Roberta's, Brooklyn, New York

Roberta's entrance

Surrounding area, pretty bad...

Roberta's is a place I had heard about. Apparently it has the best pizza in New York (like so many other places...). It is located in Brooklyn, between buildings which seem to fall apart and warehouses. There seemed to be a couple of bars nearby as well. On the day we went there, we had walked across the Brooklyn Bridge and then went for a drink somewhere. We took a cab to Roberta's. I used a taxi app which is a complete rip off. The surrounding area did not seem very inviting. There were lots of people in front of the restaurant though as well as a big stretch limo.

Interior

We were there on a Saturday for lunch. The place was completely packed. We waited a bit and then they gave us a small table in the corner with some kind of bar stools. We were ok with that considering that the restaurant was completely full.

Garden area

The restaurant is in an old warehouse. They basically put tables in, and used every last space of the restaurant maximise seating capacity, not comfort. They have a pizza oven at the front of the restaurant which you can see straight away when you come in.

'Bar' area, drinks menu

Pizza oven

Once we took a seat, we had to wait quite a while before somebody came to us. It was hard to tell who is a waiter because they were all dressed in Brooklyn hipster style just like many guests. I ordered one of their home brewed beers.

Home brewed beer

The beer had a weird taste for me. It tasted like somebody brewed it in his back yard or garage, which was probably the case. We studied the pizza menu for quite a while. If you are looking for a typical pizza with tomatoes and mozzarella, this restaurant should not be your first choice. Roberta's has individual pizzas which I have not seen in that combination anywhere else. The menu is small but interesting. At that point we understood why the place is so full. Everybody comes there just for the pizza.

Four emperors pizza with mozzarella, ricotta, different spices and sesame seeds

We had the four emperors pizza which was quite a revelation. Turned out to be quite spicy in fact but was absolutely delicious. I ordered the Cowabunga Dude pizza which I had to wait for, for quite a while. They had seemingly burnt that pizza twice and apologised for that many times as well as for the wait. They then served me the pizza and said that it will be on the house, which was true in the end. I thought that was very nice and forthcoming of them.

Cowabunga Dude pizza with tomatoes, olives, sausage, green peppers, onion and mushrooms

The Cowabunga Dude pizza turned out good too. I would definitely order the Four Emperors next time though. 

All in all it was an interesting experience. The restaurant has minimum comfort and maximum exploitation. The staff was very friendly and forthcoming. The pizza was very good. Drinks cost as much as in Manhattan. I can definitely recommend the pizza. I would not say that it is the best pizza I have ever had though. The toppings are interesting combinations. It is worth going, if you want to see Brooklyn and the hipsters and have some good pizza. It was interesting to see such a shabby place, having the minimum dining requirements be so popular. I guess that this is a New York think. Once a hype is created there will be queues, no matter what the product being sold is. It was an interesting experience. If you feel adventurous when in New York, you should definitely try it out.