Balera

You know how the story goes: five Italians walk into a bar, or something like that. In Balera's case, five Italian hospitality veterans walked into a restaurant in Williamsburg and made it entirely their own. Thus, Balera was born, an Italian pizzeria and good time hang that taps into the disco culture of Italy. 

The vibe: The team of five (Lourenço de Almeida, Tancredi Bareti, Oliviero Lucchetti, Lorenzo Rubini and Luca Pelliccioni) set out to create a space where they'd all like to eat and hang out. Named after an Italian dance hall, Balera is made for a little groove while you eat, given the DJ stand that's planted by the bar and the disco ball that gets some play in the dining room come the weekend. But the space reads entirely cool and coastal (the five dreamt up the restaurant on a beach trip) with pale blue and red tiles, terrazzo floors and an upper deck that looks down upon it all.

The food: New York has a new thin-crust pizza in town. Rolled out with a mattarello or rolling pin (which is also the name of the Roman pie style), the pizza here is paper-thin but not delicate in the slightest, with crispy, crackery edges and blistered patches on the bottom. The plus side: it's easy to order and eat your way through two pies without feeling like you overindulged. The downside: the pies, such as the Diavolo, freckled with plenty of Calabrian soppressata, can get weighed down and greasy by the last bite. The menu is rounded out by fritto misto with pops of fried bits of pineapple, seafood salads (insalata di mare "Balera") and some killer pasta dishes (particularly the rotolo di crespella that's rolled like a rosette).

The drinks: Wine is a strong suit here, with Italian and French influences rounded out by amaros and liqueurs. But the cocktails are just as fun, including Parmesan-washed martinis, hibiscus-hued Americanos and the Godfather Negroni, which swaps gin for whiskey with nutty notes of Amaretto and Frangelico.

Time Out tip: The music gets going on the weekends, as Balera stays open until 1am on Fridays and Saturdays. No, this isn't a dance-on-the-table situation, but grooving with a slice in hand and wine in the other is approved.