Balera is located at 442 Graham Avenue, between Frost and Richardson Streets, and is currently open on Wednesday, Thursday, and Sunday from 5:30 p.m. to 10:00 p.m., and on Friday and Saturday from 5:30 to 1:00 a.m.
According to Oliviero Lucchetti, it all started after a long day of surfing out in the Rockaways, scheming and dreaming between waves. Lucchetti is the beverage director and one of the five partners/besties behind Balera on Graham Avenue, a wine-soaked pizza and pasta palace that, among its many appealing features, throws a late-night party every Friday and Saturday, complete with disco ball and DJs.
“We’ve all been in the restaurant industry for a long time, in many different ways,” he told Brooklyn Magazine. “We met a couple of years ago, and one night, after they had been out all day surfing, they just proposed that I join them in opening a restaurant.” And, I mean…why not, right?
In addition to Lucchetti, who’s been in charge of huge wine lists at fancy places in Spain, Italy, and Tribeca, the crew includes long-time wine distributor Lorenzo Rubini, culinary director Luca Pelliccioni (who also co-owns Brooklyn gems Impasto, La Rina, and Briscola), and captains Tancredi Bareti and Lourenço Almeida, who’ve been working in restaurants since they were 14.
(Photo by Scott Lynch)
The idea was to open something fun and friendly, like a place to hang out and laugh and maybe even meet new people, but with high-quality food and a killer wine list. And, after a bit of luck (Da Francesco, the space’s previous tenant, had been a client of Rubini, so he got the inside scoop about the impending vacancy), and a lot of hard work (they did a complete gut renovation), they really nailed it with Balera.
Chef Michael Cusumano runs the kitchen on a nightly basis, and pizzas form the core of the menu. These individual-sized beauties are what Lucchetti calls “Romagna mattarello,” in that their crust is stretched with a pinwheel until it’s super thin but not at all crackery (except at the edges, where you get a nice crunch). “Neapolitan-style pies usually use between 270 and 280 grams of dough,” he explained. “Ours use more like 180 to 200 grams each, but we put on the same amount of toppings.” So: big flavors, plenty of heft, and you’re not going to get too carbed-out.
Shrimps ‘n’ Turf pie, $27 (Photo by Scott Lynch)
The Graham, with fennel sausage and broccoli rabe, $26 (Photo by Scott Lynch)
We loved the “Shrimps ‘n’ Turf” pizza, which co-starred an abundance of sweet, snappy crustaceans and blobs of extra-spicy ‘nduja. Balera’s signature pie, “The Graham,” was also very good, strewn with fennel sausage, bitter broccoli rabe, and squiggles of potent red pesto. Other pizza options include a pie with tuna, an eggplant one, a simple margherita, and “The Rossa,” with anchovies, caper leaves, olives, oregano, and garlic.
Meat-filled cappelletti with prosciutto and peas, $28 (Photo by Scott Lynch)
Mozzarella triangles with anchovy, $15 (Photo by Scott Lynch)
Several pastas vie for your attention, too, like the three-meat-stuffed cappelletti, drenched in a cheesy cream sauce and peppered with chunks of prosciutto and peas. There are multiple salads, a $56 rib eye, a stack of fritto misto, platters of cured meats served with oily focaccia, and a trio of fantastic fried mozzarella triangles with bits of anchovy hiding inside.
Creme caramel, $14 (Photo by Scott Lynch)
Tiramisu makes an appearance on the brief dessert menu, but I recommend the jiggly creme caramel instead, which delivers ample and delicious burnt-sugar vibes. The wine list, which Lucchetti said runs to “200 to 230 references,” is about 70% Italian, with an emphasis on his home region Piedmont. Many bottles are priced under $100, glasses of wine run from $14 to $25, and cocktails will set you back about $18.
(Photo by Scott Lynch)
And the space is fantastic, from the cute waiting area up front to the long, candle-lit bar to the soaring main dining room, complete with communal table, skylights, “secret” second-story alcove, and the previously-mentioned disco ball. It’s comfortable, it’s exciting, and it instantly feels like a good time.
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