average Italian spots, but overall, it’s still good and a ton of food for the price. Grandma Squares These come in the same varieties as the circle pies, and they’re all loaded with cheese and toppings. The crust is doughy and buttery, and the edges are slightly burnt. Get one with cured meat, like the calabrese with sopressata and onions." - Matt Tervooren
"Opened in Williamsburg, Brooklyn in 2017 by Tuscany native Massimo Laveglia, with Nick Baglivo joining in 2018 as general manager and co-owner, the shop grew from the two of them and a dishwasher to about 80 staff as business exploded during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, prompting two expansions of the original location and the addition of a second shop in Manhattan’s West Village in 2023. On managing demand and lines they are blunt: Laveglia says, "As much as people think that we love it, we hate lines. We’re trying to be as fast as we can. The problem is the capacity we have in the oven: We can only make eight pies at a time." Baglivo adds, "We can’t even get another oven because we’re low on electricity. We try not to think about the line too much. We’re saying the quality of the pizza’s got to be good. Somebody’s going to wait 30 minutes, 40 minutes at most. Then we’ve got to make sure that they’re getting an acceptable piece of pizza." On front-of-house and ordering systems he explains, "We have a great staff, a very charismatic staff. We hand out menus, we go down the line, we answer questions, we interact with the customers. We have the stationary [point-of-sale] system and then we have two handheld POS systems, so when we have a moment and we’re stacked up on some pies, we’ll have two or three people taking orders at a time. But just because you take the order fast, doesn’t mean it gets made faster. We’re doing our best to make sure people aren’t complaining about the line because that’s a big, big issue for some people. Nobody ever complained when Juliana’s had a line, or Grimaldi’s had a line. They only complain about us because we’re young." On physical expansion and products Laveglia recounts, "The space next to the first pizzeria became available and our space was very tight, and the landlord [said,] 'If you want to take it, I’ll give you a better deal.' We knocked down the wall and we were able to do more pizza. We changed some equipment; we introduced gelato to the shop." Baglivo emphasizes reinvestment and consistency: "We’re just being consistent in reinvesting in the products and getting better and better. When the pandemic hit, we were able to be consistently available for people in the neighborhood. When we closed for renovations, people really missed us. When we reopened right around spring, everybody was really excited to come back and see the new space and how much bigger we’d gotten. We’ve really succeeded as far as keeping the quality at such a high demand." On outdoor seating and neighborhood impact Laveglia notes, "When we expanded in 2021, we had more space, but it wasn’t enough for all the customers. After COVID, we had to remove the patio structure. Now the patio is open from April to October. It’s good that we have extra space, but it didn’t really change the business." Baglivo adds, "It keeps the customers from loitering in front of the [neighborhood] residents’ apartments. When they don’t have a place to be, it’s a free-for-all and that creates more waste and more garbage. We’re able to contain it now to the front of the shop and be mindful and diligent. We try our best." On equipment upgrades he recalls, "When we first started working, we had very janky equipment. I remember on a Friday night, a stone broke and we chipped a piece of brick from the building to wedge the stone in there so we could get through the night. [When we expanded,] we reinvested in the shop and we [wound] up getting better ovens. We were doing our diligence looking for the best equipment and figuring out how to work with it." Finally, Laveglia describes fixing recurring operational snags: "In the beginning, it was a drama. It happened probably once a week. We had to change the website. When you go to the website now, before you place the order, the website asks you four or five times if you are in the right location. It doesn’t happen anymore." - Sam Nelson
"There are Williamsburg Pizza locations from Crown Heights to the Upper East Side. All five locations deliver, so order their massive, delicious pies from whichever one will get to you fastest." - team infatuation
"If you’re a fan of thin crusts, then Williamsburg Pizza might just become your new favorite. They have three locations around the city, all serving remarkably filling thin-crust slices and pies. And at all three shops, you’ve got two plant-based options: the vegan (made with Violife mozzarella, and covered in marinated artichokes, basil, roasted red peppers, red onions, spinach, garlic, and tomato sauce) and the vegan pepperoni (same plant-based cheese, topped with pepperoni, tomato sauce, and basil). The Upper East Side location also serves a vegan calabrese, made with plant-based mozzarella, Yves soy pepperoni, red onions, basil, and tomato sauce. Williamsburg Pizza’s owner also opened a spin-off in Crown Heights that goes by the name Brooklyn Pizza Crew, but has the same menu and look as the other locations." - anna rahmanan
"Find roni cups on Williamsburg Pizza’s classic grandma, a relatively thin, manageable square. Eat it on the go or grab a spot at a table — while not huge, both this location and the Lower East Side one at 277 Broome St. have a decent amount of seating. There’s also an outpost inside 310 Bowery Bar." - Eliza Brooke
