Juliana’s — Restaurant in New York

TL;DR: We visited Julianna's with family from Italy and were quite embarrassed by the experience. Despite the packed restaurant, we were seated quickly, but the waiter was rude and unwelcoming. We were rushed to place our order and then ignored for the rest of the meal. After being bluntly told "kitchen's closed" when we tried to order coffee, we noticed the waiter and host discussing us and rolling their eyes. Even the owner, Patsy Grimaldi, witnessed our uncomfortable experience from a nearby table and said nothing. As NYC establishment owners ourselves, we were shocked by the poor treatment and will not be returning. There are plenty of other coal-fired pizza places in Brooklyn and Manhattan that would appreciate their guests—namely, right next door 👀.

The Full Saga: We visited Julianna's with family visiting from Italy on Monday evening (four of us total) and left feeling embarrassed. Despite the packed restaurant, we were pleasantly surprised to be told we could be seated in 10 minutes. We waited, happy to get a seat so quickly. Once seated, the waiter approached to take our order without introducing himself and seemed annoyed, as if we were inconveniencing him. We were hosting family and trying to keep the vibes very lively, so I personally chose to ignore his attitude.

We ordered a few pies and some other items right when he dropped off drinks. Right in the middle of our order, the waiter abruptly told us, "You need to get your order in within 4 minutes; we are closing." This was surprising since every single table was still full and the host hadn’t mentioned anything about closing soon. We definitely would have gone somewhere else and come back another time. Nevertheless, we were already there with drinks, so we hurried and finished placing our order.

Throughout our meal, the waiter never checked on us. After finishing, we got his attention to order coffee. He bluntly told us, "Kitchen's closed." Just like that. We pointed out that 3/4 of the restaurant was still occupied and we had only been there for 30 minutes. We inquired how the kitchen being closed affects coffee. He curtly replied, "I warned you when you ordered dinner that you only had 4 minutes." Warned? Okay. Moving on, we took the check as this was no longer where we wanted to be. I then noticed our waiter talking to the host, clearly discussing us while looking at our table and rolling their eyes! It really was a bizarre experience. Maybe if I were reading a review like this, I would question what the party did to warrant what happened, if they were being entitled, loud, rude, etc. But we did nothing wrong (take my word for it, LOL). But really, we came in happy and excited to eat and show our family a good time.

We felt so embarrassed for choosing Julianna's to take our visiting family, and it really put a damper on the evening. The craziest part was that the owner, Patsy Grimaldi, was sitting at a corner table directly next to us with dark sunglasses on and witnessed our experience from start to finish, yet never said a word. There is no way he didn't see how uncomfortable we felt after each encounter. I'm just so surprised and disappointed at these standards. As owners of two busy establishments in NYC, my husband and I couldn't imagine ourselves or our staff making guests feel so unwelcome. There are many other coal-fired pizza restaurants that would be proud and grateful a guest chose them over the dozens of other options. Thus, we won't be returning to Julianna's and will be advising our friends and customers to join...

I'm a pizza nut, and try to get to all the "best pizza" places every time I travel. I've been all over the country and have hit nearly all the iconic/famous/trendy pizza shops in the 5 burroughs.... And Juliana's is my favorite pizza I've ever had in my life. I would fly to Brooklyn just to go there.

It's simply another level: the quality of the ingredients, the flavor and texture of their stellar, coal fired crust. The old school cupped pepperoni....and quite simply the best, freshest tasting sauce I've ever had - it's simple, fresh and they let their incredible tomatoes (I need to know where they source them from) be the star.

Ignore all the other hype of NY's best pizza, including claims by the literally next door and perhaps slightly more famous Grimaldi's (Juliana's was started by the same couple, who came out of retirement after selling Grimaldi's to open this joint, so it has a Lafayette/American Coney Island thing going on), this is the one.

Couple of notes:

The decor, service and atmosphere were all top notch. It's a small spot, but it's cozy and tasteful and they make you feel at home.

Try their NY classic egg cream if you'd like a light and delicious sweet treat with your pie.

It's not a slice shop, you'll have full table service and only full pies to order, and it's not cheap either, but it's fairly priced for the quality.

Despite it not being a slice shop, expect a line like you would at the trendy ones like L'industrie and Scarr's. However their service and process is quick. They don't rush you once you're seated, but they do move things a long and the pizzas come out fast (as they're cooked at very high temps)

Take note on the menu the "margherita pizza" is the closest to a traditional pizza- cheese, basil, and sauce -they charge you per topping after that (reccomend pep)- several of their pizzas don't have tomato/sauce for reasons I'm not quite sure of and I implore you not to miss out on it, it's the best thing...

My friend and I went to Juliana's at 1pm on a Thursday. Juliana's is my friend's favorite pizza place, and I finally got to check it out! There are no reservations, so coming at non-peak hours would probably lead to the shortest wait time. One thing that helped us was that is was a little misty and cold when we went. We were having a great conversation, so I was not tracking the time, but we did not need to wait more than 30 minutes in line. At a certain point, there is also a strong heater which made it comfortable to wait in the cold. The interior is like that of a standard pizzeria, but there is a quaint, classic feel with the chalk signs for things like dessert or egg cream.

We split a large margherita pizza ($28.50), which was perfect sizing for the two of us! My only critique was that there could be more basil on the pizza. However, every other aspect of the pizza was fantastic. The dough was thin and chewy and was proportioned appropriately. The highlight of the pizza is the sweetness of the tomato sauce, which was so refreshing!

I expected service to be terrible because of the popularity and quick turnover, but I was pleasantly surprised that it was good! They clearly have the chain of command down in the kitchen, since we did not have to wait long for the pizza. In addition, we had multiple check-backs and water refills. If you have the time to wait, I would highly recommend Juliana's for pizza...