Delhi’s food and nightlife culture has evolved considerably over the past decade, with diners increasingly looking beyond traditional restaurant formats for more focused food concepts. From specialty cafés and neighbourhood bars to casual dining spaces, the city has become more receptive to places built around a particular culinary style.
Among the latest additions is NYNY, a New York-style pizza and bar concept from the team behind Leo’s Pizzeria. Located in Hauz Khas Market, it moves away from the Neapolitan style associated with Leo’s, instead serving large, thin and crisp slices designed to be folded and eaten casually, alongside drinks and music.
The idea grew out of the founder’s long-standing connection with New York-style pizza and, in particular, the culture surrounding the city’s slice shops — places where people can walk in, grab a slice and carry on with their evening.
“I’ve always loved New York-style pizza and the culture around it,” Amol Kumar says. “The slice shops, the pace, the idea that you can walk in, grab a slice and carry on with your night.”
The founder had been working on the style for around two years before opening NYNY, trying to recreate the pizza he remembered eating as a teenager. “I wanted to see if I could get close to the pizza I had as a teenager,” he says.
He believes Delhi is ready for a concept like NYNY.
“Delhi has changed a lot in the last decade. People travel more, eat more widely and are increasingly open to very focused concepts.”
Beyond the Neapolitan
While both NYNY and Leo’s are built around pizza, the two take distinctly different approaches. Leo’s is rooted in Neapolitan pizza, with its emphasis on dough, fermentation and wood-fired cooking. NYNY draws instead from the classic New York slice.
Highlighting the different approaches, Kumar says, “Leo’s is very much rooted in Neapolitan pizza, the dough, fermentation, wood-fired cooking and the discipline that goes into getting that style right.”
At NYNY, the slices are larger, thinner and crispier, designed to be folded and eaten casually. “I wanted the two places to have their own identities rather than make one version of pizza in two different spaces.”
NYNY is therefore built around a more casual way of eating and socialising, with pizza forming part of a broader evening rather than a formal meal.
A night out in Haus Khas
Hauz Khas Market was a natural choice for NYNY, given the neighbourhood’s established food and nightlife culture. The format also suits a neighbourhood where people often move between different places during an evening. “NYNY is built for people who are out for the evening and want something easy, a slice, a drink, maybe a few more.”
The concept may naturally appeal to a younger crowd, but the founder sees it as broader than that. “I think the format naturally attracts a younger, more spontaneous crowd, but really it’s for anyone who likes good pizza and doesn’t want to make an occasion out of eating it.”
A slice and a drink
NYNY is designed to function somewhere between a slice shop and a bar, with music, drinks and the atmosphere forming part of the experience.
“I wanted NYNY to feel like a proper slice shop with a bar attached to it,” he says. “The pizza counter, the music and the drinks are all part of the same experience.”
The space is equally suited to a quick bite or a longer evening. “You can walk in for one slice and a drink, or stay for the whole evening. There’s no particular way you’re supposed to experience it.”
The concept draws on the energy of New York’s slice shops, where food, music and socialising often come together, while adapting that format to Delhi.
A new chapter
NYNY comes as Leo’s Pizzeria marks a decade in Delhi. Over the past 10 years, Leo’s has built its reputation around Neapolitan pizza, earning recognition that includes four consecutive years on the Asia-Pacific Top 50 list and a place on the World’s 100 Best Pizzerias list.
For Kumar, NYNY is an opportunity to explore another pizza tradition rather than an attempt to redefine Leo’s. “Leo’s has spent the last 10 years getting very good at one particular style of pizza, and I’m proud of where that has taken us,” he says.
“NYNY came from wanting to explore another style that I personally love. I don’t see it as an extension of Leo’s as much as another part of the pizza world I want to build.”
He sees scope to explore further. “There are a lot of styles of pizza worth exploring, and I’d like to keep doing that.”
Keeping it simple
NYNY keeps its menu deliberately focused, with six slices, a selection of sides and simple cocktails.
The Pepperoni and Cheese slices are among the key offerings, reflecting the classic New York-style approach. Both are straightforward, familiar options designed to be eaten easily.
The Michelada is a particular favourite among the drinks. It also connects with the kitchen, using the same tomatoes that go into NYNY’s pizza sauce.
NYNY may be a departure from the Neapolitan tradition that has defined Leo’s, but it is not a departure from the founder’s broader approach to food. The new space gives him room to pursue a style of pizza he has long enjoyed while creating a setting built around the simple pleasures of food, people and a night out.
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