Pala

Pala is all about throwing down the gluten-free options for you and your friends.... but you don't need to say yes to the gluten free pie!
This is a great place for sharing pizza and pasta with friends, just be mindful of the appetizers, as some only have 2 pieces in a dish.
Pairs well with a nice bottle of wine to top off your evening.

Long overdue review.
I just remember that this was a very dimly lit pizza place. I see it's closed now so I'm not even sure if my review would be of any help...it's probably useless...but I still want to talk about my experience.

New York is pretty nice in terms of touristy-ness and grunge. I felt somewhat safe here even though I was out late at night.
Now for the food personally speaking, I think the food/pizza is overpriced here for a small amount. Each one comes in 4 slices.
(They also have pastas, desserts, wines, etc.)
What we ordered.
Zucca: butternut squash puree, pancetta, smoked scamorza, mozzarella, parsley.
This was good. It had a mild taste and the butternut squash puree added a sweetness to the pizza. I would order this one again.
Special: (similar to the bufala prosciutto, but I don't recall what it looked like. I just remember liking the Zucca better.)

TL;DR
Expensive pizzas, but it will be missed.

First, I love that they clearly indicate the pizzas they have that are vegan or gluten-free or BOTH. And there are a good number of pizzas that are both. The vegan ones use Daiya vegan cheese which melts great and works so well on pizzas. And the gluten-free crust is actually such a good crust that my non-gluten-free friends said they wouldn't have known it was a gluten-free crust if I didn't tell them. It's a thin crust that is crisp on the outside and just a bit fluffy on the inside.

The pizzas are great for sharing. They're pretty big and too much for one person to eat (unless you're REALLY hungry maybe). I've never been able to finish one and had to take half home.

There are also plenty of regular gluten-filled and meat-containing pizzas that my friends said were very good, so Pala is great for just about everyone. They also have lots of delicious-sounding antipasti and salads and pastas, too.

I found Pala because I wanted to accommodate my friend who had recently became a vegan. She had asked for dinner suggestions for after Escape the Room, and this seemed like a good spot. We were able to make reservations for a group of 11, and were seated immediately when we arrived.

The restaurant was much smaller than I had imagined. It has a rustic, sort of industrial decor, with lots of wood and metal accents. One wall is a giant set of windows so there's plenty of natural light in the restaurant. Our waitress was very friendly and attentive, the service was excellent.

The pizzas on Yelp looked amazing. I ordered the Agnello pizza, which had lamb sausage, pesto sauce, and mozzarella. It was very heavy, but delicious. The entire pizza tasted like lamb, even if the particular bite did not have lamb on it. And there's no tomato sauce, just the rich pesto sauce. I enjoyed it very much, but I did trade with a few friends. I got to try the Inferno and Ubriaca pizzas too. The soppressata on the inferno could've been sliced smaller, but it was good. The drunken cheese on the Ubriaca was amazing and I'm probably gonna get it next time I go, since I'm definitely going to go back.

Pizza in New York. As a 'wannabe vegan', I was a little upset that I wouldn't be able to try the famous NY pizza. Not to worry, Pala Pizza is probably the best pizza I've had for a while.

My bf and I came on a Saturday evening around 8:00PM, and were seated promptly. We decided to order a vegan pizza with spicy pepper, vegan cheese and vegan sausage. As a couple with many dietary restrictions, the waiter was very patient with us and took time to explain what items we should avoid!

The pizza came out and it looked delicious!! We split the pizza between the two of us, and we were very very full. We also ordered the vegan, gluten free carrot cake, and omg was is DELICIOUS. We ate that so fast that my stomach started hurting as we walked back home haha.

Delicious food, patient waiter and a beautiful atmosphere. Perfect for a date night!!

Ah NY, the land of pizza! This was a good find because I was meeting up with friends for happy hour in the area.

Did you know that Pala stands for the paddles that the pizzas get baked on? How cool is that? It was a little tidbit of info that our waiter (or owner?) shared with our table.

FOOD:
For 5 people, we split 3 pizzas: the Agnello, Fungata, and Etna.
- Angnello: Lamb sausage, scallion pesto, pecorino, parmigiano and mozzarella cheese.
- Fungata: Porcini, portobello and shitake mushrooms, parmigiano cheese, mozzarella cheese, rosemary*
- Etna: Eggplant, cherry tomato sauce, mozzarella topped with ricotta salata, basil

* I'm a huge mushroom lover so this one was my favorite, especially with its diverse mix of different mushrooms.

SERVICE:
Waiters were attentive and funny. We were total n00bs in deciding pizzas so he went over the menu and pointed out his favorites, as well as some popular vegetarian options. If you're unsure of what to order, do not hesitate to ask! It's also really considerate how the waiter asks your party if anyone has food allergies or diet restrictions before having us place our orders.

Overall, I thought the food was reasonably priced, delicious, and the atmosphere made it even better. Be sure to drop by here if you're in the area.

An amazing place- if you're gluten free.

The environment was wonderful. Very cool location in LES. We were seated at a great table that was indoor/outdoor, which was nice since it was about 65degrees out. The server was nice and really pumped up the vegan/vegitarian/GF options. They also have a great cocktail list. I ordered the Dolce Vita, which was on the sweeter side but delicious. We also ordered the risotto balls, which were good.

For my entree, I chose the Zucca pizza, which has pancetta and butternut squash. I have had a Zucca pizza before, and it was amazing. Here, it was OK. The pizza itself was very bready and thick. They coated it with deli sliced cheese, which I don't mind. However, the outline if the cheese slices were still very visible, and the cheese was only halfway melted in the oven. On top of that, the pizza was only semi-warm if not a little cold when it arrived. All these things combined- I only ate one small piece of a large pizza.

Overall, I would come back to this restaurant for the ambiance and the drinks.

Ordered vegan gluten free arrabiata pizza.
The crust of the pizza was actually really good, and all together I enjoyed it. It's Daiya cheese so like anything understand that it's so hard to get the same texture and taste. This pizza does not have sauce just cheese and tomatoes I think they forgot the peppers on mine but it was fine. I requested arugula on top, which was 2.00 extra I was okay with it because I think it adds something to the pizza but I think it's ridiculous to charge that amount. I also added chili flakes and balsamic drizzle. I probably would come back based on my dietary restrictions but I wouldn't make it a habit if I could compare it to how frequently most New Yorkers eat pizza.

My best friend and I have several sever food allergies. We always disclose our allergies before we even order, to be certain we wouldn't have any issues.
I am deathly allergic to celery, and have an anaphylaxis reaction whenever I come in any sort of contact with it. My mouth started itching and I called over the waitstaff asking if there was any potential for chicken broth, which has a base of celery stock usually, in my marinara sauce.

Instead of having a waitstaff that was concerned when I started questioning what was in my food, they were abrasive and rude, and insisted I had no idea what I was saying.

My friend and I ended up running out of the place, in desperate search for medicine, so I wouldn't have to use my $500+ Epi Pen. Instead of them comping our meal, or my portions of the meal, they charged us for everything with just apologies, and handing me a business card as my throat was closing up.

I ended up in the emergency room, and basically ruined my weekend over this, as I am still having issues from this attack two days later. I DO NOT recommend anyone coming here unless they want to take a fun hospital trip.

Really good pizzas and food in an industrial hip restaurant.

They're very GF friendly. 2 of us were celiac, so this place was their suggestion. They make pizza dough w/ chickpea flour and the dough is the best GF dough i've tasted.
Another friend and I ordered appetizers and a regular pizza to share. A huge thumb-up on their arancini (rice balls) and acceptable nod on their meatballs. The regular pizza was also really great - the dough isn't too thin and has good flavor/texture.

This is now on my list of pizza places in this particular neighborhood. Yum!