Don Antonio Pizza Might Qualify As a Midtown Lunch?

Good news for all lunchers looking for authentic Neapolitan pizza in Midtown – Don Antonio is open for business (on 50th btw. 8+9th Ave.)  The new pie shop boasts some serious culinary chops, as its owned by Roberto Caporuscio, the pizzaiolo in charge of Kesté, as well as Roberto’s long-time mentor, Antonio Starita of Naples’ Pizzeria Starita. While most of the pies are well above the $10 range, almost all of the restaurant’s calzones and paninis are at the $9-10 range. Serious Eats has a drool-worthy preview of the place, and we can’t wait to check the place out ourselves for lunch. And if anyone has tried Don Antonio’s, please let us know what you think in the comments.

Don Antonio, 309 W 50th Street (btw. 8+9th). 646-719-1043

5 Comments

  • I had the namesake Starita ($12) there yesterday. It was alright, but I wasn’t the biggest fan. The SE link has pictures of it and a good description of the process.

    My issues
    -It was just me so I only had the Starita. The first slice was fine, but the fried dough is just way too heavy to comfortably eat more of. I ate the whole thing, but kind of regret it.
    -The special sauce they use for the Starita was quite sweet. I guess this makes sense since the dough is so rich / fried, but I wasn’t a fan.
    -They added the basil before putting it in the oven, so it was slighlty burnt. Some places do this, it’s a thing I guess, but I prefer when they just cut fresh basil over the top after it’s cooked.

    All that said, I’d be fine giving them another shot. The non-fried pizzas all looked pretty amazing. These are criticisms of the Starita in particular, but given that it’s their specialty, I thought I’d put that out there.

    For reference, my favorite pizzas are Di Fara’s plain square slice, Motorino spicy soppressata, franny’s clam pie, and Fornino’s spinach & pine nuts.

  • Is there a menu? I did a quick query and came up blank. This is in my neighborhood and I’d like to know if it’s worth the walk.

    • I couldn’t find a menu online either. I went here for dinner over the weekend, and noted that the calzones were mostly $9-10 and had the standard fillings. The waitress also mentioned that the lunch menu also had some paninis that aren’t on the dinner menu, but other wise the menus are the same.

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