Williamsburg is one of the trendiest neighborhoods in Brooklyn located in the Northern part of the borough.
It was once a city but in 1855, Brooklyn annexed it at which point the letter “h” was dropped from its name; from Williamsburgh to Williamsburg. 43 years later, it became a part of New York when Brooklyn was adopted as one of the city’s boroughs.
Some of the things you can expect to enjoy in Williamsburg include indie music, a visit to artisan shops run by locals, and locally made spirits. You can also have a slice at the famous Joe’s Pizza, an Italian pizzeria that was established in 1975 by Joe Pozzuoli.
However, Joe’s is not the only spot in this neighborhood where you can go for an Italian experience.
There are many Italian restaurants in Williamsburg, and in this article, I will be highlighting some of my top recommendations.
Best Italian restaurants in Williamsburg Brooklyn
1. Lilia
- 567 Union Avenue Corner of North 10th + Union, Brooklyn, NY 11222
- Visit Website
- Phone: 718-576-3095
Lilia is an Italian restaurant located on Union Avenue that is owned and operated by Chef Missy Robbins.
It was opened in January 2016 and shortly after, a review by The New York Times gave it 3 out of 4 stars.
The restaurant is based on what was previously an auto-body garage and was opened by Missy after she relocated from Chicago.
To get a spot in this restaurant, you need to make a reservation between 3 to 4 weeks in advance. However, the menu makes up for any waiting you may have to do.
It includes the highly praised sheep’s milk agnolotti served with saffron and garlic bread topped with mozzarella cheese.
On Yelp, their gelato, Giardino, and Pesce have been rated 5 stars, and so has their service.
The restaurant is open for dinner from 4 pm to 10 pm, but Café Lilia runs from 8 am to 4 pm.
At the café, you can get pastries, coffee, and sandwiches at fairly affordable prices.
2. Leuca
- 111 N 12th St the William Vale Hotel Brooklyn, NY 11249
- Visit Website
- Phone: 718-581-5900
Leuca is a restaurant that is part of the William Vale Hotel and serves pasta, pizzas, and other Italian dishes. It is named after a town in Italy located in the Puglia region.
You can dine here 7 days a week, as they are open for breakfast, lunch, brunch, and dinner.
Takeaway and online delivery are also available from Tuesday to Saturday between 8 am and 10 pm.
The restaurant has a beautiful ambiance and welcoming staff and is perfect for both intimate dates and family or group meals.
Its private dining room can accommodate up to 30 people and has a separate bar and entertainment system.
Leuca’s Chef is Andrew Carmellini and he has developed family-style menus that are designed to ensure you go home with a full stomach.
When you visit this place, make sure that you try the Sheep’s Milk Ricotta; it is well worth it. Some of the other dishes featured on the menu include the Black Tonnarelli and Hot Honey & Garlic dip.
These meals can be accompanied by house cocktails or wines such as Bianco and Rosso.
If you are interested in the Leuca experience, you can make your reservation online through this link.
3. Aurora
- 70 Grand St, Brooklyn, NY 11249, United States
- Visit Website
- Phone: 718-388-5100
One of the most attractive features of the Aurora restaurant is its back garden. It has a lot of greenery, as the building walls are covered in vines and ivy, and this makes you feel like you have been whisked away from the city.
Inside, these brick walls are complemented by high ceilings, the combination of which makes the place great for intimate dates, events, and get together with friends.
The restaurant features a pasta menu that includes tomato confit; homemade ravioli with ricotta, burrata, morel mushrooms, and chives; buffalo mozzarella accompanied with tagliatelle Bolognese with pork and beef sugo; and a rigatoni with eggplant ragù.
These are seasonal Italian dishes that you can accompany with wines, and on Aurora’s menu, there are over 150 wine labels.
The restaurant also serves cocktails, craft beers, and spirits.
You can order meals online from Aurora through Door Dash, and reservations can also be made online through OpenTable.
The reservation queue is not lengthy, and you can get one on the same day you make a booking.
4. Bamonte’s
- 32 Withers St, Brooklyn, NY 11211, United States
- Phone: 718-384-8831
You should visit Bamonte’s if you are looking for an Italian restaurant with a rich history and an old-school ambiance.
Here, the servers wear tuxedos and bowties, the walls are adorned with old photos of the pope and portraits signed by celebrities, and there are phone booths in case you lose your cell phone and need to make a call.
This old-school vibe can be attributed to the fact that the restaurant has been operational for 122 years since it opened its doors in 1900.
Bamonte’s is New York’s oldest restaurant and is perfect for hosting families or a group of friends due to their family-style menus and family-centered service.
This is their unique selling point. Some of the meals you can find on their menu include the house-made ravioli, pork chop parmesan, long hot peppers, veal marsala, and clams.
This restaurant is open on Wednesday and Thursday from noon to 10 pm, on Friday and Saturday from 12 noon to 11 pm, and Sundays from 1 pm to 10 pm. Their meals are served in large amounts, and you are likely to go home with leftovers.
One fun fact about Bamonte’s is that several episodes of The Sopranos were shot here, and it is also possible that Frank Sinatra and Robert De Niro have visited this place.
5. Ringolevio
- 490 Humboldt St, Brooklyn, NY 11222, United States
- Visit Website
- Phone: 347- 335-0056
Located in the East Williamsburg area, Ringovelio is an Italian restaurant that was named after a tag game that has been played in New York since the first world war.
Two childhood friends opened this spot in 2014, and here, you can enjoy jazz, blues, rock, and hip-hop music from local musicians. It is open every day of the week from 8 am to midnight.
The tables and bar at Ringovelio have been made from reclaimed bowling alley lanes, and on the walls, the works of local artists have been displayed.
This business also includes a café where baked goods are sold, from croissants and rosemary scones to banana nut bread and pistachio cardamom.
The café also serves sandwiches like the mini quiche, coffees, teas, and fresh beverages including the macchiato, chai latte, and blackberry lavender lemonade
Ringovelio has a dinner menu that includes Smoked Maasdam, Prosciutto di Parma, Stilton, and Stracchino. Some salads that are served include the Kale Salad, Arugula Salad, Burrata, and Heirloom Tomato Salad.
All these come in big portions so there is no worry that you will not be satisfied.
Their drinks menu also has a wide variety of wines and cocktails, including red and white wine, as well as an espresso Manhattan and rye mule from the cocktail menu.
The space can host a group of people and is a perfect pregame spot if you are going for a concert in the Williamsburg neighborhood. You can also buy someone a gift card to use at this restaurant.
The setting is cozy, mainly constituting sofas where you can relax as you have your drinks as well as a few tables in the dining area where you can have your meal.
6. Montesacro Pinseria Brooklyn
- 432 Union Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11211, United States
- Visit Website
- Phone: 347-916-1062
The Montesacro Pinseria serves a traditional hand-pressed pizza dough that is Roman in origin and has been there for more than 100 years.
It is made from wheat flour, soy, and rice, and these ingredients are all imported from small producers in Rome.
The pins served here are inspired by the flatbread that was common among the poor people who lived in Montesascro and were affected as a result of the second world war.
You can visit this restaurant for lunch on Monday to Friday from 12 pm to 3 pm, for brunch on the weekends between 11 am and 4 pm, or for a daily happy hour from 4 pm to 5 pm.
If you want to make reservations for dinner, you can do so between Sundays to Thursdays from 5 pm to 10 pm, and on Friday and Saturday from 5 pm to 11 pm.
Some of the highlights in this restaurant’s menu include the avocado toast, Panino, Montesacro burger, the vegetarian Lattuga Romana, Mezzemaniche alla Carbonara and the highlight, the Montesacro Pinsa.
Their pinsa menu also includes Quadraro, Maranella, Caracalla, and Garbatella.
7. Forma Pasta Factory
- 14 Bedford Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11222, United States
- Visit Website
- Phone: 718-349-2009
The Forma Pasta Factory was started in a basement in Williamsburg by two immigrants using an imported extruder.
This factory manufactures fresh pasta every day using the same tools they had when they started.
If you would like a tour of the space to see how the different types of pasta are made, you can call them to book a time.
Some of the pastas featured in their menu include the Spaghetti Pomodoro, Bolognese, Pipette Ragu, Fettuccine, Pappardelle, Ravioli, and Pappardelle.
They also feature specials, for instance, on Mondays, the special is gnocchi, and on Tuesday it is ravioli. During the weekends, you get to enjoy Tofie and Lasagna on each of the respective days.
You can visit this restaurant daily from 12 pm to 10 pm and order meals that are ready or purchase raw pasta to bring home and cook yourself.
They also offer the option of delivering cooked meals to you, and you are required to place your orders online at least 72 hours in advance of when you want the meal.
Forma Pasta Factory’s food is affordable and tasty, and you can come here for a date or hang out with a group of friends.
8. Ammazza Caffè
- 702 Grand St, Brooklyn, NY 11211, United States
- Visit Website
- Phone: 929-250-2875
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Open from Wednesday to Monday at 4 pm and closed at either 10 pm, 10.30 pm, or 11 pm, Ammazza Caffè is one of the Italian restaurants that you should visit the next time you are in Williamsburg.
The dining space is characterized by candle-lit tables, high ceilings, and tiled floors, and beyond this is a backyard that is surrounded by an exposed brick wall.
The internal eating area constitutes small dining spaces that are separated by the open kitchen.
Ammazza’s menu is Italian and includes Agnolotti with Almond Pesto, Reginette with Pancetta, and Caciocavallo. Other dishes served include Gamberetti, Calamari, Garganelli, and Branzino which are accompanied by Sicilian herbs and citrus.
They also serve drinks, for example, cocktails like Spill the Tea and The Velveted Rabbit; and wines such as the Chianti Classico “Sangio”, Rose De Vallee, and Moscato D’Asti.
The daily specials are relatively cheaper, and you also do not need to make a reservation in advance as you can be seated immediately after you get to the restaurant.
9. Pecoraro Latteria
- 636 Metropolitan Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11211, United States
- Visit Website
- Phone: 347-690-1200
Pecoraro Latteria is an Italian restaurant and grocery store that is open on Tuesdays to Thursdays from 8 am to 10 pm; on Fridays and Saturdays from 8 am to 10.30 pm, and on Sundays from 10.30 am to 9.30 pm.
It has been in business for 60 years and is involved in the manufacture of homemade mozzarella and cheese as well as groceries for restaurants in the neighborhood.
The produce they sell includes both domestic and imported goods from Italy. These are used to make meals such as panini, the classic Cesar salad, spiced roast beets, Giovanna and Luigio pizzas, and chicken Milanese.
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You can also order these meals online through their website and have them delivered to your place.
If you would like to purchase ingredients to use to prepare your homemade meals, you can do so at the Pecoraro Latteria grocery store.
Coffee and pastries are also available at the café, and all these products are sold at affordable prices, so you do not have to dig too deep into your pocket.
10. Barano
- 26 Broadway, Brooklyn, NY 11249, United States
- Visit Website
- Phone: 347-987-4500
Barano is open from Tuesday to Thursday from 12 pm to 10 pm, on Friday and Saturday from 12 pm to 11 pm, and on Sunday from 12 pm to 10 pm.
If you would like to dine outdoors at this restaurant, you can make reservations online through their website for an event or gathering that hosts up to 20 guests.
You are also likely to get a table when you walk into this business, as they are not usually booked so far in advance.
There are several menus available at Barano, including the brunch/lunch menu, the dinner menu, the pizza/pasta Italian menu, and the catering menu for events or big parties.
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Meals available include the Barano garlic bread, the Vodka Pie pizza, Chicken Milanese, Frittata, and Brussels Sprouts Salad.
Some drinks that can accompany your meal are cocktails like Armani and Valentino, beers like Saison and Pilsner, and wines such as Chardonnay and Tintilia.
You can also order pizzas and pasta combos for large groups including Cacio o Pepe ravioli, whole artichoke, and linguine.
Conclusion
A visit to Williamsburg Brooklyn is not complete if you do not drop by one of the many Italian restaurants in the neighborhood for an authentic pizza or pasta experience.
I hope that you enjoyed this article that lists some of the most notable Italian restaurants in the neighborhood.
If you did, please feel free to share it with your family and friends, and also let us know what you thought about this list in the comments section.
