A slice of New York comes to SoHo with pizza counter opening

The crowd spilled out onto the street in SoHo for the launch of Pizzeria Pubblico, the latest restaurant from Rob Spina and Todd Darling. The duo, who are also behind Italian favourites Posto Pubblico and Linguini Fini, launched their third restaurant on Friday by serving up free slices of their New York-style pizza washed down with draught Peroni beer.

The pizza counter - there's no waiting staff here - seats 35 and features cosy red-brick walls and an open kitchen so you can watch your dinner bake in the oven. Spina and Darling keep it authentic New York- style, meaning a wide cut and thin crust with a dash of red chilli pepper or oregano.

Both owners suggested trying the Brooklyn Special. It combines fried aubergine, mozzarella, ricotta, roasted peppers and tomato sauce, said Darling, decked out in a white chef's outfit. The mozzarella and the tomato sauce, he stressed, were produced in-house.

For the New York natives, who grew up working together at Spina's family restaurant in Kings County, spreading the concept of homestyle Italian-American goes beyond good food. 'In New York, whole communities are built around pizzerias,' Spina said. 'It's very near and dear to our hearts.'