The original slice is $4.50, and the reason to order it is downstairs: Scarr Pimentel mills the restaurant's organic flour in the basement before it becomes a crisp, chewy New York-style crust. At 35 Orchard Street, on the Chinatown and Lower East Side border, Scarr's works both as a quick slice stop and as a sit-down pizzeria for specialty pies. The distinction matters. Slices are currently available to go only, while the more elaborate pies belong in the dining room. Lines form daily, and busy periods can become a proper mob scene, particularly for slices. Come for the flour, but arrive with a plan.
Karpo can check Scarr's live hours, the current wait and a nearby alternative before you set off.
The basement-milled flour is the point of the original slice
Scarr's defining detail is unusually concrete. The restaurant uses 100% organic stone-milled flour, with flour milled by Pimentel in the basement. That gives the original slice a reason to be ordered before chasing the more decorated options. At $4.50, it is the lowest-cost way to taste the crust on its own terms, in the familiar New York format rather than under a heap of toppings. The whole original pie is $33, making it a sensible choice for a group that wants the house baseline without moving into the more expensive speciality combinations.
The Margherita keeps the same idea in a more composed form. A slice is $6.50 and the 12-inch dine-in pie is $28, with organic DiNapoli tomato sauce, Caputo Brothers fresh mozzarella, basil and EVOO. The dough and ingredients stay in focus. For something louder, the Hotboi brings beef pepperoni, jalapeños and Mike's Extra Hot Honey. It costs $7.50 by the slice or $45 as a whole pie. That is the most distinctive house order, though not the cheapest route into the flour.
Slices go out; specialty pies belong at the table
The current menu makes the ordering split plain: slices are to go only, while specialty pies are offered in the dine-in room. That means planning to sit down with a slice is a mistake, even if the room is what drew you in. The practical fast stop is the takeout format. Order an original or Hotboi slice, accept that the queue may be part of the visit, and keep moving. For a proper meal, book a table through OpenTable and choose a whole pie instead.
A reservation can bypass the slice line for a table. OpenTable specifically says diners with reservations can go straight in for a pie, which changes the visit from a crowded slice run into a more settled meal. A 12-inch build-your-own pie starts at $25, while a 12-inch Margherita is $28. The 20-inch pie is $33 before toppings, and a gluten-free Sicilian is $35 before toppings. Parties of six or more should also budget for the automatic 20% service charge.
Hotboi, Margherita and a gluten-free Sicilian
The Hotboi is the order with the clearest Scarr's signature: beef pepperoni, jalapeños and Mike's Extra Hot Honey, with the sweet heat landing over the cheese rather than disappearing into it. The Margherita is quieter and arguably more revealing, pairing organic DiNapoli tomato sauce with Caputo Brothers fresh mozzarella, basil and EVOO. For a meat-free option, the Vodka Pesto is the richer specialty choice, built with vegan vodka sauce, Caputo Brothers Fior di Pizza cheese and vegan pesto. These are dine-in decisions, not slice-counter improvisations.
Gluten-free diners have a more substantial option than a token substitute: the DJ Clark Kent gluten-free Sicilian is a whole 10-by-12-inch pie with chicken sausage and fresh garlic. It is $35 before toppings. The menu also gives a useful price frame for drinks and food together. Beer-and-slice combinations run $14.50 for an original, $17 for pepperoni or $17.50 for Hotboi. That makes the combination easy to price in advance, whether the visit is a quick stop or a pause at the bar.
The room is warm; the queue is not theoretical
The larger Orchard Street location replaced the original shop across the street. Inside, the setting has a stainless pizza counter, pale tiled walls, red-edged tables, stacked white plates and warm oven light falling over a black-and-cream checkerboard floor. There is a full bar, and the room is designed for the specialty-pie side of the menu as much as for the takeaway trade. It feels like a proper pizzeria rather than merely a window for slices, but that does not make the counter line disappear.
Lines form daily, and current guides describe frequent crowding during busy periods, especially for slices. Peak evening hours are therefore the wrong moment to arrive without a plan if queues irritate you. Use the takeout format when speed matters, or reserve a table when the aim is to sit down with a pie. A larger party should factor in the 20% service charge for six or more. The choice is simple enough: queue for the slice, reserve for the room, and do not confuse the two.
When to go to 35 Orchard Street
Scarr's opens at 11:30 a.m. every day. From Sunday through Wednesday, it runs until 11 p.m. Thursday stretches to midnight, while Friday and Saturday run until 2 a.m. Those hours make it useful across the day, but they do not promise a quiet visit. The daily line is part of the operating reality, and late hours are not the same as low demand. For the least complicated plan, go earlier, order the slice to go, and keep the dine-in reservation for a specialty pie.
The location is 35 Orchard St, New York, NY 10002, at the Chinatown and Lower East Side border. Take the F train to East Broadway, or the B or D train to Grand Street. Street parking is the listed parking option, although the restaurant's own listing does not promise a dedicated lot. That makes the trains the cleaner choice for most visits, particularly when the street is busy and the purpose is a quick slice rather than a longer meal.
Scarr's versus a nearby sit-down alternative
Una Pizza Napoletana at 175 Orchard Street is the most direct nearby comparison, but it offers a different proposition. It specialises in small, charred Neapolitan pies with only a handful of configurations. Scarr's is broader in format and more casual in its slice-shop logic: original and specialty slices, round pies, Sicilian pies, a full bar and the unusual flour-milling story. The tradeoff is clear. Scarr's gives you the New York slice experience and the option to eat a more considered pie; Una focuses the visit around a small, charred Neapolitan pie.
For a change of subject altogether, Kiki's at 130 Division Street is a Greek restaurant known for generous shareable portions, affordable wine carafes and generally easier table access. Cervo's at 43 Canal Street shifts to Iberian seafood, with crispy shrimp heads, stuffed peppers with yellowfin tuna and piri piri chicken. Neither replaces Scarr's if the purpose is stone-milled flour or a Hotboi slice. They are useful backups when the queue is too much, the table is unavailable, or the group cannot agree on pizza.
- Address: 35 Orchard St, New York, NY 10002, at the Chinatown/Lower East Side border.
- Hours: Sunday-Wednesday 11:30 a.m.-11 p.m.; Thursday until midnight; Friday-Saturday until 2 a.m.
- Reservations: OpenTable reservations are for dine-in tables; slices are to go and specialty pies are dine-in.
- Getting there: F train to East Broadway, or B or D train to Grand Street; street parking is listed.
- Prices: Original slice $4.50; Hotboi slice $7.50; Margherita slice $6.50; pies start at $25 before toppings.
Tags: #NewYorkCity #LowerEastSide #ChinatownNYC #ScarrsPizza #NYCPizza #PizzaNearMe #OriginalSlice #HotboiSlice #MargheritaPizza #StoneMilledFlour #OrchardStreet #NYCEats #PizzaGuide
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Ask Karpo first
Before you go, ask Karpo for Scarr's current hours, the live slice wait, the quickest route from your station, or the best nearby backup.
