Lucali’s is a staple of Carroll Gardens with an owner that has spun off new ventures in Miami and elsewhere in Brooklyn. The pizza is delicious, the calzone is excellent and the rigamarole for a meal there is painful.
The restaurant does not take any reservations so typically a queue starts forming by 5pm though you can put your name down and come back. Lucali’s only takes cash and you can’t pre-order. In other words, unless you happen to have nothing to do after 4pm but be the first on line for Lucali’s to open, prepare to wait a fair amount to sit and then for your pizza.
Is the pizza worth it? Probably, but in a city with Totonno’s, Di Fara’s, and so many other iconic pie places, it’s debatable.
You could put your name down, go for a drink at one of the cute bars that have opened in Carroll Gardens, and then return to check on your line status to ultimately enjoy the excellent pizza and rustic ambiance inside.
