Ceres

Ceres is a tiny, frills-free pizza shop on Mott Street, on the edge where Little Italy, Nolita and Chinatown meet, opened in early 2025 by two young former Eleven Madison Park cooks, Serebnick and Geldmacher. The crust is the story: modeled on a baguette, it bakes up crackly outside and airy and chewy inside, a fine-dining sensibility applied to New York's most democratic food. Word spread fast, and demand soon outgrew the two-person operation, so the shop moved from slices to whole pies only. The result is a pilgrimage pizzeria with a small menu, a list to put your name on and a line of devotees that forms well before the oven is hot.

The cheese pie, with San Marzano tomatoes and fresh scamorza blistered in spots by the oven, is the benchmark. The white pie, with crème fraîche, sweet onions, pancetta and a confetti of chives, is the one people talk about, and an 'nduja pie with burrata and aged balsamic is the richest of the lineup. Ceres was featured by the YouTuber New York Turk in 2025, in a short about the best pizza in New York. Time Out advises arriving early to put your name on the list, then expecting to wait a few hours; weekends and evenings are busiest. Take your pie to Columbus Park or a nearby stoop and eat it warm.