Newly opened on Holloway Road, a hop, skip and a jump away from Highbury and Islington station, Zia Lucia is offering Londoners something a little different from your usual pizzeria.
Founders Claudio Vescovo and Gianluca D’Angelo have lived in the area for many years and wanted to open a real Italian-style neighbourhood pizzeria.
Classic Italian toppings, including dreamy buffalo mozzarella, are offered on your choice of 48 hour slow fermented dough; traditional, gluten-free, wholemeal and, the unusual ‘black base’ vegetable charcoal! If, like us, you are a little indecisive when it comes to making menu choices, the waiters are more than happy to suggest a base, or any additional toppings that will complement your pizza.
We tried La Vergana (butternut squash cream, fresh tomatoes de campo, asparagus, sun-dried tomatoes) on the vegetable charcoal base, and Via Del Campo (tomato, buffalo mozzarella, fresh tomatoes de campo, basil) with added n’duja, on the gluten-free base.
After getting over the initial excitement of having a black pizza that isn’t just burnt having been forgotten about in the oven, we tucked in. The sweet butternut squash cream was balanced by the sun-dried tomatoes and the vegetable charcoal base gave the pizza an extra depth of flavour. We’re happy to report the gluten-free base was also a real success. Often gluten-free pizzas lack some flavour and the bases can be chewy but we really couldn’t tell the difference. The buffalo mozzarella on the Via Del Campo was delicious, and the added n’duja made this pizza something really special!
The star of the show here is, of course, the pizzas but Zia Lucia also offers a fantastic selection of Italian meats and cheeses and a drinks menu focused on spritzes, negronis, bottled beers from Italy and London, and wine and prosecco sourced from small Italian producers.
If after your pizza you’re not feeling completely stuffed, we insist you try the dessert pizza! Pizza dough, topped with a fresh custard, fruit and with a Nutella-stuffed crust, it really is worth saving some room for!
Although it’s only just opened, we predict that Zia Lucia will be around for a long time, a neighbourhood pizzeria you’ll come back to again and again.
