Italian Restaurants

Often in Williamsburg you'll learn that the further you move away from the nexus of Bedford and North 7th the more likely it is that you'll find a place you can claim for yourself. For Italian dining that consistently raises the bar that place is Aurora. Here, aperitivos compete with the main courses for making a lasting impression on one's palate. The desserts are delightful and the dessert wines are a perfect afterwork activity. On a balmy weekend afternoon it would be best to brunch outside in their comfy patio.

BOTTINO is the second New York restaurant for Daniel Emerman and Alessandro Prosperi. Their first, BAROCCO, was an art world institution, operating in TriBeCa from 1986 until 1999. Following in that tradition, BOTTINO opened in 1998, a pioneer in burgeoning West Chelsea.

A dark, romantic, and rustic dining room with red walls and low ceilings indicates that this Italian ristorante aims for a date crowd. Sophisticated and seasonal home cooking offsets the portion size (small) and price range (high). If you’re lucky, you’ll be there when the owner’s mother, Katerina, is in from Italy, hand-rolling the pasta and stuffing ravioli in the front of the restaurant.

John's Pizzeria originally opened its doors in the late Twenties. Since then, it has become world-renowned and a legendary institution in New York City - a place where generations of New Yorkers and tourists alike have come to enjoy the finest pizza the city has to offer. When the search was on to find a location as unique as the pizza itself, the newest John's in Times Square, in which patrons eat their pizza under a five-story stained glass cupola of what was once the Gospel Tabernacle Church, was born.