Houdini Kitchen Laboratory

Good pizza, cool outdoor garden to eat in nice weather. I don’t want to say it’s as good as Roberta’s but easier to get a table during peak times. Worth checking out. Reasonably priced with friendly staff

Live in the neighborhood so I frequent Houdini quite a bit. Easy to get in, great staff, and the best pizza I have ever tasted!!! No lies!

As long as you don’t mind pooping your soul out you should eat an entire queen pizza.

Ordered off of seamless since they didn’t accept cards over the phone. Delivery was pretty quick (40ish minutes) and the pizza was good. Granted it was $ 16/​pie — it still tasted good enough to warrant another delivery for a dinner night with my fiancé.
Only complaint is that they should invest in an insulated bag or something to make sure their pies stay nice and hot. Pies arrived warm but I’m not sure how they’d fare for longer distance deliveries.

Ordered through seamless, the order took a hour and a half. The driver almost forgot the salad in the car. while eating the small salad I found a very long black hair that I had to fish out of my mouth… I will not be going to or ordering from here again. For as much as we spent on pizza tonight I think they can afford some hair nets.

Would have been five stars but for the mediocre lasagna. The taste was right but was too mushy. It was deconstructed-​lasagna and the béchamel was a bit overwhelming and made the pasta soupy.
Otherwise, this place rocks! Their pizza is Outstanding (might be better than Paulie Gee’s) and certainly the wait is not as disagreeable. The bartender was terrific, our waitress, Yuki, was a GEM! She was sweet, funny, informative and totally made our evening!
We had a marhgerita with mushrooms; lasagna and gnocchi. The homemade gnocchi was lovely with butter and sage. The pizza was… well. I already said. We had burrata to start that was creamy and divine. The basil was sooo fresh.
It’s a bit out of the way, in the middle of nowhere, but wow… we are absolute fans!

Without a doubt, my favorite pizza delivery.
Same order every time: Habanera Pizza.
Side of Fornarina & a Rocket Salad if I’m feeling extra hungry, but you really can’t go wrong with anything you order here.
Have to note that the woman who delivers is a saint! I got locked out of my apartment one night when I went to grab the pizza and she stayed with me & let me use her cell phone until I got a hold of someone to come let me in. She even called about thirty minutes after she left to make sure I got in okay!
Great service, awesome food. 5 stars all around.

Kicked off a staycation by walking to this awesome Ridgewood pizzeria. Every pizza is cooked in this enormous wood fire oven. So, even though I’m sure the establishment is tired of the comparison, it is VERY similar to Roberta’s. But it also stands out from Roberta’s, because it is SO MUCH BETTER THAN ROBERTA’S. The atmosphere was quiet. I went during an afternoon and didn’t have to wait 3 days for a table. And JEEEZZZE the «Stinky Feet Pizza»!! I’ve been talking about it for weeks afterwards! I topped it with prosciutto b/​c I live life to the fullest & recommend you do the same.
Bravo!

There are no tricks here, just magic…
So check it, me and my new boo were kickin’ it at her place after a nice day at the beach, being cute and drinking Shaq-​Fu Punch. After realizing that it’s probably too late to get dressed and go out for dinner, we hit the Seamless on the «entertainment center» (MacBook with external speakers). We search for an open pizza place that is not a fried chicken joint first and pizza place second. Not that I don’t love fried chicken, but that’s too messy for eating in a bed that resembles a pink cloud. So, this is when Houdini magically appeared… Into our mouths and into our hearts.
The selections seemed really creative. It was hard to choose, but though a scientific elimination process, we decided on two. The Queen and the Guido (is that what they were called, not sure, long day at the beach). It arrived pretty quickly via car, which is rare for NYC. As a surprise and added value bonus, the delivery person did a magic trick for me. I won’t spoil it for you, but it put a spell on me — a tasty spell that is (insert wink emoji).
With Roberta’s and all of the other fried chicken/​pizza establishments in the greater Bushwick area, competition is fierce. Well, let me tell you, this pizza is #readyfortheshow. Amazing Neapolitan style pizza. It was so tasty that me and my Skittles ate both pizzas completely, in bed. Don’t judge or hate; it’s that damn good. The only thing that would make it better is if could be ordered via an app, where one could just hit one button… «push for pizza,» if you can imagine.
5/​5, would recommend.

We decided to eat dinner at this place after attending the cat circus located at the Brooklyn Muse warehouse-​looking building. The area at this time at night (10 PM to 12 AM) was very shady! We felt we were going to get shanked, and the entrance of the restaurant was confusing to find. The main entrance of the place looks like a side entrance and has uneven cement by the entrance to the staircase which may be a hazard (someone could trip).
There were two extremely loud and unpleasant noises during our dinner, mostly coming from the metal giant garage door/​barrier that opened and closed next door. The noises were so loud and sudden that I jumped up my seat, and others were also surprised of the commotion. The tables outside were somewhat a fail because the ice from my drinks melted (due to hot and humid weather) and dripped through the crevices of the table and wet my leg, ankles, feet, etc.
We ordered the «Guido» pizza and it was very filling. Not one of the best pizzas I had, since I wasn’t a fan of the bitter rabe, but I admired how their pizzas are made (fire-​wood/​oven style). Our initial female waitress was somewhat snobby but after she left her shift, we had a pleasant male waiter who did his job greatly.
Not sure if we would come here again given the shady and graffiti-​ed area during the evening time.
P. S. Cash only! They do not accept any cards.

A Roberta’s for the «new» destination neighborhood of Ridgewood. I’m not quite sure it’s a destination neighborhood right now, but all your obnoxious hipster friends are fleeing out here, so you’re going to have to go out there at some point. Might as well stop for excellent pizza.
It’s on a desolate stretch of warehouses by the Halsey L stop, but they have really prettied it up. This is a perfect summer spot to drink (relatively) cheap wine (which isn’t superlative, but it does the job), and see how much you can gross yourself out with ludicrous amounts of pizza.
Starting with the burrata is a must, but here is a problem — the burrata is $ 9, but they explain it comes without any bread, and if you would like some bread, perhaps order the foccacia for $ 5 more? It’s not foccacia, by the way — it’s just pizza blanca. So, this little bait and switch to get you to order two starters is what loses it a star off the bat. Just add a few bucks to the burrata price, and merge the two dishes. The burrata is worth the $$$. Creamy, chewy, you’ll make a mess. Perhaps could use some salt. Feeds two.
The pizzas are larger than you’ll find at most high end spots nowadays — you could do 3 pizzas for 4 people, and that would be fine. They are a bit thicker than the neopolitan style, which I actually enjoy — no floppy ends.
Guido BK — this should be your go-​to if you haven’t been here before: excellent sweet sausage, bitter rabe, slightly more cheese than the other pizzas.
Queen — get this over the margharita — stracciatella instead of mozz, with all the extra cream on top, almost like having a vodka type sauce when the cream mixes with the tomato.
Pork Belly/​pancetta — this comes without sauce or cheese, so do an end run, and order the margharita, and add pork belly to it. It’s a much less fatty and more dry/​cured type of belly that is unusual and flavorful.
Habenero — the tang and level of spiciness of this pizza is very reminiscent of jalapeño potato chips, so if you like that flavoring, this is a good choice. The spice level goes well with the pork loin.
In all, this is not a spot to flee out to nowheresville Queens/​BK for, like Roberta’s, HOWEVER, it’s a very enjoyable experience with above average pizza across the board. Stop by and get some outdoor seating, wine (no bottles over $ 36), and stuff yourself to prepare to deal with your friend’s «art show» that dragged you out here on a Thursday night.

I ordered via seamless, at 9pm the order was confirmed, got a phone call 45minutes later with a rude person on the other end saying «my delivery driver is „messed up“, it’ll be up to another hour for your food do you still want it?» I say «yes, no problem i can wait» BIG mistake, its now 12:20am im out of $ 20 and no dinner, what sucks the most its that its too late for anything in my area to be open, no dinner tonight, thanks houdini, decent pizza (for the area) but very poorly executed, oh and i keep trying to call and the phone is turned off, it just says «im sorry but the person you called did not activate the voice messaging service» how shitty!
P.S.
I wrote this review because its the second time I’ve had this issue, i think i should just stop ordering from here all together.

OK if you sneeze you will miss it
Don’t judge a book by its cover.
The area isn’t the greatest to look at but after you try this YOU WON’T CARE. We had the queen with proscutto. To die for. Perfectly baked bubbly goodness. Drooling as I write this.
Beers are different and cold. Nice back yard to chill, chat and eat. No smoking back there so you can enjoy your food and company with out choking.
My almost 1 year old gnawed on crust after crust.
Cannot wait to go back.

Soo, I think this is one of those places where you hear amazing things about the food and atmosphere, and then you go in a much smaller group than your friends who’ve been before, so your experience is way different.
I came here on a date, Monday night. The weather was great, so the outdoor patio was fairly packed, with 3 – 5 tables inside. So the restaurant wasn’t packed by any means, but it was busy for a Monday night. We entered through the backyard door, which doesn’t really look like an entrance. We walk up the stairs and are greeted by… no one! For 5 minutes we are standing outside on the patio wondering where the host/​check-​in counter is, and finally we walk inside and look around… nothing. Then finally a girl (who’s sitting in the corner of the kitchen in the back, doing paperwork or something?), slowly pops out of her chair and looks around, confused… and starts to slither over our way when the waitress pops out of nowhere and asks if we want a table. Yes please!
We were able to get seated outside easily. They’ve got a HUGE outdoor patio, which is awesome. One is elevated while the other one that’s on the ground has picnic style tables. They were showing a movie on a screen outdoors last night, which was pretty cool, but a bit distracting and conflicted with the ambiance of the upstairs patio that doesn’t have a view of the TV screen.
We started with a salad (can’t remember the name but it was the 2^nd on the menu, with mushroomies, sun dried tomatoes, and carrots) — I really enjoyed the dressing. Almost every other table was ordering the buratta started (which I wanted to get, but it’s literally a bowl of buratta and a few pieces of basil thrown in there… not worth $ ⁸⁄₉. Maybe put some tomatoes in there please!).Then we waited, and waited, and waited for our pizza to come out. We got the «Houdini» — $ 15 which is pretty reasonable in price — which was vegetarian. We asked if we could put the goat cheese on only half of the pizza… they said they don’t do halves or substitutions. In all honesty, the pizza was delicious, however I would stick with the regular margarita. There were too many conflicting tastes going on on this pizza… it was much sweeter in flavor than I would’ve thought. I couldn’t really taste the eggplant at all, and there was a lot of eggplant on there. The pizza is nice and chewy, and the crust is nice and crisp.
I’d go back, definitely, if I’m in the area. But the service was nothing special, and the patio was a bit buggy, so I’d go indoors if the sun is down.
CASH ONLY. So so irritating as the nearest drug store is a half mile away, so you’re forced to use their atm with a fee.

This place is amazing! So much personality. Nice high ceilings inside so you can hear yourself talk.
Plus a covered deck outside with lots of seating. And a garden in the summer.
The pizza is authentic Italian and delicious. Everything about this place is style and individuality. Love it!

Me: Why isn’t my pizza cut into slices?
Houdini: Listen, man. We know that you’re probably going to eat this by yourself. More than likely in one sitting, too. That’s why we didn’t slice your pizza.
Me: You’re absolutely right.
*Folds pizza in half and consumes like a giant taco*
Delivery is solid. Lightning fast. Also– It only came uncut once. It’s really not that big of a deal.
Service dining in could use some improvement, though. We were never offered a second round of drinks and only got water refills after we flagged a different waitress down.
I ordered the Reverend Yard salad and ask for it with the white truffled robiola gallette and our waitress had no idea what I was asking for. (It’s a chunk of soft cheese. It’s lovely. Don’t skip it.)
After salads, we ordered the Habanera pizza without meat. Seemed like a simple enough request. She suggested that without the meat it was basically just a Margherita. Okay, that’s fine. I order the Margherita with the habanero sauce on top and she tries to talk us out of it. It was a little awkward. I order it anyway because I have eaten it that way before and it’s awesome. After the meal we all agreed how delicious having the habanero sauce on top was. The Houdini Green is also a solid vegetarian-​friendly choice.
After waiting and waiting for the bill it was literally thrown on the table without a word. Ouch.

All those people who said it’s really great, they’re right. The menu is very short, just pizzas plus a few salads and appetizers. The ceilings are high and the place feels spacious. I hope they stay open, they weren’t busy and they’re a long way east from most of the fancy bushwick places.

This place was great. Everything was super fresh, cheese made in house, genuine Italians running the show, great atmosphere, unique, compliment, compliment…
Reminds me a bit of Roberta’s before it became famous. Only this place is nicer. Plant it in Chelsea or Soho and it would be packed. I look forward to going back while it’s still relatively undiscovered. I suspect this peaceful stage where there are no lines/​crowds is not going to last very long at all.

3.75 stars.
Spacious place with high ceilings and welcoming Italian managers.
I had the BK Guido pizza with broccoli rabe and homemade sausage, and added some pancetta. The quality of the ingredients was outstanding, but the dough was a little burned outside and under. Nevertheless, the pizza was huge, and generously loaded with delicious homemade toppings. I would totally go back and taste more.

Tried this spot out as a sub for robertas. I can’t say I would ever sub something in again…
The food is fine, don’t get me wrong, but it’s no robertas. It’s also much further away.