One of the thrilling and highly-anticipated eating places to hit downtown Berkeley in ages is opening for dinner tonight. Pizzeria da Laura, the debut restaurant from celebrated world champion pizzaiola Laura Meyer, opens at 5 p.m. with 4 types of pizza plus housemade pastas, super-fresh salads and low ABV cocktails.
Yup, it’s a pizza place. And no, it’s not fancy. However by now, we all know that pandemic-proof artisanal pizzerias — these with high-quality elements and a geeky devotion to dough fermentation — may in all probability outlive an apocalypse within the Bay Space. And this one is especially particular.
Tucked into the artwork deco constructing previously housing Passione Emporio on Shattuck Sq., the two-story pizzeria is the long-awaited debut from one in every of Northern California’s few feminine pizza cooks and restaurateurs. Meyer spent 17 years honing her craft at Tony’s Pizza Napoletana in San Francisco, ultimately working proprietor Tony Gemignani’s Worldwide Pizza Faculty, touring the aggressive pizza circuit and serving as head chef at Capo’s earlier than going out on her personal, first together with her pop-up, Focaccia da Laura, and now a pizza joint that gives a number of types below one roof.
Final evening, we stopped by a packed press preview the place pizzerati from Pizzaleah’s Leah Scurto to Gemignani himself nibbled on pies from the open kitchen and sipped glasses of Italian wine from a women-led wine checklist. Right here’s only a style.
VIBE: Informal and enjoyable, with seating for about 60 downstairs. Midcentury-style chandeliers dangle from the excessive ceilings, and a central bar is flanked by an open kitchen and take-out space — they’re providing slices and entire pies — and a staircase. Upstairs, you’ll discover two- and four-top tables providing seating for an additional 30 or so individuals, plus a TV for Cal video games, after all.
FOOD: Pan-style pizza is the main target right here. Meyer showcases her love of dough fermentation by way of 4 types of pie: New York, Sicilian, Detroit and cracker-thin “Grandma.” You select the type and one in every of 10 topping mixtures or go for a build-your-own. The Chi City was tops in New York type ($25/$28) as a result of the skinny crust allowed the sausage pie’s zingy housemade giardiniera to shine.
The Ray J (mozzarella, tomato, pepperoni, burrata, fermented honey, shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano) is a 10- by 14-inch Detroit, with a crust that has the heft to carry each contemporary, gooey cheese and honey. Our favourite: The 12- by 18-inch Sicilian as a result of it’s juuuust proper. Get it within the La Regina ($35), the pie that received Meyer the World Pizza Championship in Italy in 2013. Topped with tomato, mozzarella, prosciutto, shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano and a flurry of nutty arugula, the flavors are heavenly, and the crust is paying homage to Meyers’ pillow-perfect focaccia.
Rounding out the menu: Three salads ($13-$15), together with a chopped salad with white beans and Finocchiona salame; 4 housemade pastas ($15-$25), like bucatini with fried eggplant and spaghetti spiked with garlic and chili oil; and a choice of appetizers ($9-$22), together with an epic charcuterie board and golf-ball sized arancini full of “Dad’s ragu.”
DRINKS: Grasp sommelier Morgan Harris curated the by-the-glass wine checklist ($12-$17), which options Italian varieties from California in addition to wines from throughout Italy. Cocktail guide Christopher Presutti, most just lately the bar director at Saison, rounds out the beverage choices with a menu of low-proof cocktails ($14 every) starring Italian apéritifs and amaros, like One thing’s Gotta Give (home vermouth mix, bitters, orange oil). Beer is coming quickly.
DON’T MISS: A dessert in a mug, which could be very private for Meyer, can also be coming quickly.
DETAILS: Pizzeria da Laura is open from 5 to 9 p.m. Wednesday to Sunday to begin, with lunch service and each day hours coming quickly. 2049 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley; www.pizzeriadalaura.com
