At First Bite: Fina

We happened to be out of town this weekend when Fina (3007 Fort Hamilton Parkway between E 2nd and E 3rd Streets) first opened its doors to the public, but we are so lucky to have a group of neighbors who let us know it was time to eat! Over the past couple of days, we received photos and tips from locals Ivan Brandon, Corey Harper (“I had 2 slices. They were really, really good.”), Meema Spadola, and more.

Meema sent us a margarita pie we could practically smell through our inbox, while another neighbor showed us Fina’s lunctime layout.

Ivan–who wins the title of Fina’s first ever customer–had slices with pancetta and burrata, a few margaritas with arugula and parmesan, and even with mozzarella, gorgonzola, pancetta, white grapes. “All of it was fantastic,” Ivan tells us, although his Yelp review may have said it a bit more accurately–“The owners are from Sicily, the oven is from Napoli, the pizzas are from heaven.”

We finally got a chance to try Fina for ourselves last night, and we weren’t disappointed. The restaurant staff is still finding their rhythm (we arrived at the end of the dinner rush), but they still made sure to take care of their guests. Fina’s walls are lined with old school photos of our area, including a shot from under the raised Culver Line tracks and one from a very flooded Cortelyou Road in 1948.

Our pies, which our waitress helped us pick out, were as follows: one margarita with half Roma tomatoes, one pancetta, and one olives and mushrooms. Last night’s menu also included options of sausage, pepperoni, shallot, and ham pies ($15-19), as well as spinach and mozzarella, cheese with ham or pancetta, sausage, peppers and onions, or just plain cheese calzones ($7-9). Slices, which earlier yesterday were available with the above pizza ingredients plus artichokes or prosciutto, range from $4-6 and are not served after 5pm.

Everyone in our party enjoyed Fina’s sweet sauce and crust combination alongside wonderfully salty cheese and other toppings. We found the pizzas’ crust to be the perfect thickness, and particularly delicious where charred. While a few fellow taste testers found the crust to get a bit soggy at times, this particular one thinks Fina’s fresh, not pasty sauce–the juicy culprit–makes a small crust compromise so worth it. Really, every ingredient we tasted seemed incredibly fresh–though we were divided on whether we loved the basil or pancetta best.

While Fina will soon have beer and wine, they are not BYOB for now; and while they offer pickup, they don’t plan to do delivery given the delicate nature of their pies. They’re finalizing their hours, but if you’d like to try some Fina pizza for yourself, you can stop in or call in a pickup order 718-854-3462 from 12 to roughly 9pm on weekdays and 12 to roughly 10pm on weekends. They are cash only, and all prices include tax.

Thanks again to our foodie neighbors for the heads up! If you’ve been to Fina already, what did you think of it?