lucio pizzeria

nice napoli style pizza.. worth an eat. my fiance and i are always on the hunt for the best pizza in sydney, and had heard so many glowing reviews forluciopizzeria, that we had to come down and try! i was more than excited when i saw that they served 'pizza donuts' (not the real name, but what i have nicknamed the panzerotti type item), as i had been trying to find these ever since i saw them on a documentary about italy!! they were served with arancini and croquettes, and were quite delish... the arancini and croquettes were nothing spectacular. though i was seeking the best pizza in sydney, and was saving myself for what was to come... we ordered theluciospecial, half calzone/half margherita, and the diavola. i must say i was a little underwhelmed with theluciospecial. the calzone was really wet and sloppy, with too much ricotta, so this was not too enjoyable... very disappointment! the margherita was not too bad, still slightly wet for my liking, but the diavola was just right. good amount of spice in the meat, and perfect crust with air pockets that made it light and fluffy. service was friendly and with a smile. overall, 7/10. calzone let the experience down!

restaurant 2nd visitluciopizzeria. 7/10 oh wow, this was disappointing. last week i came here they wow-ed me. so i came back but the sameluciopizza... had thin layer, not so chewy, and it was salllltyyyy... the side dishes were good though, we got the calamari and the rocket salad. i am gonna try going again next week... hoping thelucioi ate last week would come back...


-----19 may, 2011-----

restaurantluciopizzeria. 9/10 darlinghurst oh my gosh. didnt expect it to be this good!!! the crust is not too thin and crispy, dont really like that type, but it is, as my friend said, was truly napoli style!! very chewy and tasty we loved it!! one pizza is good to share among two ppl, and maybe another dish from anti pasti or salad with it. we had the lucio, which was half margarita, half ham calzone which was truly scrumptious. the place got busy after 7pm so better go before that if u wanna be sure. its next to the famous vietnamese place, phamish. i must add that the service was great too. the waiters were all really lovely! seriously, i really want to go there again tomorrow. thats how good it was ;)

i have dined at both venues but i always love to come back to darlinghurst, as it reminds me of being in a tiny pizzeria in napoli.  the atmosphere and vibe is always lively and fun.
now lets talk about the food.  antipasti, myself and my husband shared an antipasto platter for 2 and it was more than substantial; grilled vegetables, arancini, soft potato croquettes, fried mini pizzas and much more italian delicacies.
pizzas are traditional napoletana pizzas, the ones you find if you have the chance to travel to italy.  i got my  favourite buffalina, i simply cannot go past it.  also, love the diavolo, for a bit of spice.  dessert. hubby got the pear and ricotta cake- lite and delicious, i even got a chance to try some.   i got the tiramisu- coffee filled goodness!
finally i want to touch on the staff.  attentive and friendly and always inviting, especially the big guy at the front of house who always goes that extra mile.a good place also for the kiddies. they can eat and once finished run around the piazza while mum and dad enjoy a vino!
thank you for a lovely eveningluciopizzeria

place not really beautiful but pizzas were all right. i orderedluciopizza, half margherita and half calzone. i liked more the calzone side, with ricotta, mozzarella and ham. so next time i go there i’ll probably have a full calzone.
i’ve been in this pizzeria about 4 years ago and i didn’t come back because that time the pizza-chef made a dirty comment on me, without knowing i’m italian and i was understanding everything he was saying. but it was long time ago, he probably doesn’t even work here anymore.

i have rather mixed feelings aboutluciopizzeria. whilst the margherita was one of the best i’ve had – good enough to rival gradi – i felt that it was brought down by the disappointing white pizza, and the relative lack of atmosphere. and despite the margherita being fairly priced, everything else was rather expensive for suburban darlinghurst – an entrée-sized plate of meatballs or arancini will set you back $21. all in all, i’m not sure i’d go out of my way to come here again; the margherita was just not enough to make up for, well, pretty much everything else. i’d much rather sacrifice just a smidge of flavour on the margherita, and head to say, rosso antico or bella brutta instead, where everything is better overall.

as a self proclaimed pizza nazi, i find it difficult to dine at places that don’t serve proper neapolitan pizza. the ones that do (and do it well), tend to be knighted with the ever-coveted avpn seal of approval (google it, i’m sick of explaining it). the best of that group is nestled right in the heart of darlinghurst, on palmer street –luciopizzeria.

the place has been getting a tonne of press lately with all the big name italian chefs – armando percuoco, adriano zumbo, alessandro pavoni, and giovanni pilu for starters – showing up and giving it a plug. with a metre long pizza for $60, as opposed to criniti’s $95, they pack them in night after night. there’s also a fantasy pizza (they really must change that name, sounds like a bad movie) every night, which is a random that pizzaoili feel like whipping up ….if you can, whisper to one of them find out if its the one with a heap of fresh seafood on it. so does it get my vote? my favourite is still lucio’s at darlinghurt (sorry luigi, but i still want to know where you got those briscola themed espresso cups) – the base, the quality of the toppings, theluciohalf pizza/half calzone – devine. the antipasto platter is great too. via napoli in my view has the stone oven – brought in painstakingly from the motherland – temperature just a little too high, which can lead to a bit too much charring around the edges for my liking, and a softer centre. but its still on my list. i also like the calamari and the croquettes here. there’s also rossopomodoro at balmain (don’t ask for an ‘alf and ‘alf, or pineapple, or any additions or changes for that matter, you’ll get a death stare from these pizza puritans), popolo at potts point (on my to do list), cavallino at terryhills, and pizza mario in surry hills. i also used to be a fan of la disfida at haberfield, but i have not tried it since it changed hands. in other news, no need to go to melbourne any more, movida has o

thelucio(margarita amd ham calzone) 9/10. sublime simplicity, favourite pizza ever

the best pizza in sydney outside napoli. lovely hospitality fromlucioand the team. proud family italian restaurant and well worth the visit.

you're in darlinghurst, you want a hip spot and feel like good italian pizza ... without the stuck up attitude or massive price tag attached...head toluciopizzeria! don't miss the fig wrapped in prosciutto with gorgonzola sauce.

over and above. was hosting an event nearby to the restaurant (so can't comment on ambience as we didn't dine in) and had lucio's provide the food. plenty of pizzas and some antipasto and stuffed mushroom/pepper dishes to mix things up a bit. all went down very well with the guests especially the pizzas and the service and attention provided bylucioto help make the event a success was superb. really cared about making sure we were all looked after and it is greatly appreciated!

best pizza i've ever had. theluciopizza was absolutely to die for - best pizza i've ever had. found entrees to be a bit overpriced (but delicious nonetheless) but for a couple of dollars more, you can get a whole pizza for the price so i'd advise to just get the pizzas there. tiramisu was also delish

...last-minute decision to go for ‘the best pizza in sydney’ as isluciopizzeria’s claim to fame (according to some  local rag). i had dined atluciopizzeria previously with three (attractive) girlfriends and had really enjoyed it, although i definitely noticed that my partner and i received less attention from the wait staff on this particular visit! one thing that i had remembered fondly was lucio’s awesome antipasti platter and i definitely had to have it again.

all in all it was an amazing night of eating.luciopizzeria more than lived up to the hype and expectation. so much so that i can’t wait to go back and order half a dozen margherita pizza’s all for myself! :)

amazing friendly service. theluciocalzone is bursting with fresh tomatoes, basil and mozarella. the specials that day was grilled eggplant and prosciutto with pesto - perfect balance of flavors!