Caselnova

Peroni on tap: cold, fresh, yummy .
Pizza is f*ing amazing
Chicken parm is my girlfriends favorite, I like the puttanesca! Good food, good people, good times!

Great pizza, great pasta, great service. So glad I’ve found this spot. Best pizza delivery in the area as well.

Caselnova is awesome. I shared an order of gluten-​free pizza and pasta with a friend, plus a slice of flour-​less chocolate cake. I usually don’t go for gluten-​free items, but their food has become the exception. Our server Emily won us over big time with her charm and energy. This place also makes for a nice and quiet after-​dinner drinking spot as well.

Soooo good.
Cary C. (my brother from another mother) and I came here last night because we were craving gluten free carbs. There was no wait at all for a table at 6:30 pm (yes, we keep old people supper hours). Service was really friendly– our bartender/​waitress was so cute and she really took care of us– suggesting very awesome dishes/​drink specials and overall kept our dining experience pleasant.
We had the San Gennaro gf pizza (sausage, sauteed onions, red pepper), the gf Rigatoni w/​pesto, and the flourless chocolate cake. To quote the queen of carbs herself, Rachael Ray, yum-​o! The crust on the pizza was crunchy though I do like my carbs a bit burnt in the oven so I have to remember to specify that next time. The gfree pasta was cooked nicely– still firm with a bit of a bite, not mushy and pasty. Pesto sauce was amazing. The only thing they can’t do gluten free here are the white pizzas but they have so many other options so I was not sad about it.
It’s worth the long walk from the subway.

I am IN LOVE with this restaurant! My mother, who has a gluten allergy, has been visiting for a week, and this was by far the best gluten-​free food we’ve had anywhere in the city. The calamari arrabiata was cooked to perfection and very spicy (but that’s how I like it!). We had the arugula, prosciutto, and roasted garlic pizza on gluten-​free crust, and it was incredible. The crust wasn’t gummy or too thin, just perfect! And for dessert, a delicious flourless dark chocolate cake that was incredibly rich!
The atmosphere is nice – very welcoming, a small family place. And I can’t say enough good things about the service. Our waitress was able to answer all our questions about the menu and was very attentive without being annoying. At the end of our meal, she even brought out some gluten-​free cookies for us to try, all of which were amazing!
I will definitely be back, and tell all my friends! Such a great experience!

I’ve eaten at Caselnova several times and it’s always been terrific. Okay, there was that time the caesar salad had a bit of sand in it but with the revolving door of prep chefs at NYC restaurants you can’t judge a chef by it. Anyway, I’ve had like four caesars there since and they’ve been terrific.
Dean Caselnova’s brick oven pizza is among the best in the neighborhood. Pizza is a matter of taste but I like it better than Grimaldi’s. I love Caselnova’s carbonara too. And the service has always been impeccable there.
One of the best indications of a good restaurant is if chefs from other restaurants dine there. Neil Ganic, owner of the highly praised Petite Crevette, can be found scarfing pasta at Caselnova at least once a week.

How’s the pizza?
Dig this neighborhood gem but despite being the service being good (poor solo waiter) and impressive wine by the bottle despite a limited list and really good appetizers (calamari mmmm) and clams (mmmm),
the entrees were a bit off.
The meatballs was GOOD. MMM
but the sauce, the sauce was a bit salty.
HOLY. ok it was salty to my standards.
No if and buts about it.
Hope it’s just a one chance kinda miss cuz I will still like to come back
just cuz it’s CASELNOVA at the waterfront and joints like this, stays classy no matter what.

My fiancé and I went to Caselnova one night before a show at the Barclay’s center. The atmosphere was warm and inviting. Our server was so incredibly nice, knowledgeable and helpful. I let her know I had a gluten allergy and she explained to me everything I could have. The food was delicious and reasonably priced. The gluten free pasta was cooked to perfection. My fiancé and I also split a bottle of their house Pinot Noir. If you’re a fan of PN, I definitely recommend giving this one a try! We had a wonderful experience at Caselnova and can’t wait to go back.

I order from here so much that the staff has started to recognize me on the phone.
I have what I like to call «Super Celiacs Disease» (or Gluten Ataxia) where I can’t have even a spec of wheat, rye, or barley contaminated in my food. Caselnova does such a great job of understanding my needs and being extremely careful & friendly with my orders. Such a wonderful place to have in the neighborhood.
Mr. Caselnova himself is a gem, and so adorable — it’s obvious he runs the whole venture — and does a great job.

I’m a little torn about Caselnova. From outside it looks great, and I made a mental note to check it out since I just moved to the neighborhood a few months ago and I wanted to find a nearby place to go to for a great meal when family and friends visit me.
Sure enough, I had that exact opportunity just a couple of months ago when we decided to celebrate my brother’s birthday there.
So I made reservations for 12 people, and when we got there they were ready for us. So far so good. The waitress was friendly, which was also a plus.
Here’s where it went wrong. Everyone placed an entrée order and after a very long wait, they each then came out at different times. I’m not talking about by just a few minutes. Some of us had our food about 20 minutes before the others. Now, within my family, no one starts eating until everyone has what they ordered. Just the way we’ve always done it, as it is good manners. So the ones who got their entrees early, were picking at what was left of the appetizers while the others waited. The waitress noticed this and was apologetic but did not offer any bread or drinks to tide us over.
Then the rest of the food came, including my dad’s, and his meal was really skimpy. And it really was. I have to admit that my meal was pretty good, but my dad and older brother (who ordered the same thing) were not happy with their portions. They asked that we not return there for future get-​togethers.
So its safe to say we will not be returning there for family dinners. Too bad since we live so close. But I decided I could still order there for individual takeouts.
So one night, I went to order a pizza and had the misfortune of being ‘helped” by some guy who looked like he wanted to be anywhere else but there. You can’t miss this guy, he has curly brown hair with long sideburns. Plus he was either really distracted or just not very bright. I had to repeat my order three times (Margherita Pizza, seriously? I think its one of the items they are known for).
We did just try it again recently, and our experience was better this time. So the jury is still out on Caselnova.

TL;DR: This place has some of the best pizza in Brooklyn. One of many hidden gems just west of the BQE and a short stroll from the Carroll Gardens F/​G stop.
I work in the Carroll Gardens/​Red Hook/​Waterfront District area and have eaten here on a number of different occasions (after I finally noticed it was there). It’s fantastic.
I’ve been to Di Fara (slow, dirty, good taste), tried Jay Z’s favorite: Lucali (lengthy wait, meager toppings, and a tad snooty), Forcella (good, but a little spendy and small… especially for their specialty deep fried pie), and a dozen other reputed New York pie paradises – and, in my opinion, Caselnova has them topped.
So far, I’ve had the standard Margherita, «Quattro Formaggi» (white pizza with four cheeses: fontina, shaved reggiano, gorgonzola dolci, and mozzarella), and the «Prosciutto» (red pizza with prosciutto, arugula, and roasted garlic). Each was as good as the last: hand made dough, perfectly cooked, reasonably priced (Yes, difara is good, but $ 30?!), and I didn’t have to wait an hour to be seated. Next time I go back (which will probably be tomorrow), I’m getting the «Amadeo» (homemade meatballs, sausage, oven roasted soppressata, pepperoni, and a big puddle of my drool).
The service is polite and informed and if you go at a slow time (lunch and dinners before 6), the owner/​chef, Dean, will probably come out – probably wearing a pink Mr. Miyagi head band – and have a pleasant chat with you. A nice guy that knows his shit, when it comes to Italian food.
If you live in the neighborhood, they deliver. If you don’t live in the neighborhood, hop on the F/​G and visit immediately. And, most importantly, if you’re presently in a 3 hour line at Lucoli, understand that you can get better pizza with immediate seating a few blocks away (Jay Z grew up on Bed-​Stuy dollar slices. What does he know?**)
Notes: (a) On my last visit, I noticed that on Tuesday you can get 2 for 1 pizzas. Wish I had known that a long time ago! Tuesdays are now Caselnova nights for Mark. (b) The traditional Italian entrees (pastas, etc) are great too, but I wanted this to be a special shout-​out specifically devoted to the heavenly pizza.
**Full disclosure: I grew up in Minnesota. What do I know?

Lots of Gluten Free choices, solid Italian dishes. I think the pizza is the real winner here. Highly recommend when looking for gluten free choices.

I recently moved to the Columbia Waterfront District and in passing by Caselnova, had a hunch it would be a good one to try. It was serendipitous that I just recently started an elimination diet, which sadly for me includes no gluten, and Caselnova so happens to have a gluten-​free menu (how often do you see that at an Italian restaurant?).
We came on a Saturday night and the restaurant was pretty empty; I don’t know if it was for that reason, but service was super friendly and very attentive. The atmosphere is very warm and cleanly and decorated nicely.
My husband ordered a personal pizza which was actually quite large, fluffy, and had just the right sauce-​to-​cheese ratio. He was very satisfied. I had the gluten-​free penne with sausage, kale, and olives in a white wine sauce and it was really delicious. I could hardly tell the difference between my pasta and regular wheat pasta under the flavorful sauce; if it turns out that gluten must be permanently expelled from my diet, I won’t cry about having to eat this instead.
One point I did want to mention (but didn’t want to lead with) is that I did see the restaurant received a C rating on their city health inspection. The owner wrote a long notice which he posted next to the rating about the list of small violations that got him this rating and what is being done to resolve them. I was very turned off at first, but after reading reviews on Unilocal and knowing that these things have happened to other great NY restaurants (
), decided to give them a shot. I hope, based on my experience, that they’re able to keep it going.

You can’t visit NY without having Italian food. Am I right? But what if you have celiac disease and have to follow a gluten free diet? Thanks to Unilocal reviews we found this gem of a restaurant.
My companions ordered delicious looking pizzas and breaded fish, but I was not in the least jealous. I had a fried zucchini appetizer with a scrumptous marinara dipping sauce. My entre was a chicken wonderland with potatoes, peppers and onions. It was delicious. And no symptoms in the following days to indicate accident cross contamination with any wheat products.
If I find myself back in Brooklyn, I’ll definitely go back.

The Draw: The thirst quenching day-​before-​Hurricane Irene specialty cocktail. Happy hour was buy one, get one free at the bar. If you disobeyed the evacuation orders in the waterfront area, why not drown yourself tipsy?
The Drawback: The vegetable pizza had only two pieces of vegetables (one slice of onion, one slice of tomato) and one basil leaf delicately placed on each slice. Woe is me for expecting heaps of veggies. In addition, the crust was too overcooked to be cut with a knife (resulting in flying bits of my dinner landing on the floor or on my friend’s lap). Sorry– in a nice place like this, I prefer the European way of eating my pizza.
The Verdict: It’s a draw. Judging from the other reviews, I must have just misordered, a common but costly mistake. There are some other dishes I would have liked to try, but I’m not sure if I’ll be rushing back there soon.

Came to Caselnova’s after getting denied at Lucali on a busy Sunday night dinner. We were craving some awesome pizza, and gave it a whirl. We ordered 3 of these things, which had a thin, wood-​fired crunchy and slightly blackened crust. Good crunch to flop ratio.
We got one with tons of meat, one with arrugula and other stuff and one with some fried eggplant. All were very satisfying. And served with pepper flakes and a huge bowl of parmaggiano (hells yes!).
What really put our experience over the top was the free servings of grapa we received when the waiter found out we were new to the area. Very nice, familiar touch.

You know when you are mid-​bite and you think «I need to Unilocal this» that you’re at a tasty restaurant.
We ended up here because they accepted credit cards, and I’m glad they did. The bread and oil was a great starter, and the entrees, delicious. My beau and I split their «special» pizza of the day, which was light cheese, sauce, beets, red onions and arugula. Despite the fact that I knew after half a pizza that I was full, I probably would have ordered another one if society (and my waistline) didn’t frown upon that sort of thing. The other person we were with got penne ala vodka, and he said it was one of the best vodka sauces he’d had. Not watery, but nice, rich and hearty.
The sweet ricotta cheesecake was to die for. And at the end, the chef came out and talked to us, curious as to how we enjoyed the pizza. We may or may not have asked him how he cooked the beets so we could recreate it at home.
Incredibly friendly service, very reasonable prices. It looks like it would be a great restaurant for a family or private party. Definitely recommended, and I will absolutely be going back!

Edited — checked with the gluten-​free eater — he felt great after eating here, which is really good. So important to have a place where a celiac can eat safely!
Just had a nice early dinner here. Checked it out because it came up in a Unilocal search for gluten-​free, and one of our dining companions had celiac disease and can’t eat any gluten. He also has to be careful of cross contamination from gluten.
We had basics — fried calamari, which were my least favorite, but still tasty, mussels in a delish tomato sauce, salad with goat cheese and watermelon vinaigrette, linguini with clams and a veal chop special.
All was simple but great. Not terribly creative, but tasty. We’ll wait for the celiac diner to confirm that the food didn’t make him sick (unfortunately, this happens at places that advertise food appropriate for people who can’t have gluten) but we plan to be back.

Caselnova is the Columbia Waterfront District’s newest restaurant addition. It’s about a block from the neighborhood’s other great restaurant, Alma (Mexican). The Italian restaurant is reaching a little far with the prices for the neighborhood (like Alma) but is still within reason. Main courses are $ 18 – 25 and pasta dishes are $ 13 – 16. Panini’s (which are only available during lunch) are $ 8 – 9.50, pizzas are $ 10 – 13, and desserts are $ 7 – 8.
The restaurant spacious, intimate, and incredibly clean. The waitress was sweet and the service was good. I ordered the chicken parm which was pretty good. I know the chicken in chicken parm should be flattened out but the chicken was so thin it was barely visible and was certainly thinner than the layers of crispy breadcrumbs that surrounded it. It was still a tasty dish and because it wasn’t sitting on top of pasta (which was served on a separate dish), nothing was soggy. Surprisingly the pasta was the star of the dish for me. The spaghetti was slightly flattened (but not has flat as linguini) and was cooked better than any pasta I’ve had before. The tomato sauce was also perfect, not too chunky or too thin with just the right flavor. My friend got the margherita pizza ($ 10). The pizza was kind of an odd size as it definitely wasn’t big enough to share but it was a lot of food for one person. I was happy to have 2 slices. Caselnova cooks their pizza in a brick oven and the slightly charred thin crispy crust was perfect. The flavors of the pizza were also great. I wouldn’t put this on my top 5 pizzas but I promise if you get the pizza you won’t be disappointed.
I was a little disappointed that I couldn’t get a panini when I went at 4pm (and there wasn’t any one in the restaurant), that a Miller Light was $ 6, that they didn’t have lasagna, and that getting pasta with meatballs wasn’t on the menu (even though they had both separately). But other than my little qualms Caselnova is a beautiful restaurant with good service and good food.

I drove from South Jersey to attend a baby shower here, and I might take the drive again since it was so good.
We had a five course meal — Stuffed clams, salad, Penne with marinara, and the main course consisted of Veal Marsala, Chicken Francaise, Eggplant Parmigiana, and a side of potatoes. I could’ve skipped the potatoes. Also they’re fresh, warm, and home made bread was wonderful.
The atmosphere is nice, and the service was fantastic too.