Why Come Here? NYC’s best thin crust pizza, BYOB
Pizza Pie
When you read reviews of Lucali, they are often half about how the author killed their hour and a half wait at a local bar or drinking on the quiet streets of Carroll Gardens. In that sense, I feel un-entitled to properly review the Lucali experience. Coming on an icy Monday evening, there was no wait and the restaurant wasn’t even full. The quiet atmosphere, rustic decor and fact it was heated to about 80 degrees made us feel as if we were dining in someone’s Italian farmhouse instead of what is normally a teeming pizzeria. And we really wished it has been a farmhouse where we could have retired upstairs, because making the trip back to Manhattan stuffed and freezing was the only way to put a damper on the evening.
Also contrary to some reviews, we found the service to be friendly and generally phenomenal. When I hadn’t finished all of my crust (some pieces had about half an inch worth), our waitress brought over some marinara sauce with parmigiana cheese to dip it in. Naturally, those remaining end morsels didn’t last long. Bonus: it’s BYOB. Un-bonus: it’s cash only.
The menu at Lucali consists of exactly two options: pizza and calzone. Naturally, we tried both. Here are my thoughts:
Small Calzone
Pizza Pie 
The pizza lives up to it’s billing as one of New York’s best. If thin crust is your game, it may be your favorite. It’s cracker thin, with the perfect crisp and char. Other toppings (including fresh basil and garlic) are appropriately applied to make sure you can taste everything on it’s own. It’s the type of pizza where once you take a bite you realize you’re four pieces deep with no memory of how you got there. Yup, blackout inducingly good.
Calzone 
It’s a good calzone and I would order marinara sauce that you dip it in as a drink if it weren’t for “society.” But I’m not a huge ricotta fan and this puppy is loaded with it. If you’re a ricotta-holic, this may be your jam. For me, I’ll be sticking to the ‘za.
Learn more about my Rating System
Lucali
575 Henry Street (Carroll St. & 1st Pl)
Brooklyn, NY
