Lucali
Pizza restaurant · Carroll Gardens
575 Henry St, Brooklyn, NY 11231, USA
![Lucali by Lucali [Official Photo]](https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/66695271/7451619PIZZA_LUCALI_slide_7LW4_superJumbo_v2.0.jpg "Lucali by Lucali [Official Photo]")
Highlights
Pizzas, calzones & wine in a rustic, candlelit spot. BYOB.
Pizzas, calzones & wine in a rustic, candlelit spot. BYOB.
"A Carroll Gardens institution where securing a table takes effort—patrons often line up around 3:30 p.m. to get on a waitlist that the host begins taking names for at 5 p.m. The pizzas are simple and customizable (no preset options), baked in a wood-fired brick oven to produce a crisp, chewy Neapolitan-style crust; the no-frills, cash-only, BYOB approach relies on the perfection of humble pizzas to draw celebrities, travelers, and locals alike." - Merlyn Miller
"Lucali makes some of the best pizza in New York City. Naturally, you’ll need to show up hours before they open to get a table—and wait hours more before you can actually eat at this legendary BYOB spot. Even though it opened in 2006, Lucali feels like a holdover from old-school south Brooklyn, with well-used taper candles and hand-labeled jars of tomato sauce. There are only two things on the menu: pizza and calzones. You can choose from a handful of toppings, but we recommend keeping the pizza simple, and adding hot peppers and pepperoni to the calzone." - neha talreja, bryan kim, willa moore, will hartman
"Mark Iacono’s thin-crust pizzas, made with a three-cheese blend of fresh and imported mozzarella and Grana Padano, plus fresh basil, consistently draw long lines, and it’s impossible to make a reservation. The move is to show up before 5 p.m., add your name to the list, and grab a drink in the neighborhood while you wait. Cash only, BYOB. And yes, it expanded into Miami. Good to know: This is a great place for people-watching and you’ll be glad you went, but whether it’s the best pizza has caused some debate." - Eater Staff
"We could tell you about the way the pizzaiolo at this cash-only, BYOB restaurant rolls out the dough with empty wine bottles on a marble countertop in the candlelit dining room. But those details, along with the fact that eating at this Carroll Gardens institution requires lining up at 2pm, don’t matter for this guide. What matters is Lucali's thin New York-style pies, which have crunchy crusts, a serious sprinkle of minced garlic, and tomato sauce that’s a little sweet, a little tangy, and good enough to eat with a spoon. And yet it’s the piles of fresh basil that put the pizza here over the top—and make you feel the type of emotional connection your ex said you weren’t capable of." - bryan kim, willa moore, kenny yang, carlo mantuano, molly fitzpatrick
"How do you make eating some of the very best pizza in NYC an even better experience? Add a BYOB policy. The road to sitting down at Lucali isn’t exactly an easy one (waits can stretch up to four hours), but at least that gives you more than enough time to pick up a bottle or two. Once you finally get a seat, enjoy some truly excellent pizza with a side of calzone at your candlelit table." - molly fitzpatrick, bryan kim, willa moore, will hartman, sonal shah
