I first noticed work had started renovating the storefront on Graham Avenue back in April of 2025. The restaurant had at one time been the pizzeria, Da Francesco, a local Italian spot that had operated there for two decades before relocating to Grand Street, and reinventing itself as a smaller scale pizzeria and sandwich shop.

Construction continued on the space on Graham Avenue for what seemed like an interminable period of time. Such is the way of construction in New York City. And just as the restaurant had planned to open, the new scaffolding went up out front to allow the building’s upper floors to be renovated. The team behind the new restaurant, Oliviero Lucchetti, Lourenço Almeida, Tancredi Bareti, Lorenzo Rubini and Luca Pelliccioni took advantage of the delay to perfect their interior and stock the restuarant.

The crew of Italians met in New York City, on the beaches of Far Rockaway where they had been surfing. They all had connections to the hospitality industry before launching Balera, each bringing their unique experiences to the partnership. I met Lucchetti at his wife’s butcher shop in Manhattan, Albanese Meats & Poultry. Here, I had heard about the delays in opening, but was excited to visit once they did.

The concept was recreating the discotecas of Rome, drawing inspiration from the 1980s. They would serve Roman-style, but also music and dancing and late nights. Since the pandemic, Graham Avenue has been especially quiet at night, and I was happy to see someone actively looking to bring a bit of nightlife back.

Almost a year after the brown paper went up over the storefront windows, Balera opened in March of this year. I wanted to go opening week, but we have a five-year-old, who (then four) was not going to be an ideal party guest. We finally caught a break in June. The five-year-old went to New Jersey, we went to dinner.

I had intended to write this up the following week, but by then mister-refuses-to-obey-authority had been kicked out of summer camp. In the interim, we returned a second time.

The interior has great vibes. In June, we were squeezed in on one of the last reservations on a busy Friday night. Our table in the back of the dining room offered a view of everything happening in the space. The cool kids all had gotten outdoor tables on the sidewalk and in a small interior porch. That’s what happens when you aren’t making a last minute reservation. It was one of those glorious June nights before the swampy summer humidity invade, and the restaurant crowd spilling into the street felt like a bit of Rome had leaked out into Williamsburg.

We walked past the open kitchen. You can watch the cooks prep food, and the pizza oven where the stone rotates inside. Balera cooks up a Roman-style pie known as Romagna mattarello. The crust is very thin, but not like a bar, though the edge of the crust does become crispy.

The intimacy of the space supercharges the high energy. The tables are close together, and filled with people. There’s a loft area too, and some kind of private group event was unfolding while we were there. The main dining room is a double high space. Mirrors and high windows create a kind of warehouse effect, and the decor and style is Italian post-modern with pastels and cinema posters. We’re here to have fun.

We started with drinks. The gin rhubarb spritz was light and summery. Rhubarb seems to be the flavor of the year. We moved onto wine. My wife made the selection, but it seems impossible to order something badly here, whether by the bottle or by the glass. There’s a modern list with all sorts of well-curated styles.

The first dish out was the verdure al salto, big green beans sauteed with breadcrumbs and pepper. These came out al dente, still with their crisp. There was a strong citrus, lemony olive oil and that brightened up the flavors. The toasted breadcrumbs added a crunch. It was topped off with ricotta salada for saltiness. They were a great, light way to start off the meal that was going to be heavy with carbohydrates.

We also ordered a Montanarina, a crispy fried bread. This came out like a tiny little fried pizza, and absolutely wanted to order it again (spoiler alert, we didn’t, but I wanted to).

The bread itself was delicate, snappy crust with a light interior. The sauce was sweet and a little bit creamy. Even I can admit its a little much to have a pizza before having a pizza, but I still loved it.

The Fiore di Zucca followed. The fry was good, a light and crispy batter, but I would have liked a bit more filling.

The star here is meant to be the pizza. There’s only so much food two people can eat, so we went with The Diavola. Made with tomato sauce, mozzarella, pecorino Romano, soppressata, and honey, this pie is reminiscent of e Roberta’s Bee Sting and Paulie Gee’s Hell Boy. What stands out here is Balera’s very thin crust with a texture unlike other pies in the city.

We could have had a second pizza, but decided to try the pasta. I’ve had mixed reviews about ordering pasta dishes at fancy pizzerias. At Roberta’s, for instance, the pasta might be better than the pizza. At Montesacro, where they serve Roman-style Pinsa, the pasta is a dish I would easily skip. At Balera, I can happily say the pasta rivals the pizza.

We went with the Cappelletti alle 3P. These were savory, creamy, and the prosciutto brought salty savoriness to each bite. There was a hint of lemony acid in the cream, and overall this was a near perfect dish.

As we wrapped up our pasta, the disco ball turned on. The mesmerizing glitz began to spin as the waiter brought out a creme caramel and a special lemon sponge cake.

The Creme Caramel was sweet, salty, and creamy, but it was the lemon sponge that reminded me of my cousin’s home baked cakes. The top, camelized, had a bit of crunchiness, and underneath the sponge was dense and flavorful.

Obviously, we liked Balera enough to return. For our second night, we invited our friend who is a self-described meat-a-tarian.

The first thing to arrive was the grilled Octopus. I had wanted to try this on our first visit, but was outvoted. Not this time. The grilled tentacles arrived on a creamy bean puree. I enjoyed this quite a bit, but among the herbs, the thyme was a bit too strong a flavor.

We ordered bread service, the Focaccia al tegamino. This is a skillet baked bread served with a dish of olive oil. The bread was fine – great for dipping in the bean puree, and tasty with the olive oil. The better choice was the Montanarina, and we should have simply ordered it again.

The arancini arrived looking furry from all the grated cheese. These were crispy and gooey, a classic Roman-style suppli’, one of the many fried street foods common in Rome. Arancini are typically round, rather than oblong. Sicilian Arancini are better known in New York, and I suspect they are labeled as arancini for the sake of American diners.

We ordered two pies, a weekly special, the Pork and Fuego and Margherita.

The pork and fuego was typical red pie topped with BBQ pork belly, pickled onions and cilantro. The pork had a smoky flavor, and the crispy belly had a nice texture to the pie. Overall I would have liked a better balance of sweet, salt, and acid.

The Margherita, though, was spectacular. The tomatoes were sweet, the cheese creamy, and that thin crust crunching on every bite.

We also ordered two pasta dishes. The weekly special, the Strozzapreti al Guanciale had a red sauce made with cherry tomatoes and guanciale, and the Strozzapreti ai frutti di mare a spicy seafood medley.

The special of the week had a nice sweetness to the sauce with a lot of savory umami coming from the pork. It was a fine dish, just not a remarkable one.

The Strozzapreti al frutt i dei mare felt like it would be at home at a ristorante in Ostia, the seaside beach town outside of Rome. It was the perfect embodiment of beachy fun with a little peppery kick on each bite. Here I wish we still had some bread left to snap up that peppery oil.

This second outing was early on a Sunday night. The tables were filling, but with rain and humidity, the outdoor tables were closed up. Just one guest sat at the long bar as we left.

Balera achieves what it set out to be. A fun pizzeria, channeling its Roman roots into one of Brooklyn’s Italian neighborhoods, Balera divers what it promises. It’s not pretentious. It’s pizza, with a disco ball. And that’s just the point.

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