If you didn’t know, Brook Green is one of the leafiest and upmarket parts of London you are likely to come across, hence it was no surprise to see gourmet pizzerias like Zia Lucia move into the area. I am already very much a fan of Zia Lucia having visited their branch in Islington previously and thoroughly enjoyed their 48hr slow fermented doughs and the fact that their pizzas are cooked in hand-crafted wood-fired ovens.
The Brook Green branch is much smaller in size compared to the Islington branch with fewer covers and tables and being in close proximity to one another. This definitely wouldn’t be the place to meet up for intimate chats or if you suffer from paedophobia, judging by the number of parents bringing their child there for dinner during our visit.
What of the food you might wonder? Is it of comparable quality to their Islington branch? I would say the execution was almost identical. I ended up ordering the same appetizer as before which was roasted aubergines, courgettes, and peppers; which was just as visually appealing as last time. Although I did find the lack of sauce or dressing rather too healthy for my liking.
The bruschetta with chopped tomato and fresh basil was both visually appealing and tasted incredibly fresh; which just goes to show you can’t go wrong with using simple ingredients as long as they are well-sourced plus topping the dish up with some high-quality olive oil.
The name of the game here is all about their pizza and with 4 types of dough, there is something on offer for everyone. There are traditional, without gluten, wholemeal and vegetable charcoal. With my favourite being the latter, simply because the digestive gas absorbing properties help to reduce bloating. In addition, the showstopping black looks and distinct flavours will surely induce food envy amongst neighbours and friend alike.
For the ingredients, I chose their burrata mushroom special with the charcoal base, whilst my guest chose the centrione with the wholemeal base. The centrione had liberal amounts of Parma ham, rocket, mozzarella and Parmigiano on top of the dough base whilst my burrata centrepiece was creamy, juicy and suitably moist.
The thing that has always put me off eating more pizza is how heavy tasting it normally is, but with the easily digestible base from Zia Lucia, there really is no excuse to not visit them more often.
baldwin@townfish.com