NYCReview
photo credit: Noah Devereaux
Ops
Included In
Ops, a restaurant serving great pizza in Bushwick, will make you feel like you’re already a regular from the minute you walk in the door. Even if you don’t live in this neighborhood, we think that feeling’s worth traveling for.
The menu is small (it’s a short list, and also weirdly physically tiny), with only a couple rotating cheese plates, appetizers, and salad - the rest is all pizza. Which is what you’re really here for. The sourdough crust is great, and if you dabble in square pies, their version is excellent. Meals at Ops are basically just bread and cheese, but we never feel the spiraling regret of a food hangover after eating here. Maybe that’s because they get all their ingredients from local farmers. Or maybe we’ve finally built up full bread and cheese immunity.
photo credit: Noah Devereaux
The wine situation at Ops also adds to the we’re-already-all-friends vibe. There’s no wine list here - instead, they pour different natural wines every night and charge the same price for all of them. Don’t know anything about wine? They’ll let you try stuff until you find one you like. All of which plays into the greater theme at Ops, which is people actually being nice.
As for the space, you couldn’t really think up a more ideal setting to put down roots in a restaurant. There’s brick everywhere, a salvaged wood ceiling that’s cool enough that you actually notice it, a long bar, a tile-covered pizza oven that glitters like Rainbow Fish, and thick red curtains that block out everything you don’t want to be thinking about right now - i.e. anything besides pizza and wine.
So while Ops is perfect for making into your new go-to casual hang, it’s equally great for impressing someone without looking like you’re trying too hard. We also saw a 50s-prom-themed bachelorette pizza party here, so you can do that too. Or just try strolling in on a random free night to eat a pizza by yourself at the bar. No shameful avoidance of eye contact required.
Food Rundown
photo credit: Noah Devereaux
Antipasti
Salad
photo credit: Noah Devereaux
Pops Pizza
Juno Pizza
photo credit: Noah Devereaux