New Pizzeria Opens On The UES

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — Casa Farina, a new pizzeria, has opened this week on the Upper East Side, taking over the storefront previously occupied by Unregular Pizza on Lexington Avenue.

The new pizzeria, between East 79th Street and East 78th Street, has a classic slice-shop menu of pizza, salads, heroes, wings and a handful of other Italian specialties.

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However, it's not as basic as it sounds — every recipe is built on long-fermented dough and higher-quality flour than most slice shops use, owner Gökhan Cakmak told Patch.

"The most important thing is the dough, because we believe in fermentation, and we don't sell anything less than 40 hours of fermentation," Cakmak said.

A longtime fan of the Upper East Side — he once lived at East 94th Street and Second Avenue and has three children born at Lenox Hill Hospital — he said he wanted a warm, cozy neighborhood spot that could become a regular stop for families, students and local workers.

Cakmak previously operated a dough factory that supplied breads and pastries wholesale to restaurants and supermarkets, including Whole Foods. However, after years in wholesale, he said he promised himself that one day he’d slow down, open a cozy neighborhood slice shop and connect with his neighbors.

"We tried to make a warm, cozy space," Cakmak said. "So far, the kids from the neighborhood schools, they love it, so that's a good sign."

At Casa Farina — Italian for "flour house" — Cakmak said the shop uses special Caputo flour imported from Italy. The tomato sauce is also made from scratch in-house.

Unregular Pizza, which held the space before Casa Farina, closed on April 18 after just two years in the storefront.

Cakmak had been eyeing the space for some time, he said.

Unregular Pizza has two other locations downtown, in Union Square and Essex Market, which have been more successful than the Upper East Side location, the owner previously told Patch.

Casa Farina is open seven days a week from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Cakmak said he hopes to add catering out of the Lexington Avenue location soon.

Casa Farina is located at 1132 Lexington Ave.

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