Giuseppina’s

This deliciously simple pizzeria has quickly become one of my partner and I’s favorite local spots. It’s calzones, pizza, and calzones for dessert — and you will not be disappointed in any of the above! Cash only.

You know what? I’m the idiot who decided to pay 30 bucks for a soggy pizza. Not as yummy as Toby’s an no way near as good as Pauline and Sharons. Though the guy was nice I wont go back. And screw you cash only places. I dont do laundry.

I almost wanted to give this place 1 star just so people wouldn’t find out about it and create lines a la Lucali in Carroll Gardens. Owned by the brother of the owner of Lucali, you can tell that an aptitude to make good pizza is clearly in the genes. This pizza is almost as good as Lucali’s and doesn’t come with an insane line out the door. No need to get here an hour early to put your name in either. The sauce is delicious and flavorful, the ingredients used are fresh. Just like Lucali, you are not charged for garlic and basil on the pie, but you do have to pay for onions, peppers, sausage, pepperoni, or truffle sauce. They have more pie options than Lucali (veggie, meat, truffle, white pizza), but you still can only order a pie with 8 slices. You can get a pie half something half another something. The also have calzones, but honestly just come here for the pies. That’s your best bet. They serve beer and wine, unlike Lucali. It is also cash only. This is a great pizza place! So glad we found it!

Confession up front: I am not a lover of American pizza. This pizza is absolutely delicious. Definitely not a cheap meal for two; quite reasonable for four. We however are pigs and consumed an entire 8-​slice pie. Basic pizza with garlic and basil leaf topping is $ 22. Additional toppings are $ 3 each: we had artichoke hearts (½ heart per slice) and sausage, which was crumbled (could have used a little more) and very flavorful. House wine was $ 8 per glass and it was a good sized glass. Service was very attentive and friendly, although we were there on a slow night. We were too full to try anything else although the Nutella calzone was tempting. My only complaint is the cash only policy (seriously cuts into my miles or cash back on dining).

Delicious pizza. Fresh ingredients. Friendly staff. A great ambiance too.
Price is pretty high for pizza. Even though it was definitely great it was hard to believe to pay more then $ 31 for an 18 inch pizza pie. I wasn’t a fan of there option for truffle sauce added as a topping. The sauce hardly made any flavor difference. Definitely over priced. Probably won’t be back.

Why this place isn’t rated #1 in Brooklyn blows my mind. If your going anywhere but here or Lucalis. You’re just doing it wrong.
Don’t leave with out getting both a pizza AND a calzone. You’ve got room

I’ve lived in a few blocks from this place for 3 years and I finally made it. The hype is absolutely worth it.
The moment I walked in here, the smell of garlic and roasted meats/​veggies/​cheese instantly gave me a hint of what was to come. The aromas were not of your standard pizzeria fare, but this isn’t your standard pizzeria — you can’t, and wouldn’t want to buy it by the slice here. The pizzas come out of the back wall, which is a gigantic brick oven that has a volcano of flame spouting up in the middle of it — it’s pretty mesmerizing to watch the pizzas enter and exit the inferno.
Anyway, to the pizza. My table was about 20 people for a friends BDAY, and it seemed pies kept coming until we couldn’t finish anymore. We had all of them except the «Giuseppina Special» which says $ 50/​ea on the menu, no dice there. I don’t really have a favorite because they were all amazing. My advice is to come here with at least 4 people to get 2 – 3 different pies to eat because if you only get one, you’re missing out. I had a bite of one of the calzone’s as well. Also pretty amazing, but that was the first thing I ate so it kind of got lost in the process. We got some dessert calzones, which I can speak about and say they’re phenomenal. Get that too… and the wine, also really good and affordable.
This place is a hidden gem, and I feel fortunate to live so close. Definitely a top 10 pizza in NYC.

I am nothing if not a man of science. So when I recently read a study that said that men eat 93% more pizza when they’re around women, I had to put the postulate to the test. I set forth to eat at some of the best pizzerias on the east coast 4 days out of 8. Oh the things I do for knowledge.
Granted, I was only in the company of women 50% of the time (you need a control, after all). After the first two samples helped set a baseline for how much pizza I could eat in one sitting (result: a lot), my friends and I ventured to Giuseppina’s, also known as the Lucali of South Slope (a phrase known only to me because I just made it up). Giuseppina’s is quite literally the brother restaurant of Lucali (Chris Iacono runs Giuseppina’s while his brother Mark runs Lucali).
Where the two brothers’ restaurants differ:
1) Giuseppina’s takes reservations (or at least they provide a rough time of when you should be there if you call day-​of)
2) They are more adventurous with their available toppings ($ 30 for black truffles, for instance)
3) They serve beer and wine (whereas Lucali is BYOB)
4) No sightings of Jay-​Z and Beyonce at Giuseppina’s (n=1 is not statistically significant, however)
Where the two restaurants share similarities is the quality of the pizza. Large 18″ pies. Airy crust with just the right amount of char underneath. Floppy enough that you need to fold a slice in half (like you’re supposed to).
There were 10 of us, so we went with 3 pies and 2 calzones (yes, calzones are something else the two restaurants have in common).
The pies we got:
1) Margherita
2) White pie
3) Regular with shallots, hot/​sweet sausage and artchoke hearts
That last one was custom-​ordered (like Lucali, you pay for toppings a la carte, but basil and garlic is free). The sausage and the artichoke worked well together. Just the right balance of spicy, oily, and crunchy.
Also split a pepperoni calzone because obviously, we hadn’t had enough cheese. So much ricotta in a super crispy shell. Of course, it wouldn’t be an Iacono calzone without a large bowl of tomato sauce for dipping.
Other things worth mentioning:
1) Their wine selection is good (the Barbera was excellent) and they’re all reasonably priced, which makes sense since they’re…
2) …CASH ONLY!
3) They also play great music from the 60s and 70s. Great laid back atmosphere all around.
4) Service was also great!
In conclusion, I polished off about an entire pie by myself, which was approximately 93% more pizza than I thought I could. So I guess that study has some merit. Sample size is too small, so I’ll have to do further research. Will publish my findings as they come.
Oh, and review #1,700.

Many great contenders, but this is my favorite pizza in the borough. Thin, bubbly crust, very high quality toppings (the mushrooms are enormous, fresh thin slices), very fast service, really pleasant candle-​lit but unpretentious restaurant environment. Make sure to ask for the free, but optional, garlic and basil for your pie. I usually split a single pie between 2 – 3 people and leave stuffed. I’m not sure if their pies would truly shine if you didn’t eat there — they’re just so fresh and crispy. Its more of a date-​night place than where you order your netflix pie (Luigi’s fresh mozz pie is my fav for that, just up the street).
It took me a few visits to try the nutella calzone dessert, but do yourself a favor and try it. Its small, but super rich, so its shareable for 2. Like a delicious donut-​calzone hybrid with ricotta and nutella. I wish I was eating it right now.

THIS PLACE IS GREAT. For lots of reasons.
First of all, my 3 friends and I were just perusing Unilocal for nearby pizza places, actually looking for a cheap place, you know them, New Yorkers — those $ 1 slice places! Our friend found Giuseppina’s and led us here, and we thought, oh no! We are not dressed classy enough! But then we just gave it a try. Turns out, we WERE classy enough, because this place is gorgeous and candlelit, but also very welcoming and very reasonably priced. A casual delicious pie is only $ 22, which is great for the budget of twentysomethings. A glass of wine was inexpensive too, which was exactly what I was in the mood for. This place was really great and I can’t wait to go back soon! It’s nice to have a classy place to grab some quality pizza that isn’t snooty at all and is affordable for lil’ olé me. :)

Great pizza and very reasonably priced ($ 22 for 8 large slices)
*note — I only give 5 stars to places you should go out of your way to experience + shouldn’t leave a city without trying.

Very tasty pizza and super fast service. I got the shallot pizza and it only took like 7 minutes to cook.
What was really notable here was our kind and generous treatment by owner Chris. After getting the check, my friend and I realized that we didn’t have enough cash between us to pay the bill, and neither one of us had an ATM card. We offered to leave a credit card number as collateral, but Chris instead just took our word that we’d come back with the money, and even suggested that we could pay the balance next time we came, whenever that might be. We ended up finding a bunch of quarters in the car and were able to settle the bill before the restaurant closed– but we still wanted to give Chris a shout-​out for the friendly vibe and great customer service at Giuseppina’s.

The pizza is very good, but I felt like I was robbed when I got the check. Their menu is on the wall, and it is only written the price of the pie — 24.00 for a large one.
What they don’t tell you is that each topping is extra 3.00.
Therefore, a large pepperoni pizza with olives and onions cost 31 dollars total.
9 dollars for a couple of slices of pepperoni, a couple of olives, and some sliced onions, are you kidding me? I’m very disappointed and I don’t intend to go back.

Lucali’s was closed for the Labor Day weekend, so a very nice man washing his car outside suggested we try Giuseppina’s («his brother’s place») instead.
We tried a small calzone and pie with one of the special toppings of (crumbled) sweet/​spicy sausage (adding garlic and basil — free but you must request it). The calzone came without sauce, but you didn’t need it at all. It was the best, «lightest» calzone I have ever had; not heavy at all. The dough held its structure and crispness against the cheesy filling (just enough ooze to be creamy but not so much to make a mess).
The pie came out quickly and beautifully. Same great dough as the calzone — crisp and thin but still pliant and chewy. Pies are a little light on the sauce and cheese, but I will say that the toppings did not overwhelm the dough, and these are slices that you can easily fold.
This place has a warm ambience, ample seating and friendly staff. I loved the mix of families, friends and couples in the dining room. Even though there were others like us coming from a little further away (heard the men at the next table mention they were from Boston?), I definitely felt like I was still in a neighborhood spot.

Owned by the brother of Lucali Pizza owner, we came here based on the recommendation of a friend who lives in Brooklyn when we found out Lucali would be closed during our time in NY. Arrived at 6:30 on a weekday and we were promptly seated. One pizza was enough to feed 2 people. Added only pepperoni and mushroom for toppings. Extra garlic and basil (free). Paid for extra sauce which was totally worth it!

This place is owned by Chris Iacono, brother of Lucali owner Mark Iacono. And essentially, it’s the same restaurant, with the exception of the fact that they do use some electric lights, though very dim and they serve wine and beer. The room is almost candle lit, the walls are exposed brick. The mood is romantic, the music was in keeping with the room. Nina Simone, Tonny Bennet, Dean Martin, were just some of the music being played at a very nice level.
The menu is the same as Lucali’s. They offer pizza and calzone with a limited choice of toppings. Shallots, onions, pepperoni, artichoke hearts, mushroom, basil, and garlic were the things I remembered.
We ordered a 25 dollar bottle of Nero D’avola. It was a perfect house light red and went well with everything. The calzone was the same as Lucali. Filled with low moisture mozzarella, a beautiful fresh ricotta, and we opted for artichokes… Side of sauce was 2 bucks.
Out came the pie. We ordered the pie with fresh basil. It came piled on. The pizza was cooked perfectly. Not burnt but, a perfect little char. Lots of cheese, some parm. Just as Lucali…
The best thing about this place, it was not packed… There was no wait. We walked right in, our waitress was definitely old school Brooklyn and very friendly.
It’s an interesting spot as it’s almost directly across the street from Toby’s. Toby’s is a place that has a wood burning oven that has wonderful pies as well. However, Toby’s is also a bar and has other things besides pizza. I had to use the ATM at Toby’s and was happy to see that this place is packed. Rightfully so.
So the verdict is, the pies are as good as Lucali, however, there is no line but, you can’t bring your own wine…
It did make me realize it’s been too long since I have been to Toby’s.

Loved this place. Visiting from out of town and saw the other awesome recommendations for it. Seeing how well others wrote intimidates me at times into being a mere lurker. But clearly, I liked it well enough to say something. We were seated within minutes, and I’m not sure I would call the ambience Middle Earth-​like. Maybe the Leaky Cauldron is a more accurate. No, that’s not it, I’m just grasping.
This is what they call NY-​style, right? Thin crust and fresh ingredients combined to create a true synergy of flavors that I won’t forget. We had half pepperoni and half mushroom/​spicy sausage. Cash only. Local feel, global appeal.

A dog was being walked outside the front door and dropped a dookie.
My family and I are a party of 5. We add our name to the list, ½ hour wait we’re told. Not a problem! We go get cash at an ATM (Giuseppina’s is a CASH ONLY spot) and come back 28 minutes later.
The large table, has a bunch of 6 foot giants eating. Even the ladies! That’s some big azz folks. The restaurant is packed and they’re sitting, laughing and texting while we’re waiting for them to get up. My wife starts laughing and whispers something to my kids.
What???
They all start laughing. They’re betting the giant people all do a doo doo dance in the dookie. Don’t bet against me, I stack the deck. The folks get up and I tell the 6’7 dude there is dookie chunks so be careful. I win: D
We all sit down and I order a bottled Italian beer. No beer taps at Giuseppina’s.
We order two pizzas, a Margarita and a pizza with prosciutto, shallots and portobello mushrooms. Oh yeah, add LOTS OF BASIL!
The restaurant mysteriously clears out. There is no one in the restaurant except a couple sitting behind us.
The waitress comes over. I’m so sorry, we’re out of Basil.
WHAT?
The couple behind us? Gets their pizza LOADED with basil.
Hmm…
Our pizza comes out without basil and my Brooklyn-​French-​Canadian wife starts getting antsy:
The Shallots aren’t totally cooked, the cheese has no oil or taste, the oven has this «Burst» of flame, its a wood-​gas hybrid and more importantly, there is no basil!
We get the bill, $ 75 bucks!!!
I’m assuming the owner comes over and says I’m sorry we ran out of basil.
(Thats because the other table got ALL the remaining basil, you could have split it 3 ways.)
Also, how does an Italian restaurant/​pizza place not have any salad? Have a mozzarella/​tomato/​basil app, regular tossed salad, some semblance of a salad would be awesome!
If you’ve ever witnessed Dom from Di Fara assemble a Brooklyn pizza. He drizzles olive oil on the pizza as well as cuts fresh basil over the top. I know Giuseppina’s is related to the Lucali chain. Hey, everyone has a weird auntie.
Giuseppina, you got the crust right. As for the price and running out of basil on a busy Saturday night, charging us full price and not offering us a appetizer (oh wait, you don’t have any) the best I can give you is a 3 star Unilocal review.
Actually, I’m going add this place to my NY Pizza list so you fine Unilocalers can make a decision off my experiences.
Never again.

I almost don’t want to leave this review because I can always get a table here still. It won’t be like this forever but Chris, the owner deserves your business more than I deserve a seat without a wait. This is hands down not just the best pizza in Brooklyn (yes Robertas and Pauly Gee doesn’t come close) but actually the best pizza I’ve had in the world, including the areas of Italy and Sicily I’ve been too.
I have no idea what they do here but it’s pure food for the soul. Thin crust cooked perfectly we always get the same thing, hot pepper and pepperoni. They do fresh basil and garlic too for free, a must. The first night we found this place we came straight back the next night to eat there again. We eat here once a week and the consistency is 100%.
Chris the owner is such a nice guy. His brother owns Lucali and Chris worked there too but has set up a place here that’s a stand out in its own right. Amazing place and a true Brooklyn institution that — for now at least — remains relatively undiscovered.

What an amazing place for a date night with Mi Amore. My wife has recently become pregnant and for the first time in our relationship, she has been craving Pizza. BINGO! You have just entered Freddy V’s world of Pizza. Pizza has to be one of my favorite past time foods to eat.
Giuseppina’s did not disappoint. The thin crust pizza with our selected toppings and calzone hit orgasmic points all over the body. They really know how to make a killer pizza and calzone. The place was very cute as it made us feel as if we’re in a rustic old school restaurant. The candles every where set the romantic mood. In additional they have a wine and beer list to compliment the awesome food. The service was on point and I can’t wait until Wifey get’s her cravings again.
I’m on that like Derek Jeter with his bat!