Keste on Bleecker St. has been around for almost a decade and is the brainchild of Roberto Caporuscio, who was born on a dairy farm in Potinia, Italy where he learned to make cheese and then later went to Naples to study the art of making Neapolitan pizza. He is very passionate about authentic Neapolitan pizza, and he is a stickler for following the stringent regulations that allow a pizza to be classified as a true Neapolitan pizza (VPN certification). He is widely considered to be a Neapolitan pizza expert and has acted as international Neapolitan pizza consultant.
At the hands of such a leader, Keste has to be of a certain caliber, and it is. It is undeniable that it meets all technical regulations and each staff member is very well trained. The menu is incredibly long – in fact, much longer than most Neapolitan pizzeria menus. But he has a strict, and I mean unwaveringly strict, no substitutions or additions policy. You must order a pizza on the menu as is, or at the very most, you can remove one item from the pizza. But forget asking to do anything else. And trust me, we have tried. Multiple times with multiple people on multiple days. No way. Eat it as they want you to, or don’t bother.
If you know me, you know that in general I’m a huge fan of accommodating customer preferences and flexibility. Food, after all, is based on an individual’s taste and I don’t understand people who take food so seriously that they feel there is only one right way to eat it. It’s not a mathematical formula. That’s why some people like steak rare and others like it medium-well. That’s also why there are dozens of popular ice cream flavors. But that being said, the policy is very clear and no one is forcing you to eat at his restaurant, so if you can’t order off the menu as he requires, then don’t go to Keste.
Having frequented Keste for years, it was historically undeniably one of perhaps two of the best Neapolitan pizzerias in NYC. I always championed the place, introduced friends to the restaurant, and frequented it often. But over the years and with the opening of two other locations (FiDi and Williamsburg), I think the quality has deteriorated somewhat. It’s still great, but it’s no longer the best, and that’s really a shame.
The original Soho location is the smallest and busiest, but it’s the one I prefer because there’s something about a tiny and crammed pizzeria that makes it feel cozy. Particularly with the lovely fire and warmth of the huge wood-burning oven in which the pizzas are baked. Many of the servers are Italian, speaking to each other in their native tongue. As usual, I recommend ordering one of the two classics: either the margherita or the marinara, but I think it’s especially important to do so here, at a place that gets the classics right.
As I mentioned, quality has wavered a bit, but in general, the pizza dough here is tasty, perfectly cooked, and flavorful. The tomato sauce strikes the right balance of sweetness and acidity.
And the mozzarella melts just enough to release its flavor and oils into the sauce, achieving the perfect blend. I do recommend the place, but I only hope that you experience it on a day when it’s at its peak and not on an off day. Or even better, I hope that one day they achieve the consistency that they initially had.
