Lucia Pizza opened its Upper East Side slice shop on Thursday, bringing a much appreciated bit of delectable Brooklyn pizza to the neighborhood.
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Located at 1571 Third Avenue (between 88th Street and 89th streets), it’s a modestly sized establishment bathed in a green that is reminiscent of the basil leaves that come on their popular pizza pies. Previously, the location was slated to open up as Israeli falafel chain Taïm’s latest outpost, but when that fell through, Lucia gobbled up the real estate.
Like Lucia’s other locations in Brooklyn and SoHo, pizza is available by the slice or pie. While its more usual offerings like pepperoni and regular rank well above average compared to most slice shops (especially on the Upper East Side), Lucia is perhaps best known for its Papa Leone vodka pizza ($30 for a pie).
Additional offerings include the Salsiccia (Italian sausage, red onions and Calabrian chilis on a whipped ricotta base, also $30) and the Poblano Funghi (open fire roasted poblano pepper crema topped with aged provolone and mushrooms, $32).
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Lucia’s Upper East Side location did a little “soft opening” last week before officially opening its doors to the neighborhood.
“THANK YOU UES RESIDENTS – that was fun, we look forward to seeing you in full swing on the 2nd!! Have a happy and healthy new year,” the restaurant wrote on its Instagram page at the time.
Lucia opened its first location in Brooklyn’s Avenue X back in 2022, quickly garnering a major fanbase as well as that coveted coverage all New York City food establishments crave—a Pete Wells review in the New York Times.
“Aside from this bit of vaporware, the menu’s pleasures are real. One white pie, the salsiccia, is spread with smooth white islands of whipped ricotta surrounded by pork sausage that’s been roasted into crisp brown pebbles — not the usual gray marbles that roll off the crust when you pick it up,” Wells wrote. Lucia expanded to SoHo soon after on the strength of this review.
Lucia is open daily from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. View the full menu at lucia.pizza.
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Looks like the prices also “rank well above” but maybe they are worth it?