Danny Meyer’s Fast-Casual Pizzeria Martina Opens in August

Martina — the mini, counter-service version of Danny Meyer’s popular pizzeria Marta — will start serving Roman pies in the East Village starting next month.

Esquire profiles the Maialino and Marta chef Nick Anderer today with some more details on the new restaurant at 198 East 11th Street at Third Avenue. Expect a menu with 20 items total, including pizza, meatballs, salads, vegetable sides, and gelato. Toppings for pizza include four cheeses, olives, fried eggs, and a spicy salami imported from Tuscany.

Liz Clayman for Martina

Unlike Anderer’s (and most of Union Square Hospitality Group’s) other restaurants, Martina will not have table service. People will have to order both food and a selection of wines and champagne at the counter. Snacks and drinks will be available immediately after ordering, while pizza will take a tad longer. Prices are also intended to be fairly low, with some pizza costing $7. It will have 13 tables and a sidewalk cafe.

The exact opening date is still to-be-determined. When it opens, hours will likely be extended — Anderer expects NYU students to crawl in at midnight sometimes.

Meyer has a solid track record when it comes to fast-casual, the most obvious success story being the now-public Shake Shack. Union Square Cafe’s sister restaurant Daily Provisions is also a counter service operation, though it’s more of a cafe.

It’s not clear if Martina is the beginning of the next big Meyer chain. But with the use of buzzers and words like “fine-casual” (which is, by the way, not a thing) being tossed around, sounds like this new restaurant has the potential to be replicated.

Stay tuned.

• Drinking Champagne with Your Pizza is Now a Thing [Esquire]
• All Coverage of Martina [ENY]