In the busy 50th Street subway station near Times Square, riders might forget their daily problems, at least for a moment.
With a vision to break people out of their routines, restaurateur Adrien Gallo has brought iconic songs to the hollows of the subway system. He first replaced a Duane Reade storage area with futuristic cocktail bar Nothing Really Matters (think: Madonna). Then, he transformed the hookah shop next door into Tiny Dancer Coffee (think: Elton John). He has now brought us yet another song, See No Evil Pizza (think: Television), replacing a Dunkin’ Donuts.
The restaurant's design alone is a feat, but the food is extraordinary, delighting tourists and locals alike. Beginning his career at Gramercy Tavern (One Star) and Eleven Madison Park (Three Stars), Chef Edward Carew cooks with sincerity, focusing on making every guest feel welcome. Gluten-free options and standouts like braised tripe impress even the pickiest of eaters.
Before learning about their journey and personal favorites, click here to read what our Inspectors had to say.
What makes See No Evil Pizza special?
Edward Carew
We’re an enjoyable, clean castle surrounded by a moat of grime. People forget they're in the subway when they come in.
At its core, it's a New York pizzeria. It’s an incredibly unique experience located on the platform of the subway.
Adrien Gallo
It's the juxtaposition of having an oasis of awesomeness down here in the subway against the artery of New York. You could have the best times or the worst times on the subway.
A lot of people see us when they're going to or leaving work. Or maybe they don't see us at all because their head is down, and they've had a bad day or just need to get somewhere quickly.
We created something to break them out of their zombie existence, their routine, and make it really nice. We’re adults, and we can have pizza at the end of the day. It's supposed to be light and fun.
Why did you open in the NYC subway, specifically at the 50th Street station near Times Square?
Adrien Gallo
We fell in love with [the station]. We get all walks of life. It’s like an ode to New York. We're two New Yorkers that created a New York pizzeria for New Yorkers. When you're visiting here, you're a New Yorker too, whether it be for a business trip or with your family for Christmas. Why eat at Applebee’s? This is New York, we have some of the best food in the world, hands down.
Edward Carew
Times Square looks like it did for the last 30 years. This neighborhood is so sincerely genuine, and we love that. We're very fortunate to be a part of it, and then to be celebrated by the people that have been here a lot longer than us. Nowhere in the world has Broadway. We have it – that’s pretty cool.
How did you design the space?
Adrien Gallo
People aren't expecting the level of complexity when it comes to the design, food, and quality of ingredients coming out of a place that's underground in the subway. For the design, we worked with Little Wing Lee. We have a beautiful Italian antique 70s chandelier. We have mirrors on the ceiling. We had to build an all-electric kitchen in this tiny little space. We wanted it to be an open kitchen concept, so everyone sees the action. With the windows leading out to the concourse, they also see everyone going back and forth.
What is a unique challenge you've faced being in the subway?
Adrien Gallo
After we opened, the next month, the MTA decided to close the subway station because they had maintenance.
What inspires your food?
Edward Carew
I really love honest food. I love food that your sleeves can be rolled up and can be eaten in a pair of old Levi's, or you can dress up and go in. Pizza really completes all of those areas. You can feel comfortable in any one of those.
The fact that I can still use really good ingredients, but still make it that every person can eat it. There's no exclusivity. This is an inclusive food genre, and I love that.
That inclusivity shows through your gluten-free menu.
Adrien Gallo
I'm celiac. So, [we tried] to tailor the restaurant where we can offer almost every single item gluten-free, and it's really good.
Edward Carew
We're trying to make it accessible to anyone that wants to walk through here and have an enjoyable meal, whether it's pizza, arancini, salad, or anything fried.
[For gluten-free pizza], we tried a lot of different recipes, and we landed on a really good one. It's delicious – it’s got a nice crisp exterior and fluffy interior. It's easy to eat. It eats like a bar pie, a tavern pie, which is fun and light, and it doesn't have that bitter aftertaste that a lot of gluten-free flours have. And it doesn't have the chew.
What are your personal favorites on the menu? Fan favorites?
Edward Carew
My two favorite things don't sell, but we're going to keep them on forever, because they're rad.
We get in fresh sardines, we cure and marinate them, and we put them on top of a big slab of mozzarella, with a caper salsa (like a salsa verde, but with a lot of capers and mint) on top of the local bakery.
The next dish is braised tripe with big gigantes beans, tomatoes, chilies. It's glorious.
Our big pie that we really enjoy is called the Hell Pie, which is red sauce, soppressata, pepperoni, smoked mozzarella, Calabrian chili, oregano. That's our number one seller, even more than the margherita.
What are some of your sustainable practices?
Edward Carew
We try to be humans and treat what we bring in with respect. We try to limit our waste. We don't have too much waste because it's a pizzeria. We try to eat it somehow.
I don't think we'll ever do non-electric again. Induction burner and pizza ovens, that's all we have. It’s completely worked for us, and it's good for everybody in the long run.
We try to buy local and organic. We hit the market a lot – work with what we have right here. All the vegetables are from the market. I've been doing that for so long. That's exactly what we learned at Gramercy Tavern 1,000 years ago.
What else did you learn working at places like Eleven Madison Park and Gramercy Tavern?
Edward Carew
I was a kid. It was so long ago. Gramercy Tavern was my first New York job. My foundation, how I work, and personality all came from there and traveled with me to each place I went to. I still hold Marco Canora as my main influence and my mentor.
I learned how to enjoy yourself too. I like to be in environments that are very creative and fun and get the job done, but don't take themselves too seriously. An accumulation of everything I've done is here.
Why did you choose the name See No Evil Pizza?
Edward Carew
We took it from the band Television, their song “See No Evil.” They were a massive influence in rock and roll for the world. They represent New York. This is our own little homage to that band, that attitude.
There's definitely high energy in here reflected in everything that we do. Food, the front of the house, the interior, the music. We were thinking about another time of New York City, when it was a little bit grimier, and sincerely real to you. What you saw is what you got. Out of that birth, a lot of beautiful music has definitely shaped rock and roll forever. We concentrated on the late 70s to up until the 90s of a punk rock-esque thing,
Adrien Gallo
The whole attitude of doing something like this down here, especially at this level is insane. It definitely has a punk rock attitude, turning this tiny, 1,000-square-foot space underground into a food and beverage destination. That's kind of how we lived our lives. Everything we do, we do almost to the extreme. The atmosphere that we curate is very similar to that.
Hero image: Minu Han / See No Evil Pizza
