Lucali

“Only choices, large pie or calzone, toppings sausage, onion, artichoke, mushroom and I think one more.”

“But when you factor in BYOB and the fact that it's a gigantic pie, you don't feel cheated at all.”

“I love that the prep area is surrounded by mason jars filled with a secret homemade sauce, fresh basil, & lit candles.”

Lucali

Take-out: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes

Price range.

$$ Price range $11-30

8 reviews

  1. Hands down the best pizza I've ever had my whole life! But the wait could be a little intimidating, we make efforts to arrive around 4:30~5pm and RSVP before they begin service at 6pm. If you arrive any later than 5, expect the reservation to stretch into 7 o' clock. So get here early or don't come at all. slap yo self, cuz the wait only gets longer.
    This is Jay Z and Queen B's fav restaurant which means that we share the same taste in food. Which make me cool enough to hang with them. Which will make me famous…. *wake up!
    They only have simple personal pies and calzones in the menu. Open kitchen. BYOB. Superb service.
    An all around 5 star, well-deserved!
    Step aside Grimaldi's and Spumoni your qualities have deescalated, Lucali's have yet to let me down

  2. Truly a neighborhood gem. We discovered lucali's shortly after we moved to the area by word of mouth so we decided to stop by on a weeknight thinking that getting in should be no trouble for party of two. The wait was over an hour long. We live a 5 minute walk away and it took us about four tries on separate occasions to even get in, that's how ridiculously good this place is.

    The good thing is that they do take out so we were able to taste how good the pizza was before we even stepped foot into the restaurant. There are only two options their pies with a short list of toppings and their calzone. Both of which are delicious, with just the right amount of marina sauce and your choice of toppings over a thin thin crust. The calzone is filled entirely with cheese and brought out with a plate of fresh marina sauce.

    The space is small and there are constantly lines out the door so I would recommend coming before opening with your entire party ready to be seated. There are days when they are so busy that they even suspend take out service. It's in a somewhat obscure residential location but definitely worth the trek.

  3. A must try for the experience and amazing calzone.

    Expect to wait at least an hour passed 6pm. Not a big deal when you aren't starving. It's BYOB but there are places nearby to grab cocktails. Lucali will take your number down and call if if need be. Love this service! A big part of why I went 5 star.

    The calzone is a must. I am not a huge calzone fan. Could usually pass on one. But the cheese calzone was easily the best I've ever had. I actually enjoyed it more than the pizza. The crust was perfection and the combination of cheeses was perfect. The dipping sauce was plentiful and sweet. Some of the best sauce I've ever experienced.

    Had pizza with hot peppers to start. Very hot peppers. You have an option of sweet or hot. Glad we went hot but my face was surely sweating. Be prepared. Another pie with pepperoni. The dough is so tasty.

    For four people a calzone and 2 pizzas is more than enough. We even took some pizza home. Came to $42 a couple. Not bad for Brooklyn.

    I would definitely return from NJ for a special occasion.

  4. *suggestion: call a day before to make a reservation. pizza lived up to its hype, but not so much the calzone. MAKE SURE TO GET GARLIC AND TOP IT OFF WITH BASIL! It's also BYOB and the nice hostess offered to leave it in the fridge while we waited a bit outside. Ugh, loved their customer service!!

    Came on a Friday night without reservation and was told they'd have a seat for me and my friend an hour later. We should've  made a reservation the day before but luckily the wait wasn't too bad considering how busy it was. Lots of people were waiting on line which is always a good sign. Service was excellent– waitress was attentive and super kind. The hostess was also so considerate and nice. We were seated close to the door and she asked if it was too cold and let us know that there was a heater next to me. We ordered a small calzone with garlic and a large garlic pie with half pepperoni, mushroom topped with fresh basil! Pizza was comparable to pizza from Naples, Italy. Ingredients were extremely FRESH, the crust was doughy yet thin, and the fresh basil was a perfect cherry on top. Also ordered a small calzone which wasn't anything too special.

  5. **BYOB** — 4.5/5

    Came here for a buddy's birthday on his annual trip this year. He's been visiting Lucali every year for a pie on his born day, and my wife and I tagged along…

    Lucali is located in a great spot in Cobble Hill — old, nice brownstones line the streets, and Lucali fits right in. It's a tight place, no reservations are taken, and you need to get there ASAP if you want a spot.

    We waited about an hour and a half for our table, but didn't mind the wait, as we got a cocktail at a nearby mixology spot.

    +BYOB
    Opened wine quickly and poured — big plus

    +Calzone appetizer
    This was where Lucali definitely shines. Five cheeses, melted beautifully, into a perfectly cooked bread exterior. The sauce (which was given to us on a dish to the side – I liked that a lot) was delicious. Sweet, perfect texture, and paired really well with the calzone.

    +Pizza
    We split two pies: basic with onions, shallots, and pepperoni. Pie 2: hot peppers, onions, shallots. Both were delicious. I flew through my slices within minutes, and could've eaten a lot more of my colleagues' slices. The leaves were spread beautifully across the top of the pizza, but weren't overly distracting and added a  nice flavor to the robust pie.

  6. Yup, it's amazing pizza as everyone points out.  Bring a bunch of tasty wine, knock back a couple of pizzas and have a most perfect night.

  7. So hear me out, will ya!

    Lucali would of gotten a five star, if they would of only served calzones! But apparently they also make pizza over there, and for that I'm not thankful…  

    It was four of us who made it to lucali's on a Saturday night and here is my honest observation about this place:

    1) this pizza spot is on a lot of lists as the best, or one of the best pizzas, I have to disagree; the toppings are above average, and really good (not the dough – mediocre), but not worth the hype…
    And  I'll explain: there aren't many options here, so their simple pizza with some regular toppings on a extra thin crust is the pizza to get. so let's judge the pizza by the crust, balance of toppings, toppings quality, and taste of the dough…

    * Thin crust: is a 2.5 out of 5, yes it was thin, but I didn't know what to make of it, not to crispy, and not to saggy, it was in limbo…  It Sure had potential, but didn't deliver.

    * Dough: 2 out of 5, almost no taste at all…

    Balance of toppings: 5 out of 5, this was the only really good thing about the pizza, the balance was exceptionally amazing. It wasn't overcrowded on top… I really loved it.

    Quality of toppings: 3.5 not bad @all, but not good enough to wow me!
    it looked, and tasted fresh, but not flavourful! It felt like they didn't care much about the quality of the toppings, where I felt it the most, was the basil.

    2) if it wasn't for the wait, and the hype, I wouldn't mind giving it a higher score; but after reading up on Yelp, etc. and hearing my friends raving about this place; I simply can't give this place more than a 3 star, and it should definitely not be on a list as one of the best pizza's in town! I don't understand the hype, the craze, what's so amazing about this pizza place??

    3) the space is cramped, and has little to none elbow space, a really big deal for me, when I'm eating pizza…

    4) lastly if I'll ever go back, (and I probably will) it will be for the calzones! Omg they were so so good, it's ironic how the item that they are not so well known for is what will bring me back… Just thinking about it now, I so badly want just one more bite of that cheesy juiciness…  Yummy!

    5) yes I know it's Byob, but their non Alcoholic beverage options simply pissed me off, they don't have anything to drink! almost nothing besides Pepsi and one more item…  How the heck do you want me to continue eating after the first slice?? smh!

  8. The pizza gods were correct when they listed Lucali's on the top of their pizza lists. Mark & company really know their pizza. Brought my son and my father in law on Sunday for dinner at 6pm right around opening time and by surprise we sat immediately. Wow! Can't have asked for anything better. The lines are usually long and there are no openings until after 9pm. We lucked out big time! Both my son and father in law were in pizza heaven. We ordered the Margherita pie and small cheese calzone. The pizza was amazing! Cooked to perfection with just the right amount of sauce to cheese ration topped with parmesan and fresh basil. We devoured it all. After finishing our meal both my father in law and son said that was one of the best they have ever had. I mean we have had our fair share of delicious pizza growing up in Brooklyn from DiFara, Totonno's etc. Lucali's is up there on the totem pole. I can't wait to go back!

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Henry Street 575
11231 NY US
Get directions
Monday, 6:00 pm - 10:00 pm
Wednesday, 6:00 pm - 10:00 pm
Thursday, 6:00 pm - 10:00 pm
Friday, 6:00 pm - 10:00 pm
Saturday, 6:00 pm - 10:00 pm
Sunday, 6:00 pm - 10:00 pm