Danny’s Pizzeria

You don’t have to go far in Bushwick to find good food. Just off the Montrose L train stop, on Bushwick Avenue between Montrose and Meserole, there’s Danny’s Pizzeria. Doubling as both a quick pizza stop and a café side that’s a place to really sit down and dine, both halves are good for any age group, from children to adults. It’s one of the most convenient food stops as you first get into Bushwick, just off the train and near many homes and schools.

Besides the after school crowd, it’s never too loud in Danny’s Pizzeria. After three o’clock, from my experience living near the pizzeria and from being from one of the High schoolers myself, I’ve seen teenagers from Brooklyn Latin, Grand Street Campus, and most recently, the newly resettled Williamsburg Charter school (ironically no longer in Williamsburg) treat Danny’s as an after school hangout. Taking advantage of the small, more average pizzeria side, many will get a slice while talking with their friends about most anything.

On their site, I learned that they’ve been serving pizza since 1928. It’s a family business, specializing in homemade Italian food. The business has expanded to have two venues, the new one which is now located on Graham avenue, not too far from the original Danny’s. They do catering and can hold the café side for private parties. They pride themselves on being a healthier option than most pizzerias.

After all the research, it was time for a formal visit to Danny’s, to relive my high school years, remind myself of the true experience being there, and of course, to sample the merchandise. Getting a more Brooklyn experience than an Italian, I ordered a slice of the fresh mozzarella pizza and an order of Buffalo wings. While you’re there, you must try the fresh mozzarella pizza. Highly recommended, by both staff and the customers. A quick look online will tell that most reviewers feel the same way about Danny’s mozzarella pizza.

The staff was very accommodating, allowing me to take pictures; one of the cooks even let me take a picture of him with the pizza. I was in there in the pre lunch hour, around eleven. It was quiet at first, with very few customers; but closer to twelve, the pizzeria began to fill. The venue was clean, and the smell was incredible. But I’m biased; I love Italian food. One of the things I enjoyed the most was that the person I ordered from knew the wings would take longer than the pizza, so he gave me the pizza first so I didn’t have to wait too long on food, just the chicken. Which was delicious.

Mostly, when the lunch crowd started to file in around 11:40, there was a good mix of Hispanics and white people; the staff confirmed this is how the crowd regularly looks. Some of the people were regulars, on first name basis with the staff. Important to note that at least three customers were teachers—like I mentioned before, a hotbed for students and educators to eat due to it’s convenient location.

It served different diets, some people, such as myself, eating hearty proportions of grease filled deliciousness, others dining on salads. It seemed to appeal to most people, serving a wide variety of foods. Overall, I enjoyed my experience there, and would recommend to anyone passing by.

-Alex Torres is a Bushwick native and a lover of food. For more information, visit her biography page.