Ina Garten’s Top Pizza Place in the Hamptons

If you’re thinking about a trip to the East Coast or already live nearby, you should check out Ina Garten’s Instagram. She has been sharing a series highlighting her favorite spots in the Long Island region of the Hamptons. In her third entry, she unveiled her top pizza place, located in the quaint hamlet of Amagansett. Fini is a slice shop situated on Main Street, which, per the Barefoot Contessa, offers the finest pizza around, and she’s “obsessed with their white pizza” (according to her Instagram).

The restaurant serves thin, Brooklyn-style pizza available by the slice or the whole pie. It’s easy to see why Garten loves the white pizza, which forgoes tomato sauce in favor of layers of mozzarella, fontina, and parmesan cheese. The outcome is a gooey, creamy explosion of flavor, served with a sliced lemon. The citrus perfectly complements the richness of the cheesy mixture. A single slice costs a steep $5.50, while a whole pie will cost you $36.

Garten has consistently expressed her fondness for white pizzas. In 2018, she declared the Brussels sprouts cacio e pepe pizza at Martina Pizzeria in NYC as her favorite (as noted on Instagram); however, the restaurant closed shortly after. She also includes her own white pizza recipe featuring arugula in her cookbook “Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics,” which includes goat cheese, fontina, mozzarella, and a lemony vinaigrette drizzled over the greens on top.

The initial Fini location was established in 2022 in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, followed by its Hamptons outlet in 2023, and a third venue that same year in Brooklyn’s Barclays Center Plaza. Restaurateur and owner Sean Feeney is well-known for his previous establishments, Lilia and Misi, co-owned with chef Missy Robbins. The Amagansett site that Ina Garten frequently visits is located in the former space of Astro’s, another beloved pizzeria that had operated there since the 1970s before closing in 2021.

While enthusiasts endlessly debate whether New York City pizza is superior, Fini has undoubtedly introduced an authentic NYC flavor to the upscale area roughly 100 miles east of the five boroughs. The restaurant serves the iconic thin, foldable slices and also offers Sicilian pizza, known for its notably thicker, doughy crust. In addition to the sauceless white pizza, Fini’s menu includes other options featuring San Marzano tomato sauce and unique toppings. The tomato pie, for instance, is topped with garlic breadcrumbs and Calabrian oil. Other distinctive choices encompass long hot pepper and shallot pizza, along with the grandma pie.

The primary distinction between grandma pizza and traditional New York slices is in their shapes. While NYC pizza is usually triangular, grandma pizza is typically cut into squares or rectangles. Its crust is denser, though still crispier and not as thick as Sicilian.

Interestingly, grandma pizza is thought to have originated in Long Island, where Italian immigrant grandmothers are said to have prepared traditional pizza recipes using the ingredients they had available in their new surroundings. Typically, grandma pizza is made with the sauce placed on top of the cheese, as opposed to the usual method. It can also be made in a white version without sauce.

Alongside the traditional NYC style pizza, white pizza is a prevalent choice throughout the state. Various methods exist for its preparation, all inspired by the original Italian pizza bianca. While the Fini white pizza that Ina Garten adores features fontina cheese, it is often prepared with ricotta. Garlicky greens, such as spinach or broccoli rabe, are delicious additions, and seafood enthusiasts may enjoy it with clams — although white clam pizza is more closely associated with New Haven, Connecticut.

If you find yourself torn between choices, you can sample both at Lombardi’s, the first pizzeria in the U.S. This Manhattan staple, established in 1905, offers a white pizza topped with mozzarella, ricotta, and Romano cheeses, along with garlic and basil. While there, you can also indulge in their famous clam pie, made with three dozen clams, garlic, Romano, black pepper, and finished with fresh parsley and lemon.