Cafe Rustico II

If you’re in the market for expensive, not terrible pizza this place has it. Pizza in New York tends to fall into two categories: good and bad. This pizza is good. There’s nothing spectacular about it. It’s also not terrible. It’s good. You’ll pay for the premium above terrible too — +$ 4/​slice. Had the eggplant parmesan as well. It was also not terrible.
Not entirely sure what all these 5-​star reviews are about *cough* paid for *cough*

The pizza here is good. I don’t think it compares to the greats in NYC but if you are in the area and in need of lunch, you should definitely stop by.

Good pizza, friendly owners. Not the best atmosphere or the best pizza but a solidly good meal.

Café Rustico was able to supply 200 (!!!) pizzas delivered to our charity fundraiser today. And it was delicious. Not delicious for such a large order, but really actually good. Thanks Lou and all the guys who schlepped it to our office.

Great service, great pizza! Paid 10.50 for 2 slices and a fountain drink not the best price but not awful. Will definitely come back

Best pizza I’ve had in Manhattan real home style great kind service and good people around

What a delight. The crust was perfect and sauce was as good too. On a previous trip in the same area, I had skipped over this place and had instead gone with a recommendation off the web and ended up having a terrible oily pizza. This is an unassuming place but the cheese pizza i had was what I was looking in NYC. Inside sitting area is drab but clean enough. I am glad I asked the concierge at the hotel vs relying on a web recommendation. Sorry Unilocal!A personal local recommendation won out.

I’m still in search for that WOW New York pizza. I would go into some non-​descript pizza joint or into a Unilocal lauded one in Manhattan, and I get the same experience from a taste standpoint. Yes, there are the ones where I could, if I really tried, distinguish the subtle quality differences. But otherwise it’s about the same, at least from a by-​the-​slice perspective. This place was no different.
I came here with muted high expectations, being that it had received high marks on Unilocal.But I had tried New York Pizza Suprema and was underwhelmed, so I treaded this lightly. Alas, my expectations, however muted, was not fulfilled. Don’t get me wrong, still good pizza, better than you’ll find just about anywhere outside of NY. But in here, it’s as good as any other, but not better. So another experiment not quite fulfilled. I think I really need to try the made-​to-​order whole pie, but… I can’t eat all that…
Table-​for-​1 Factor: Pizza joint in Manhattan. Nuff said.

absolute no atmosphere but great NY style pizza

Awesome pizza! My favorite is the buffalo chicken although my boyfriend sticks to pepperoni. It was so good that we went back a second time while in town and I got the spinach ravioli. It didn’t disappoint! The sauce was amazing. The guys there are nice and remembered our drinks the second time around. Great place that has good food and is laid back and quick.

This place does not fool around. As soon as you walk in the owner asks you «DO YOU WANT PIZZA OR PASTA?» You might think I’m making fun of this approach but honestly, I’d like to order like this at 90% of the places I go to. After a long day walking around in the city, it helps to just walk into a place that is this efficient. There are not a ton of tables so my guess is during peak hours, people have to take it to go. They do have restrooms. Pizza is really good and the other dishes looked good but I only had pizza. It’s worth the stop.

This place is more than just another pizza joint. It has one of the greatest marinara recipes in the city, which pretty much guarantees that the food is good.
I ordered the spaghetti bolognese and was impressed. It rivals the bolognese at the restaurant downtown at the Mondrian hotel. For half the price, by the way – $ 12.

Solid NY pizza joint. I would come back for a quick fix but if I were further away I wouldn’t go out of my way to come. But if you are close come here it’s good

By far the best Sicilian pie I’ve ever had. Usually Sicilian pies are very dense. This was the most fluffy and light crust I’ve ever had, excellent sauce perfect amount of cheese.

The pizzas were amazing, loved the crispness of the crust, although it is my first taste of NY pizza and I haven’t tried anywhere else. We found this place just a hole in the wall down the street from our hotel. Penne pomodoro was delicious with the fresh mozarella cheese pieces melting on top of the hot pasta. My kids begged to eat there everyday during our stay, they loved the pasta.

Let’s face it: we can’t always make the hike to NY Pizza Suprema. If it were possible to eat there on a daily basis, we would, but are we really going to deal with the foot traffic on 34^th street that compounds itself an order of magnitude higher around the Garden? Sometimes you need to grab a quick slice, with no hassle.
I spotted Café Rustico II a moment too late. The pizzas in the window caught the corner of my eye and I swiveled my head back, making a mental note. There is pizzeria mid-​block? Maybe there is hope for a good slice in this neighborhood.
I returned the following day to grab a regular slice. It fit the bill. Solid slice. It should be obvious that if you have the time and patience to go to NY Pizza Suprema, you should, but Café Rustico II knows what they’re doing, even if they’re not the same caliber. But, come on, it’s rarified air that NY Pizza Suprema inhabits. In midtown a half-​way decent slice is almost as good. You have the Pronto Pizzas of the city keeping the bar low, real low, and fortunately Café Rustico II doesn’t sink to their level.
In a way, Café Rustico II’s slice is more quintessentially New York than NY Pizza Suprema. Why? Because your classic New York slice is a middle-​ground slice. We may wish every pizzeria was on par with NY Pizza Suprema, but the reality is that notion is a fantasy. The backbone of this city is built on A-​OK pizzerias. Pizzerias that aren’t serving shit, like your 2 Bros. and Pronto Pizza’s, pizzerias that aren’t trying to go way out like your Artichokes or Emily’s, but just a good, rough-​around-​the-​edges joint where you can get a good slice for under three bucks and not have to go out of your way to get it. So I’m very glad to have found Café Rustico II. But if my office decided to move south of 34^th street? I would be at NY Pizza Suprema every afternoon.

The buffalo chicken and the chicken with tomato was great. The thin crust is great. We also tried the knots with sauce was good.

Don’t order the mixed salad! $ 7.00 and it’s slightly bigger than a side version. It cost me $ 9.25 because I added mozzarella cheese to it. This place has some set!!! The only reason they didn’t get one star is the dressing is the best. I used to frequent the original on E.29^th St. but I’ll never step foot in place ever again!

As others have stated, the Buffalo wing slices are amazing. However, the rice ball is so dreadful that I should probably knock them down to 3 stars.

I so miss working right around the corner from this place. The best buffalo chicken slices hands down!!! Makes me very sad that I’ve given up meat and can no longer have them. I used to have a knack for coming just as the pie came out of the oven and as soon as I walked in they would shout out «two slices?»
They were a favorite for my whole office on 36^th even a few people in my office when I moved to 31^st. Really good food, fast delivery
If you are dining in, the place is not the fanciest by far but pizza makes up for it.

Hier haben wir gleich zweimal gegessen und waren beide Male
nicht enttäuscht.