Roman-Style Pizza Shop Closes On The Upper East Side

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — Unregular Pizza, a mom-and-pop Roman-style pizzeria with crispy slices and a fun retro theme, has closed after just two years on the Upper East Side.

One of its owners, Paola Sinisgalli, told Patch the closure of the space at 1132 Lexington Ave. near East 79th Street on April 18 marks the end of a bittersweet chapter for the husband-and-wife team.

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"It's been quite the ride, and we tried everything we could to keep it alive, but it just wasn't working," Sinisgalli, who came to New York City from Rome in 2010, told Patch. "Sometimes to succeed, you also have to fail, and this is the hard reality."

The pizza shop has two other locations downtown, in Union Square and Essex Market, which have been more successful than the Upper East Side location, Sinisgalli said.

Unregular is known for its Roman-style pizza made with a 72-hour dough and premium ingredients imported from Italy, a style Sinisgalli said is still relatively uncommon in New York City’s crowded pizza landscape.

The pizzeria is also known for its ’90s-inspired design, complete with Ninja Turtles, comic books and stereo decor — a playful look that Sinisgalli now wonders may not have fully aligned with neighborhood tastes.

"Our look is a '90s look, which can come out as a bit childish, maybe, and maybe it went against the quality of the product, especially for the neighborhood," Sinisgalli said. "We have Ninja Turtles, comic books, the stereo, bright colors, but we believe in our product and what we put out there."

Despite the financial struggles the space carried, Sinisgalli was touched by the way the neighborhood embraced the space, she told Patch.

One of the most meaningful reminders of the shop’s impact came just before the closure, Sinisgalli said: a wedding invitation from a neighborhood couple who got engaged over Unregular’s pizza.

"Just before making this decision to close, we received an invitation to a wedding from a couple on the Upper East Side who see our pizza as part of the love story, and the proposal was made while eating our pizza," Sinesgalli said. "So if I have to leave with something positive, it's this — what we make, and what it means for our customers."

No word on what will replace the empty storefront yet.

Know of a business opening or closing in Manhattan? Email Miranda.Levingston@Patch.com.