June 23rd, 2016
Brooklyn, NYC
After getting back from our pizza weekend, we had to take a short (one week) hiatus from eating pizza. When we were sufficiently recovered, we visited another of the top-ranking Brooklyn pizzerias on the list, Lucali.
Lucali may be the most romantic pizza place that we went to on the list, and there is a good reason why it is ranked so high. Tucked away in Carroll Gardens, the restaurant only seats a few tables at time, and it has a quiet ambiance, and makes amazing pizza.
The pizza here is kind of like if you were to smush all of the other NY greats together. The fresh basil on top from Di Fara, minimal available toppings, like the classic slice joints (Joe’s), and a soft, Neapolitan-like crust.
Recommendations if you want to try the pizza here (and you really should!):
- Do NOT come here with a group of people – bring your husband, date, or best friend, but keep it small. Or you may never get a table.
- The restaurant officially opens at 6, but they start taking names for tables at 5:30. We didn’t realize this and showed up right before 6, and had over an hour wait to get a table. If you are on a time crunch, make sure to get your name in for the first seating. Like many of the other Brooklyn greats (see Emily or Paulie Gee’s), the line can be long. Otherwise, be prepared to wait AT LEAST an hour. We went on a Wednesday night. I’ve read about people who show up at 5:30 on a Friday and don’t get a table until 8 pm (just warning you!).
- BYOB! Do I have to say more? You probably have plenty of time after you put your name in to go find a bottle of wine.
When you have to wait for your pizza, your anticipation really grows. The longer the wait, the more you feel like the pizza has to live up to the wait. Well, you really don’t have to worry about that here. This pizza really lived up to the wait. We both rated this on our personal lists much higher in the top 20.
We ended up ordering half plain, half pepperoni. The pizza is expensive, and so we didn’t want to order two. We also were happy to not have too many topping selections – simple is sometimes best. We left happily full, but not stuffed.
After writing this, I think we need to go back here as soon as possible. We’d wait over an hour again for this pizza if we had to.
To visit:
Lucali
575 Henry Street
Brooklyn, NY 11231
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