Woodside, Queens · since 1994
The best pizza in Woodside, NY
A pizzeria on 61st Street with two ovens and one room. New York rounds and Sicilian squares off the steel decks, Neapolitan pies out of a coal-fired brick oven at 900°F, Roman trays cut with scissors, and Rosa’s spinach and chicken rolls off the back bench. The dough is given forty-eight hours in the cold room, which is the only thing here that could be called a secret.
- 1994
- On the same block, in the same room
- 48h
- Cold ferment on every round pie
- $3.75
- A plain slice, and the test of the shop
- 0
- Star ratings or awards claimed anywhere
If an allergen would send you to hospital, please read this before ordering. We open wheat flour in this room all day; it is airborne and on every surface, including the oven floor and the cutting wheel. We cannot describe anything here as free of an allergen and we will not. The allergens page says exactly what we can and cannot tell you.
A pizzaria, a pizzeria, and the same shop either way
Thirty years on 61st Street
Sal Provenzano opened this shop in 1994 with a second-hand deck oven and his mother’s sauce. In 1996 he started leaving the dough in the cold room for two days instead of making it the same morning, which cost the business money for about a year and then stopped costing it money. Everything since has been a variation on that decision.
There are two ovens now, because a New York slice and a Neapolitan pizza want completely opposite things from a floor. Six people work here. Nobody has voted us anything and we are not going to imply otherwise — the plain slice is $3.75 and it is a better test than anything written on this page.
Six of thirty-three
What people order
The full menu runs to thirty-three things across five sections, and every price is on the page next to what it is.
New York Cheese Pizza
The plain pie the whole shop is judged on: a thin, foldable base, a thin bright sauce and low-moisture mozzarella browned in patches.
From $3.75
Sicilian Square Pizza
A thick square pie proofed in an oiled steel pan: an airy open crumb, a fried golden base and a crisp cheese edge.
From $4.25
Margherita
The Neapolitan build: a puffed, leopard-spotted rim, fior di latte in patches rather than a blanket, basil and a thread of olive oil.
From $22
Spinach Roll
Spinach wilted with garlic and squeezed dry, rolled through pizza dough with mozzarella and baked until the spiral sets.
From $6.50
Grandma Pizza
Thin, square and pressed straight into the pan: mozzarella first, then stripes of crushed tomato spooned over the top with sliced garlic and oregano.
From $4.25
Roman Al Taglio
A long tray pizza at eighty per cent hydration, proofed two days, cut with scissors and sold by weight — an open honeycomb crumb on a crisp base.
From $4.20Six styles, and they are genuinely different pizzas
New York, Sicilian, grandma, Neapolitan, Roman, bar
Not names for the same dough. Six hydrations, three ovens, and bake times from ninety seconds to twenty minutes.
| Style | Hydration | Ferment | Oven | Bake |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York | 62% | 48 hours, cold | Deck, 600°F | 12–14 minutes |
| Sicilian | 72% | 24 hours in the pan | Deck, 550°F | 18–20 minutes |
| Grandma | 65% | 6 hours in the pan | Deck, 550°F | 14–16 minutes |
| Neapolitan | 60% | 24 hours, room and cold | Coal-fired brick, 900°F | 90 seconds |
| Roman al taglio | 80% | 48 hours, cold | Deck, 575°F | Twice — base, then topped |
| Bar pie | 55% | 24 hours, cold | Deck, 600°F | 9–10 minutes |
Where the pizza actually comes from
Two days, two ovens, one room
The dough
Forty-eight hours at 38°F. Everything a crust tastes of comes from what happens slowly and does not happen quickly.
How it is made
The ovens
Steel decks at 600°F for the New York and square pies, and a coal-fired brick oven at 900°F for the Italian side.
Two ovens, two jobs
The ingredients
Sauce crushed by hand and never cooked, cheese shredded here each morning, and no supplier’s brand named anywhere.
What goes on itThe pages most restaurant websites do not have
Things we would rather you knew
A slice on the rack came out of the oven earlier and goes back in to reheat when you order it. Our gluten-free crust is not safe for coeliac disease and never will be in a room like this. Pizza is not health food. Every delivery time is an estimate. Nobody has voted us anything.
All five of those are things we would say to you at the counter, so putting them on the website only saves you having to ask. It also means the things we do claim can be taken at face value.
- Allergens and cross-contact — what a shared flour kitchen cannot promise anybody.
- Vegetarian, vegan and dietary — and why this is neither a halal nor a kosher kitchen.
- The slice counter — how long that tray has really been out.
- What pizza is and is not — no calorie counts, and no health claims.
Six people
Who is behind the counter
Sal Provenzano
Owner and head pizzaiolo
Opens the dough at six, works the oven through both rushes, and will not let a pie leave pale.
Nina Provenzano
Owner, front of house and catering
Takes the catering orders, and will tell you plainly when a date is already full.
Marco Riccio
Pizzaiolo, the Neapolitan oven
Runs the 900°F oven, keeps the fire, and built the Italian side of the menu.
Woodside, Sunnyside and the near neighbourhoods
Where to find us
37-32 61st Street, Woodside, NY 11377. Four minutes' walk from 61st Street–Woodside on the 7, and from the Long Island Rail Road platform directly above it. The Q18, Q32, Q53 and Q70 all stop within two blocks.
| Days | Open |
|---|---|
| Monday – Thursday | 11:00am – 10:00pm |
| Friday – Saturday | 11:00am – 11:30pm |
| Sunday | 12:00pm – 9:30pm |
- Woodside
- Sunnyside
- Astoria
- Jackson Heights
- Elmhurst
- Maspeth
- Long Island City
- Rego Park
- Corona
- Middle Village
Asked at the counter
Questions
Are you a pizzeria or a pizzaria?
Both spellings get used in this neighbourhood and neither is wrong enough to argue about. “Pizzeria” is the Italian spelling and the one on our awning; “pizzaria” is how a great many people in Queens write it, including in the search bar, which is why it is also our web address. Same shop either way.
Can you make me a pizza that is safe for coeliac disease?
No. We open bags of wheat flour in this room all day and it is airborne and on every surface, including the oven floor our gluten-free bases are baked on. Our gluten-free crust is for people avoiding wheat by choice. If a reaction would send you to hospital, please do not order from us.
How long does a whole pie take?
Twelve to fifteen minutes for a New York or square pie once it goes in, plus whatever is ahead of it. On a Friday between six and eight that can reach forty-five minutes, and we will tell you that on the telephone rather than let you find out.
Do you guarantee a delivery time?
No, and we will not start. Every time we quote is an estimate. We would rather call you and say the kitchen is running twenty minutes long than promise thirty minutes and be wrong.
Is the slice on the rack fresh out of the oven?
No — a slice came out earlier and goes back in to reheat when you order it. That is what a slice counter is. Ask Danny how long a tray has been out and he will tell you; if you want a pie straight from the oven, order a whole one.
Are you halal or kosher?
Neither, and we hold no certification for either. We share benches, ovens and a cutting wheel between meat and everything else.
Twelve to fifteen minutes, and worth the wait
Order a pie
Telephone the shop and we will tell you honestly how long the kitchen is running before you commit to anything. Collection is always quicker than delivery and the pizza is always better for it. If you are ordering for a crowd, the catering page has the trays and the notice we need.