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Restaurant & Bar Reviews » Cary » Di Fara Pizza Tavern, Cary – An Exceptional Example of Classic NYC Pizza for NC

February 13, 2021 by Ron Wen 2 Comments

Di Fara Pizza Tavern, Cary – An Exceptional Example of Classic NYC Pizza for NC

Front of Di Fara Pizza Tavern in Cary - nctriangledining.com
Front of Di Fara Pizza Tavern in Cary – nctriangledining.com

As a self-proclaimed pizza-holic, I can honestly say I will wait for hours for a good pizza! Whenever I’m visiting a new area, I do a cursory search for the best pizza available and usually make an effort to visit. Based on the Daily Meal’s 101 Best Pizzas in the country list, I’ve managed to visit 10 of the top 30 in the USA, alright! And growing up in the Northeast has honed my appreciation for the wondrous experience of diving into a pie with a divine crust, luscious tomatoes and soft cheese, truly a magical experience. One OG pizza stand-out over the years has been Di Fara Pizza in Brooklyn whose owner, Dom, has been known to pull pies straight out of the oven with his bare hands. I was able to visit once and watched him meticulously finish off his pies with careful snips of basil and a thorough drizzle of olive oil. It was a sublime pizza experience in my early days and worth the 2 hour wait.

Kitchen at Di Fara Pizza Tavern in Cary - nctriangledining.com
Kitchen at Di Fara Pizza Tavern in Cary – nctriangledining.com
Dining room at Di Fara Pizza Tavern in Cary - nctriangledining.com
Dining room at Di Fara Pizza Tavern in Cary – nctriangledining.com

Flash forward to 2019 and it’s announced that there will be a new Di Fara Pizza Tavern opening up in Cary by his nephew. Given the pandemic, development was slowed down and finally the new Di Fara Pizza Tavern soft-opened up in early February of 2021. I was able to stop in for an early dinner to try out their pizza and it met all my pizza-holic expectations! Inside, the space is still pretty sparse given how recently they opened up and to allow for social distancing. Kitchen in front with a large Di Fara logo, a dining room with maybe 10 or 12 tables along with a long bar to the side. There’s also a patio outside for when the weather warms (and dries) up. Thankfully they do have their ABC license and are already serving beer and wine, it looks like they are set up to do cocktails too, but I didn’t try any.

Food menu at Di Fara Pizza Tavern in Cary - nctriangledining.com
Food menu at Di Fara Pizza Tavern in Cary – nctriangledining.com
Bar area at Di Fara Pizza Tavern in Cary - nctriangledining.com
Bar area at Di Fara Pizza Tavern in Cary – nctriangledining.com
Beer menu (1 of 3) at Di Fara Pizza Tavern in Cary - nctriangledining.com
Beer menu (1 of 3) at Di Fara Pizza Tavern in Cary – nctriangledining.com

The menu is really basic like most pizzerias: Cheese pizza for $25, house specialty pizza for $29 to $35 and each topping is $2 for custom pies. Pizza is also available by the slice along with a calzone option. But of course for me on my first visit, I do the standard 18″ cheese and expect to bring leftovers home. And it’s an excellent pie with a great crust that snaps a bit. Unlike Neapolitan pies, they bake them pretty crisp here at Di Fara Pizza Tavern which I know some people prefer. The cheese is thick but leaves room for the mellow tomatoes to shine, I’m guessing they use a cheese blend here. And there’s plenty of basil on top for that pungent kick of green, gardeny flavor. Overall I am really pleased with my first visit and this pie. While it may be a bit different than the Brooklyn classic, it’s pretty close and really darn good. A well balanced pizza all around for texture and flavors, cooked perfectly. Service was friendly and prompt at the bar which was a nice surprise. They’ve even got a great craft beer list to wash your za down!

Cheese pie at Di Fara Pizza Tavern in Cary - nctriangledining.com
Cheese pie at Di Fara Pizza Tavern in Cary – nctriangledining.com
Close-up of cheese pie at Di Fara Pizza Tavern in Cary - nctriangledining.com
Close-up of cheese pie at Di Fara Pizza Tavern in Cary – nctriangledining.com
Crust peek of cheese pie at Di Fara Pizza Tavern in Cary - nctriangledining.com
Crust peek of cheese pie at Di Fara Pizza Tavern in Cary – nctriangledining.com

While the prices may give you pause, it’s an excellent example of a great pizza for the NC Triangle and has vaulted quickly into my Top 10 list for the area. Di Fara Pizza Tavern uses official “NYC water” for their dough and I’ll look into that claim sometime soon. And I’ll be back to try some of those specialty pies and toppings but will need some friends for that endeavor. But yeah, if you’re a pizza aficionado, make an effort to get down to Cary to try out the new Di Fara Pizza Tavern. Who knows, maybe we’ll see it on that Daily Meal 101 best pizza list sometime soon…

Chaos pizza at Di Fara Pizza Tavern in Cary - nctriangledining.com
Chaos pizza at Di Fara Pizza Tavern in Cary – nctriangledining.com
Di Fara classic pie at Di Fara Pizza Tavern in Cary - nctriangledining.com
Di Fara classic pie at Di Fara Pizza Tavern in Cary – nctriangledining.com
NYC water maker at Di Fara Pizza Tavern in Cary - nctriangledining.com
NYC water maker at Di Fara Pizza Tavern in Cary – nctriangledining.com
Grandmother pie from Di Fara Pizza Tavern in Cary - nctriangledining.com
Grandmother pie from Di Fara Pizza Tavern in Cary – nctriangledining.com
Side patio at Di Fara Pizza Tavern in Cary - nctriangledining.com
Side patio at Di Fara Pizza Tavern in Cary – nctriangledining.com

 

Di Fara Pizza Tavern

111 E Chatham Street

Cary, NC 27511

919.678.5300

Location on Google maps

Related

Filed Under: Cary, Featured, Restaurant & Bar Reviews Tagged With: Patio, Pizza, Restaurants Near Downtown Cary

Comments

  1. Lee says

    February 24, 2021 at 4:59 pm

    With all due respect I must say we were very disappointed with our meatball pizza. The cheese and meat were skimpy while the pie cost $30!
    We are from NY and know great pizzas. This was not one of them. Sorry! We were excited to see you in Cary but we will not buy another pie.

    Reply
    • Ron Wen says

      February 24, 2021 at 6:18 pm

      Hey Lee, thanks for checking out the blog and post, totally get where you’re coming from. I don’t think this style of pie is like a “traditional NY pizza” but a bit of a spin. And it’s pricey for sure. But it’s actually $5 less across the board compared to their original Brooklyn location! For classic NYC pizza, I’m a fan of Randy’s in RTP….

      Reply

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