Don Antonio

Out of all the many NYC pizza spots, Don Antonio’s is Peter’s favorite.

Don Antonio is a small hole-in-the-wall Neopolitan pizza place just north of Times Square in Midtown. Peter and I visited last summer before seeing Water for Elephants on broadway. It is a small restaurant, with wooden tables and seats, a red wall facing a brick one, and a dimly lit, somewhat noisy, and romantic ambience.

It’s a restaurant that Peter could distinctly remember visiting when he was a kid, notably for their Nutella pizza dessert option.

As a starter we ordered the Fraticelli Cacio e Pepe, which was nice and simple to start, although it wasn’t anything breathtaking. Don Antonio offers a wide range of Antipasti, so next time we might try their Montanarine or Arancini.

For our main dish, we decided to share the Kesté pizza, which included tomato sauce, buffalo mozzarella, arugula, prosciutto di Parma, and shaved pecorino. While prosciutto on pizza or in general tends to be rather hit or miss for me, Don Antonio’s was a hit. The pizza was cooked just enough to have that “extra flavor” prior to reaching the zone of burnt. The key to the Don Antonio pizzas are their light and airy doughs, which are freshly made and cooked in their wood-fired oven.

The Nutella pizza was also delicious, and I can imagine the joy that a group of kids would have upon seeing that on the menu (as we shared it). It uses the same airy dough that is thin and crisp to create a sandwich with Nutella in between, offering a warm and sweet explosion in your mouth.

Overall, Don Antonio offers a fun and classic way to spend a New York City night with great food and a lively atmosphere.