A long wooden table, with nothing but a giant jar of Castelvetrano olives and a couple of cake stands, sits in the middle of the dining room at F&F Restaurant. In a world of tiny two-tops and expensive rents, this might seem like wasted space—something you'd expect at a flashy spot like Carbone.

Here, it's just a simple spot to rest your eyes and contemplate the burnt cheesecake. This is Carroll Gardens, not the West Village. At F&F, the tables are well spaced out, the music is neither too loud nor too quiet, and the wine flows at a relaxed pace.

photo credit: Kate Previte

photo credit: Kate Previte

photo credit: Kate Previte

The two Franks behind adjacent Frankie’s (457) first used this well-like dining room for their steaks-and-spaetzle restaurant Prime Meats, then their wine bar Franks. With F&F, they've cracked the code. As an elegant but laid-back place to eat personal pies by candlelight, this is the most useful version of this corner spot so far.

Thanks to a menu that leans heavily on pizza—including some hits from nearby F&F Pizzeria—eating here never feels too stuffy. The bubbly-crusted personal pies may come piled with maitake, or melted leeks and glistening fried guanciale—but each one leaves a dusting of pizza char across your paper-covered table. 

photo credit: Kate Previte

photo credit: Kate Previte

photo credit: Kate Previte

Order a few pizzas, but don't stop there. There's also a calzone slick with olive oil and filled with wild boar, and braised beef with gnocchi the size of jumbo marshmallows, which well-mannered kids spear up between iPad games.  The shrimp scampi isn't the kind you'd find clinging to angel hair at a country club. It has a velvety sauce that would be too lemony if it weren’t so buttery, and too buttery if it weren’t so lemony, and as a result, is perfect.

Finally, there's that cheesecake, which takes a trip to the pizza oven to tan to a dark, caramel brown before hitting the center table. Always share a slice—whether you're dining with your favorite couple, or family members who always ask for the music be turned down just a little.

Food Rundown

photo credit: Kate Previte

Arancini

The arancini are a nice place to start. They’re filled with veal bolognese, and the exterior is thin and crisp, like the top layer of creme brulee.

photo credit: Kate Previte

Big Green Salad

You’re going to eat lots of cheese, lots of dough, and possibly lots of meat here, and so you’ll need a salad too. As promised, it’s a big pile of tender lettuces and pale pink radicchio with a tart dressing that balances out all the meat and cheese.

photo credit: Kate Previte

Calzone Stuffed With Wild Boar And Ricotta

The pizza dough here is excellent, and ordering a calzone means you get to eat as much of it as possible. It’s covered in black bubbles of char and oozing with ricotta and shreds of wild boar. You should never have to choose between this and a pizza. Get both.

photo credit: Kate Previte

Clam Pie

The clam pie is a fan-favorite at their slice shop, and for good reason—it tastes like under-the-sea garlic bread. It’s more butter than seafood, but always worth an order, even if it’s also available down the block.

Coppa Marscapone & Grilled Cipollini Pie

A coppa and cipollini onion pizza with a heavy drizzle of orange blossom honey goes a little too far into hawaiian pizza territory for us, but we respect the innovation.

photo credit: Kate Previte

Guanciale & Leek Pie

If you love a pizza with onion or garlic, this is the white pie for you. Here, the allium of choice is leek, and the chunks of guanciale provide some nice pops of salt.

photo credit: Kate Previte

Scampi With Polenta

We’ve never met a shrimp we didn’t like at F&F. Sometimes over pasta, sometimes over polenta, the tender knobs of shrimp are not to be missed. They achieve a perfect balance of butter and lemon.

Brasato Of Beef With Gnocchi

The Franks know how to slow-cook meat. Here, fall-apart braised beef is surrounded by a few marshmallow-sized gnocchi with a mochi-like chew. If any version of this is available, order it.