Lucali

I've been wanting to try Lucali but never had the time to go and wait. I went on President's Day and started waiting at 2:30pm and we were the 4th party in line. I think 2:30 was a great time to start waiting since we were also able to get a seating at the time we wanted. The restaurant is BYOB and cash only so while we waited, we got the cash and after we put our name down, we went to a local liquor store and got a bottle of wine. Was it worth 90 minutes in line? I think so! The pasta was the best pasta I've ever tasted. I dipped the pizza in the leftover sauce and it was delicious. I don't know if I would wait 90 minutes in the freezing cold again, but if the opportunity presented itself I would come back.

Aw come on. Just because they get celebrity sightings abd dramatically roll pizza with wine bottles... this is way way way overrated. Pizza is fine but overpriced. Pizzas good - but not great Service ok - nothing special Ambiance - fun busy But honestly do not wait in line for Pizza in New York or Brooklyn. So many great choices. But you insist because you come from the Midwest -- go ahead

My Honest Review of LucaliWas it good? Yes. Was it worth a 3+ hour wait? Not really. I've had better, and I wouldn't go out of my way to wait that long again.Pasta - Tasty, but a little too al dente for my liking.Pizza - We got half pepperoni, half cheese. Was it the best I've ever had? No. I tried it years ago in Miami and thought it was amazing, but let's be real, Florida pizza isn't exactly the standard. In NYC, where great pizza is everywhere, I can confidently say I've had better.Calzone - The outside was dry, and overall, it wasn't anything spectacular. It's good, but not that good. It could definitely use some garlic oil or something to boost the flavor. The sauce on the side helps, but honestly, you can skip this.Vibe - It's BYOB, which is a plus, but they rush you out the second you start slowing down on eating. So, pick your battle.Final Thoughts - IG food bloggers need to chill with the hype. It's solid, but it's not NYC's best pizza. They should really accept credit cards and take reservations. I still gave it 4 stars, but manage your expectations.

3 years of wanting to hit the famous Lucali and I finally did.The wait situation is really not bad. If you want to dine in, ok that's a bit tough. The line I was in was 35 people. I swear it was like 15 people and then they said no more seatings.If you want to dine in, get there at 2 to get name down at 4.If you just want takeout, you can get away with showing up at 3:30-3:45, being 30th, and getting takeout spot for 6:30 which is what I did.Now for the food:The pizza: Distinct crust, more airy than any other pizza I've had. Thin but not too thin, perfect thickness. Good char and flavor. The sauce and cheese quality stands out. Did the pizza blow me away? No. But it's good pizza and better than the majority of places.Calzone: Can really taste the quality in the fresh cheese. It's good but I wouldn't say it's overly impressive.Overall: Good pizza spot that has unique flavor compared to the average. Is it the best in the city, I say no. However I'd throw this in like the number 5 spot.The overall experience at the place is unique and makes you feel like you're in Italy in 1850, with the old building and dim lights at night.Cool experience and worth the visit for a pizza enthusiast! However I have other places I like more to be honest.

Phenomenal, cozy pizza joint that is 5/5 (...as long as you play by "their rules"). Yes, it is kind of a "full afternoon/night" ordeal (at least for the person(s) waiting to secure the reservation), but if you accept that and follow the suggested arriving by 3PM~ (if not earlier) to wait in line, you should have little to no problems and an amazing meal ahead. I've been meaning to try Lucali for the longest time and went to brave the line for reservation one Saturday with no afternoon plans. Wait wasn't the worst for what it was. I got there just before 3PM, the line was out just before the end of the block, and I got to the front/made my reservation just before 4:15PM (with different dining options to choose from). Outside dining had a number of options (5:45PM, 7PM, 8PM, 9PM) but earliest for inside was 10:30PM, so my friends and I went with 7PM for outside.We arrived back just a few minutes after 7PM and heard our table called within 10 minutes~. A server came by promptly with wine glasses/water glasses (definitely recommend taking advantage of their BYOB situation!) and came back a little after to take our order. We ordered a large pizza with onions and mushrooms and a large calzone with garlic (server recommended). Pizza came out in half an hour and the calzone 15 minutes~ after that. Both were great! The pizza crust was light, crispy but still had nice "chew" and the toppings were perfect on top. The calzone was better than I expected and definitely glad to have ordered. Cheesy, garlic-y delight with a nice plate of sauce and cheese.Already looking forward and thinking about the next Saturday or Sunday with no afternoon/night plans for another visit.

Waitlist experience: Based on the reviews I showed up at 2:15 pm with a party of 5 on a Sunday afternoon in October. There were about 4 people ahead of us. Also note there's no seating you really have to stand around. At around ~4:10pm someone came out to get our names down on a waitlist. We requested the first wave of seating (at 5pm) so we headed to a local bodega to grab some beers since it's BYOB. Waiting for ~2 hours wasn't as bad as it may seem, but definitely know what you're getting yourself into. We got a seat inside right by the pizza counter and it was such a great experience being able to watch the chefs make the pizzas. Food: - Pizza (garlic, mushroom, peppers) DO NOT SKIP OUT ON THE GARLIC. The garlic was so amazing and aromatic it felt like they injected the sauce with the world's best garlic. Note the pepper was fairly spicy!! We actually preferred this pie over the pepperoni... - Calzone (plain) OH MY GOSH if you are a ricotta cheese lover you needeeddd this ASAP. I have no words to describe it other than it was cheesy carby goodness. - Pasta (their special pasta) amazing again, creamy & tomatoey, 12/10, we ordered a second serving. Absolutely worth it, but I wish it was easier to order takeout from them!

the most difficult reservation/ordering situation I have ever encountered but the pizza was fantastic.We didn't want to wait on line for several hours and we didn't want to pay a TaskRabbit to do it either, so we called ahead to schedule a pickup 2 hours in advance. Unfortunately, they literally time the pizza for a specific time. Every minute you're late - your pizza gets cold. We got there in the nick of time, but there were so many people at the door and apparently only one waitress, that it took at least ten minutes just to ask for our pie.In spite of this, sitting crouched over with the pie planted on a garbage can on the sidewalk, the pizza was fantastic. I can't really explain it because it's clear the crust is a bit too hard, and you can't really identify any uniquely excellent quality in any of the ingredients. Nothing is really identifiably special, but together they really live up to the hype. It's a shame we didn't order a calzone.

Wow. Speechless. We got there around 3:45pm on a weekday and were able to stand in the line (which had maybe 10-15 people in front of us). We took the earliest reservation they had and strolled the streets while we waited...weather was perfect so why not. We were seated promptly at 5PM. We had the cheese pizza with no toppings (simple is perfect so why alter it?!). It was impeccable. Crisp crust, flavorful sauce, caramelized cheese. 10/10. Every NY pizza was rated afterwards on a sale of 1 to Lucali. It was THAT GOOD!! We also had the vodka pasta. Very good as well. It was great to try and complimented the pizza perfectly. The ambiance is beautiful and romantic: candle lit restaurant with pizza artists rolling dough with wine bottles. I cannot wait to go back. It's 100% worth the trip to Brooklyn. Also, we got to see Mark Iacono outside doing a photo shoot, def the cherry on top!

After all my years in NYC, I finally had the honor of eating at Lucali.My favorite part is the ambiance. Apart from a few very dim hanging lights, the entire restaurant was lit ONLY by candlelight. The pizza masters were rolling dough with wine bottles, spreading tomato sauce and cheese just by the dim light of the candles and the fire from the pizza oven.I loved this so much, it really made eating here a special experience that is unlike any other restaurant in NYC.The menu is limited and shared only by the server (no menus). The pizza comes standard with the addition of optional toppings. The cheese calzone is the same, but comes with a marinara and spicy marinara for dipping.The star here is really the ingredients - generous amounts of the freshest basil, perfect sauce, the very best cheese. The crust is thin and crispy. Truth be told, if I'm comparing crust to crust - Lucali style is crispy and crunchy, my preference is crispy and chewy. But nonetheless I fully appreciated this style of dough and the thoughtfulness that went into making it.

I will echo what all the reviews say, "literally the best pizza I have ever had." Lucali has a reputation and the wait time is not for the week. They do NOT do reservations but start taking names promptly at 4pm. With that being said if you want a dine in experience you need to arrive before 4pm. We got there at 4:12pm on a Monday and by the time we got to the front only 9pm dine in reservation was available or a 6:30pm to go. Granted driving up from SoHo was around 40 minutes so we didn't want to wait until 9pm so we did to go. Did I think two hour wait for to go was a bit absurd yes, but was it worth it, hell yes!Heads up they only take cash and the large pepperoni pizza was a solid size ($36). The NY thin crust with cheesy layers and pepperoni was phenomenal. The sauce also had a rich flavor. I was really impressed and would love to come back for the dine in experience. I definitely recommend.