Di Fara Pizza
“Owned by Mr. Domenico DeMarco (also known as 'Dom'), he immigrated to NY from Italy back in '59.”
“when I saw Mr. DeMarco making his legendary pies slowly by hand, I was in awe and mesmerized.”
“The square pie was cooked perfectly with fresh basil on top, and what I really loved most was how you could taste the olive oil in the crust.”
Di Fara Pizza
Take-out: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Good for Kids: Yes
Price range.
$$ Price range $11-30
8 reviews
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Finally made it here and it was worth the wait! It's a very slow ordering process and even slower to get your pizza, but in the end I ate an entire half pie and I am happy. I did not get any toppings and didn't think any were needed. The basil is fresh, the sauce and cheese are salty and and the dough is both crispy and soft. Yum!
Sorry, but what's all the hype about? It seems like everyone worships the owner because he's been making the pizza the same way for 40 years. I understand nostalgia, but most of you haven't been even born 40 years ago. I can only chalk it up to the story of the Emperor's Clothes.
Don't get me wrong – the pizza is good, but it's not the best. It's definitely not worth waiting over an hour for and definitely not worth the inflated prices in Brooklyn. This place is making a killing just riding the hype wave. I sometimes wonder if this guy shit on a plate and a bunch of people raved about how his shit tasted so good, because he's been doing it for 80 years and it's been coming out of the same 80 year old intestines, I really think some people will also say how delicious it is. The pizza here is definitely not shit though – it's just good pizza but not GREAT pizza.
Has anyone ever thought – geez, I hope this guy can retire and enjoy the rest of his life and fortune? People just poke their heads and cameras into that tiny order window (the dining area was closed when I went due to the heat) and take pictures of the owner like he's some sideshow. Perhaps he loves doing what he does – I definitely respect him for having run such a successful business – but stop trying to take selfies with him (without him knowing) and posting on Facebook like he's some Pokemon that you just caught.
"Are you crying, or did you just eat Di Fara Pizza?" my love asked me after we ate. We had a good experience but come on. I've eaten much more outstanding pizza in my honest opinion.
Our final bill came to $48, adding insult to injury. We got two small sodas, one square whole pizza pie and two slices. The lemon soda from Italy, sour, fizzy, cute bottle almost more enjoyable than the pizza.
The people around us were going crazy. Like it was 1984 & they just got the last Cabbage Patch Kid doll. I heard them: "how's your slice? Omg it's soooo good." Hype.
My love just watched me. I looked at him. We ate. We commented on the sauce. Was good. Crust was burnt, hard and salty. The cheeses looked great when Dom was making the pies, but when he took them out, a burnt smoking oil laden disaster. Broken pizza dreams.
We made friends in line. One had been frequenting DF for 17 years. Before Dom was a rockstar he said. Before the lines. When he made Parm Heros and pasta too. When our new friend lived around the corner. When he was still married. Made me think, this is perhaps nostalgia for some people.
We should have just ordered a couple slices. Without the "secret" word on the street we would have never known it was anyone's favourite ever at all.
My mom grew up down the street from this unforgettable pizza joint. How she didn't know about it until I recently told her is beyond me. If I were her I'd be in mourning for years over a childhood deprived of Di Fara's cheesy goodness. But anecdote aside, Di Fara's never ceases to amaze. The pizza is a solid 5 stars, though .5 of that might be the actual experience of picking up a pie/slice. After an hour+ wait (shorter on weekdays) to see the legend himself clip the freshest basil in town onto pie after pie you will know what I mean. There's plenty written about this place so I'll leave you with this…
It's expensive and time consuming, authentic and delicious; a memorable experience worthy of the trek at least a few times in you lifetime. Bonus points for those of you who bike there to work up an appetite!
I…..love….pizza… It's easily my favorite food.
So my BFF (a native New Yorker who knows how much I LOVE PIZZA) planned a pizza tour for us when I went up to visit her. On the list? Lombardi's, L&B Spumoni Gardens, Grimaldi's, Rubirosa and Di Fara. We only ended up having time for 3 places that weekend (sad face — we had a wedding to go to). We went to Lombardi's (had 1/2 margherita, 1/2 mushroom), L&B Spumoni Gardens (tried both the round and square) and Di Fara. Di Fara was by far the best of all 3.
So Di Fara opens around 1 on Sundays. We hopped in line by approximately 1:15p and waited about 30 minutes just to order. We originally had plans to just get a slice or two each so we'd have an appetite for a 4th place for dinner, but finding out the wait time for the actual pizza being over an hour, we ordered a whole square pizza instead. BEST DECISION EVER.
We didn't actually sit down to eat until 4pm. Which means we waited a total of 2.75 hours for our pizza. I do not regret it, at all. The crust was so flaky and crunchy. Tons of mozzarella, sauce, basil and OIL. They have some hot pepper oil to use, if you're into that kinda thing. I used some and it just enhanced the already amazing flavors.
I typically prefer thick crust over thin and the square pizza at Di Fara is what I'll compare all future pizzas to… best pizza I've ever had. I'd endure the wait over and over again, no questions! Pizza Tour 2.0 to come….
Food: 4.0/5.0
Service: 2.0/5.0
Value: 2.0/5.0
Decor: 1.0/5.0
Overall: 3.5/5.0
A lot of people complain about the long wait at Di Fara. Pro tip: Go on a weekday afternoon. More seriously, some people complain that the pies Dom puts out are no longer as good as they used to be. Others complain about those complainers. They're both kind of right, but the former more so.
The lines and crowds have gotten shorter and smaller over time, and the pies more expensive, but the quality just isn't there anymore. Dom doesn't move as fast as he used to getting pies out and ready to go, and the basil and cheese sprinkling just isn't the same. Di Fara still serves a tasty pizza that I probably would splurge for once in a while, but I just can't call today's product more than a 4 out of 5 on food. And when you're no longer the best in the biz, or even in the city, I care a lot more that the pies are over thirty bucks and the place needed a thorough cleaning like fifteen years ago. Boys and girls, it pains me to do this. But I'm taking Di Fara down from 5.0/5.0 to 3.5/5.0. A part of me just died inside 🙁
In retrospect, it probably would have been impossible for Di Fara to live up to the hype, but my pie was still a good pie.
It hit all the right notes for a good pie: crisp yet chewy crust; bright, tasty sauce; gooey cheese (though Di Fara's vaunted 3 cheese blend didn't have the distinct light tartness of the mozzarella di bufala that it supposedly includes), and freshly cut basil, all in the right ratios. It just… didn't do anything special for me. I still consider New Haven pizzas to be the best, and Sally's plain pie to be the best plain pie in America.
The prices are also pretty ridiculous, as plenty of media outlets have reported. In as saturated a pizza market as New York, there's simply no way the quality of ingredients at Di Fara's could merit such a markup. At $30 for a plain pie, you're really paying $20 for the pie and $10 premium for the feel-good novelty of watching your pie being made by a wizened, hunched over octogenarian whose been making them almost every day for the past half century.
I have been hearing about DiFara pizza for quite some time. Friends kept telling me it's the best pizza you could have. My wife and daughter decided to go there for lunch today. After telling me the wait for pizza could be up to two hours, I told them to go, have a good time and bring me back a few slices to try. I refuse to wait up to two hours for pizza, no matter how good it's supposed to be.
This was not the first time that I've reheated pizza and most times it tastes better the next day. My first impression of DiFara's slice is that the crust was way too thin almost transparent in spots. The sauce was good not too sweet and the cheese was very tasty. The fresh basil on top was interesting but not my thing. The square slice they brought me was way to sloppy the thin crust was barely able to hold the sauce and cheese. It is OK pizza, not the best I've had and certainly not the worst. I also think paying $32 for a regular pie is highway robbery. I can get two pies at any of the places listed below for that kind of money. You're paying for the name here and that's something I can't eat.
Like I said no slice of pizza is worth a two hour wait and $32. I'd rather go to Joe's on Carmine St or New Park in Howard Beach or Lillian's in Forest Hills for a slice. No waiting necessary at these pizzerias. If I'm going to spend 2 hours at a restaurant it will be eating and not waiting. Once is enough for pizza from DiFara's. Your mileage may differ.