Part cafe, part sandwich shop, Lella Alimentari feels like a little family-run general store and neighborhood haunt that belongs in a quaint town in Italy more than in the 5 boroughs (though this part of Williamsburg can have its charming small town moments). Stepping up to the window you’ll be greeted by the Italian guys with a friendly “ciao” making you forget momentarily where you are. The menu is simple, a shortlist of piadines, sandwiches made from crispy thin flatbreads from Romagna. Some breakfast items, “salads” if you’re compelled to add some veg though the amount of arugula and radicchio packed into a piadine could easily constitute a salad in its own right. And of course Italian coffee.

Most people hang in the tables out on the sidewalk, it’s a fairly low traffic intersection that feels almost suburban once the background city sounds fade into white noise. Inside it feels like a movie set, like it’s almost trying too hard to be kitschy, but it’s not, it’s just Italian cafe eclectic. On a particularly nice day, you might even be tempted to “work” from here.