Norm's Pizza pays homage to the classic New York slice.

Norm's Pizza
Pizza News

Upside Pizza Founders Go Back to Basics with Norm’s Pizza

This new Brooklyn shop features New York slices made with a sourdough starter and house-milled flour.

The team behind Midtown Manhattan’s young cult-favorite Upside Pizza—chef and founder Noam Grossman, international pizza consultant Anthony Falco and partners Eli & Oren Halali— have opened Norm’s Pizza, a back-to-basics slice shop bringing simple yet thoughtfully-crafted pies to Downtown Brooklyn.

Related: Anthony Falco Says This West Coast City Has America’s Best Pizza

The pies are 100% naturally leavened using a sourdough starter and house-milled flour, cooked in a triple-decker PizzaMaster for a classic New York-slice result, and topped with carefully-sourced ingredients. Staple menu pies include the traditional Cheese with Norm’s signature sauce, Pecorino Romano and low-moisture mozzarella; the Pepperoni with signature sauce, Ezzo Supreme Special pepperoni, low-moisture mozzarella, Sicilian oregano and grana; the White Pie with garlic, Frankie’s 457 Oro di Sicilia Green Gold EVOO, fresh mozzarella, low-moisture mozzarella, lemon zest-ricotta and grana, finished with housemade basil oil and fresh parsley; the Vodka Pie with housemade vodka sauce (made with a Calabrian chili paste for an infusion of well-balanced spice), fresh mozzarella, low-moisture mozzarella and grana; and the Margherita with signature sauce, fresh mozzarella, low-moisture mozzarella, grana, Sicilian oregano and basil and finished with housemade basil oil.

Designed by Matt Dennis and Jonathan Visgaitis at Bolt Design Group, Norm’s 400 square-foot space is inspired by the classic Brooklyn slice shops of the late 60s and early 70s. Old-school formica counters and tabletops, mustard-yellow hues, dark brick walls, pegboards, and a fluorescent-lit menu board combine to create a nostalgic, “grandmother’s basement” aesthetic. Meanwhile, more modern elements, like red neon lights along the pizza counter and the shop’s exterior, bring a contemporary feel. A custom caterpillar table, built using a lazy Susan, slides and pivots to accommodate up to nine guests with seating on low metal stools. Above the seating area, a large pegboard showcases a map of New York City using only pegs; a pink peg shows Upside Pizza’s location, and a yellow peg denotes Norm’s address, a nod to the shop’s roots.