da legna: wood fired pizza

whether or not new haven “needed” another pizzeria is questionable, the trio of pepe’s, modern and sally’s along with bar and several smaller shops already making the college-town a dining destination, but when da legna opened in 2012 it was clear chef daniel parillo had something to say and since that time his space on state street has blazed its own path with locals and visitors happy to come along for the ride.

setting aside the coal ovens and brief menus in favor of wood, unique ingredients and a kitchen fully capable of serving three courses, the intention of building an actual restaurant instead of just a pizzeria evident from day one, it was approximately thirty minutes after opening that seats were found on a sunny saturday in january, the service exceedingly pleasant with a digital menu quickly provided along with a glass of water.

offering a full-bar including creative cocktails plus an extensive menu of pizzas, pastas, appetizers, salads and desserts, a few favorites highlighted by staff in clever t-shirts proclaiming “i love new haven” with a slice in place of the traditional heart, it was after briefly debating gnocchi that the decision was instead made to invest in two pies, the scorching hot oven turning both out in ten minutes as the restaurant was not yet busy, though walking by around 7:00pm that evening there was a line out the door.

calling the concept “neapolitan in nature, new haven in spirit,” chef parillo’s childhood nearby giving him an appreciation for local ingredients and a lot of char, it was holding one of the slices sideways with no discernible bend that this pizza differentiated itself from most wood-fired pies, the sourdough’s cornicione not nearly as puffy while the base is crisp and crackling like pepe’s or modern but improved upon with better cheese whether on the clark street with roasted vegetables and pools of ricotta or the figura pizza topped in imported prosciutto, blue cheese and figs with lightly truffled honey.

packing up a few slices for the road in an effort to save space for dessert, the tableside s’mores brulee catching eyes all around when presented, suffice it to say that finding a better way to end a meal for less than ten bucks will take considerable effort as the $8 glass bowl with a torched marshmallow and burning woodchip for aromatics is expectedly sweet yet nicely balanced by dark chocolate and large enough that it is probably best shared.

best pizza place we have ever been to. we loved the variety and playfulness of the menu. we were traveling and went to lunch on a weekday. will go back if we are in the area again.

delicious artisan wood fired pizza. only tried 2 so far, and i keep going back to the one favorite. you have to try to the honeypot! the blend of flavors is amazing. truffle honey! ummm yes, please. hot peppers and soppresata knock it out the park. still interested in trying a few others that sound delicious. will definitely be going back for more.

da legna is the best kept secret for new haven pizza lovers . but it shouldn’t be. ask a friend who lives or works in new haven for their favorite pie, and steel yourself for a slew of anecdotes, a bit of elm city history, and maybe even a neighborhood geography lesson – wooster v. state street. then, after declaring their allegiance to one of the “big three,” lean in, because your friend may end their (a)pizza diatribe with an almost conspiratorial whisper of “da legna,” the two-year old state street restaurant devoted to wood-fired pizzas, italian tapas, and a refreshing lack of pretense .

delicious. we arrived at around 1:30pm this past sunday and had difficulty finding a space to park in the immediate vicinity, finally settling on a side street with restricted access. the main dining room is spacious and could accommodate a few more tables. our waitress cum hostess appeared just as we entered and told us to take any table we desired. she soon returned with the clipboard menus. i had read the menu online so i wasn't daunted by the breadth of the offerings. we were also provided a chilled bottle of water and glasses filled with ice. we ultimately settled on the mixed grill salad, blue crab claw nachos and a small pecora pizza. as we were waiting for her to return for our orders, we had a chance to view what everyone else had ordered and it all looked wonderful.

we received the salad first followed shortly by the nachos. the salad was a disappointment to the extent i was expecting grilled veggies. what we received was chopped grilled romaine, small pieces of grilled apple and large quantity of raw red onion. it was pretty mediocre. things improved with the nachos which were outstanding, but i wish we had a few more tortillas since the topping was generous. i would suggest not dallying over this dish because the tortillas become soggy after a few minutes.

the pecora pie had copious amounts of goat cheese and ricotta that i loved. what surprised me was sweetness attained from the caramelized red onion and truffle honey. the sweetness became almost too much for us so in the future i would probably only order this when we are dining with at least one other couple. overall, we enjoyed the experience and will return in the not too distant future.

delicious. absolutely love this place, the decor, the colors, the lighting. the salads were wonderful and the pizza was too. i am afraid this will catch on and it will be hard to get a table, but worth standing in line for!

great pizza, fun place. we found this restaurant by chance over the holiday. this wood fired pizza restaurant has recently opened and offers both some unique pizzas and small plates.

our party had the rustica, salmone affumicato, and the scarola e fagioli pizzas and found them all very good. i especially enjoyed the salmone pizza. my wife and son-in-law found the rustica excellent and my daughter loved the scarola.

they also offer an extensive list of small plates that are reasonably priced and have a full bar i was suprised to find a choice of excellent port at the end of the meal.

the staff was friendly, professional and attentive.

i believe that it takes some guts to open a pizza restaurant in new haven. these young people have a new twist on the heavy classic pizzas offered by so many others and have carried it off very well. we will go there at every opportunity.