Restaurant Review: Shelter Pizza

After a Sunday afternoon concert at Brooklyn Bowl in Williamsburg, my friend and I were hungry and wanted to grab a bite somewhere. I am not familiar with the neighborhood so we just walked a few blocks and looked at some menus on Wythe Ave. We saw a giant American flag painted on a building with a neon sign that read "PIZZA EMPANADAS BAR." Clearly this was a draw. 

We opened the enormous, heavy, industrial door to Shelter Pizza and entered some sort of hunting cabin situation, and I had to double check that we walked into the right place. Nothing about pizza and empanadas connects to hunting cabin decor, but alright, I was in Williamsburg so these things are expected.

We took a seat and looked around at the moose head hanging above the bar, the snow shoes and canoes on the walls, and the animal hides covering the bar stools. Still confused, we reviewed the menu which had a number of interesting choices. We settled on a pizza and 2 empanadas, which was the perfect amount of food.

The pizza had a crispy, thin crust and was topped with prosciutto, arugula, and Parmesan. It was a bit salty, but probably due to the meat and cheese. It was cut into 4 large slices, and I would have preferred 8 smaller slices to make it easier to eat, but that is my only complaint. Otherwise, I really enjoyed how the ingredients were actually added after the dough was baked. This made everything taste fresh.

The "empanadas" were more like quiche or savory tarts or something. One was filled with pulled pork and topped with a red cabbage slaw. The pork was delicious, tender, and tasted like it was cooked for hours. It was a southern BBQ dish with a Spanish twist, I think? The second one was spinach and cheese and it filled a dough cup. We cut it in half to split, and the cheese sort of oozed out everywhere. It was fine, but not memorable and definitely not an empanada. I would be interested to try some of the other options to see how they differ.

If I was ever back in the neighborhood, I would come back to try some of the other pizzas or menu items that caught my eye (like the pickles of course). Definitely a cool spot to keep in mind if you are going to Brooklyn Bowl.