Otto Enoteca Pizzeria

About

Serving classic Italian pizza and pasta, house-cured meats, Italian and local cheeses, artisanal Gelato, and boasting a 750+ all-Italian wine list.
http://www.ottopizzeria.com

Story

Designed to look like an Italian train station, OTTO (which means “eight” in Italian) is located on the corner of 8th Street and Fifth Avenue just steps from Washington Square Park. One of New York’s most celebrated pizzerias, OTTO combines the elegance of a Bolognese enoteca with the fun bustle of an Italian train station. Open daily from 11AM to midnight, OTTO is perfect for a quick snack, a lingering meal, a family night out, or a large social gathering. The first restaurant in New York City to have a Cured Meats HACCP plan approved by the New York City Health Department, OTTO is renowned for its extensive selection of house-cured meats. The antipasti strike “the winning simplicity that defines Italian food at its best,” says William Grimes in his New York Times review. But what sets OTTO apart from its peers are its dolci, namely the widely sought after gelato. Like the savory menu, gelato flavors include the traditional– dark chocolate, olive oil– as well as the seasonal. OTTO offers two distinct dining experiences: the Enoteca and the main dining room. The enoteca serves wine, cheese and house-cured salumi at marble-topped standing tables for meeting new people or grabbing drinks and antipasti with a group of friends. The classic main dining room seats over 150 and the lively music and cool vibe bring everyone a smile from their first bite of salumi or griddle-cooked pizzas to their last spoonful of creamy, homemade gelato. Opened by Joe Bastianich in 2003, OTTO quickly became a buzzing neighborhood hotspot for Greenwich Village locals, NYU students, and families alike. OTTO has carried on the One Fifth Avenue tradition of excellence and swank. It’s the most fun on lower Fifth Avenue since the days when John Belushi hung from the rafters.