Review: Zia Lucia Chelsea
Review: Zia Lucia Chelsea
By Angela Zaher (@angela_zaher)
Fulham Broadway is currently looking a bit drab. So many deserted, boarded up restaurants and cafés, not so long ago, it was an exciting destination for going out, bars, clubs, fine dining (anyone remember The Blue Elephant?). Now, even Wholefoods has shut shop, leaving yet another gap. So, it was a brave decision on behalf of the independently owned chain of pizzerias, Zia Lucia, to open up right around the corner from the station. But when we walked in early on a Friday evening, it was clear that their decision was paying off. The restaurant was packed, proving that there’s still life in Fulham Broadway and plenty of eager customers ready to revive this area and restore its vivacious reputation. And Zia Lucia is an excellent starting point.
As soon as you cross the threshold, you’re immediately transported to Napoli. The lively chatter, the europop playing at just the right volume- it feels like a party, and one where the food smells really good. The welcome is also in line with Italian hospitality, upbeat, warm and generous. We had been stranded on the District Line and were almost an hour late, but they put us at ease and told us to relax and not worry (we did call to warn them of course- you can’t expect courtesy without showing it).
Even though this place is just a simple pizzeria, the massive pizza oven taking up most of one wall at the end of the narrow room, they have gone to some effort to make it look and feel like much more. The framed photos of Italian beaches and young beautiful people cavorting on them adds to the summer holiday vibe. You feel like you should have a glamorous drink in hand, a negroni or spicy margarita – fortunately both are on the menu. As busy as they were, all the customers seemed well looked after and happy, no one was desperately trying to catch the eye of a member of the waiting staff. It was all efficient, and fun.
(Scroll to keep reading)
Zia Lucia’s USP is that they have four different pizzas dough to choose from; gluten free, black charcoal, wholemeal and traditional white flour. The black charcoal one is meant to be easier to digest and not one we’d come across before, making it a must try plus the wholemeal. As for toppings, we went for a “Roberto and Dino Baggio” half fresh basil, half tomato sauce with mozzarella and a ricotta filled crust. The reference to these two ex Italian footballers, who both played for Juventus, is that even though they shared the same name, they were not related, hence the pizza arrives looking half green, half red (with a black crust). We chose the “Centurione” for the wholemeal (tomato sauce, mozzarella, prosciutto cotto, parmigiano and rocket)- centurione is Italian for centurion, an officer in the army of ancient Rome who was responsible for 100 soldiers. Here I can’t explain the connection between the name and the pizza.
Both bases were great. I loved how thin crust they were but the black charcoal one did feel lighter on the stomach. We were advised that the wholemeal goes better with the more robust, spicy toppings and I think the choice of centurione may have been too plain for it. Still, the ingredients were all of a fantastic quality and plentiful. The biggest highlight was the ricotta stuffed crust – genius – ricotta works so much better than mozzarella. Probably the best pizzas we have had for the longest time.
We left feeling cheerful, uplifted and humming the last Kylie song that was playing. Our tummies were full of pizza but didn’t feel stodgy, I could have gone on to dance the night away after listening to all the party tunes and no doubt many of the younger customers there did just that. Zia Lucia is a hugely welcome addition to Fulham Broadway, it brings back some of that dolce vita feel to the area and hopefully more will follow.
Angela Zaher is a freelance food writer based in London. Find her on Instagram @angela_zaher
