Cello's Pizzeria — Restaurant in New York

I'm a straight L'Industrie stan, so when my roommate sent me a video of Cello's Pizza that mentioned it was started by a L'Industrie alum, I knew I had to get over there.

He went before I did and I got a text that had a picture of the Cello’s pep and jalapeño slice along with a slew of messages:

"OMG... THIS MY FAV SLICE IN THE CITY...WOW...THIS IS CRAZY...DEAR GOD THAT WAS FKN INSANE...BRO I SWEAR THIS MY #1... NOT EVEN A CLOSE 2ND...YOU HEAR THOSE FOOTSTEPS L'INDUSTRIE???"

A bit dramatic, but I have been begging, PLEADING for a slice close to L'Industries caliber anywhere remotely close to me. I paused the 1 hour 42 minute video of the Kobe Bryant 05-06 Season Highlights I was watching, got off the couch, and went straight there. It was my bat signal.

When I stepped into Cello's at 5pm on a Sunday, there was NO line. A few people in there, but I was shocked at how dead it was. I walked up and ordered a slice of cheese ($4) and a slice of the pep & jalapeño ($5). The prices are actually reasonable for the Lower East Side, not an East Village Pizza where a slice of pep runs you $6.25, smh.

The pep & jalapeño was an S-tier slice. Fresh jalapeño and pepperoni both with a slight crisp, the perfect amount of hot honey drizzle, no flop on the crust, and a little grated cheese to top it off. An ideal crunch on every bite, it was spiritual. Pure artistry.

But for me, that spicy salami slice from L'Industrie is still in a league of its own. God-tier.

However, I speculate that it could be God-tier if the slice was fresh, as mine was reheated in the pizza oven. L'Industries slices are always fresh out of the oven as there is a line from open to close. They are always making fresh pies and slices due to sheer necessity.

Shoutout to James Jaworski, who was formerly at L'Industrie, and is the Head Chef here at Cello’s. He specializes in advanced dough making/fermentation techniques, AND IT SHOWS! Keep doing your thing. East Village needed this.

Thank the good lord Jesus Christ, there is finally a fantastic slice of Pizza in the East Village.

IG @jnov_ Tiktok...

Half decent food doesn’t mean anything with bad service. Person there was rude for no reason. Just went in to ask a question about whether they were closed at 10:55pm when online it said 12am is their closing time. Nice thing to do would be say yes we’re closed or do anything half respectful. Instead we got a “did you not see the sign outside, clearly we’re closed” and an eyeroll. Sure the sign saying “Closed” means the place is closed but hopefully the confusion is clear given their hours aren’t updated, there were several people inside, and there was a good amount of pizza left at the front. People who own this place: either pay your workers more hourly so that they’re not disrespectful and full of people like Mr. grumpy pants or don’t let them take shifts they can’t handle. This would be beneficial to your business as reviewers like me won’t give you bad scores to bring your average rating down and allow you to successfully trap tourists. Unfortunately you guys did the opposite of trapping me (drove me and my party of 4 away) but hopefully this is your wake up call and you take my advice so you don’t miserably fumble exploitable tourists like us...

One of the best slices I’ve ever had.

I was in a bus months ago when they opened and only just now had to time to try em.

Make the trip.

Long story short lived here all my life. I experienced the days in the past of having a good slice almost anywhere in the city, to when places got away with using the same wholesale ingredients, to gimmicks slices, to today where an actual good slice of pizza needs to be searched for.

This one is at the top of the list. I don’t even like leaving my neighborhood for food but I’d definitely take the trip down here happily.

The slices I had were flavorful, cooked to perfection. Not overly greasy, and didn’t slack in any department.

This the type of place you gotta hold yourself back or you’ll end up getting a whole pie for yourself.

I had the pepperoni with jalapeños and a vodka slice. Chefs kiss, man.

The cheese, the sauce, the charred crust. All great. AND FRESH too. Pies were coming out and out.

They brought back the feeling. I’m trynna be casual about it, but Cello’s is really top...