Leuca The William Vale Andrew Carmellini Anthony Ricco Leuca
The William Vale
111 N. 12th St.
Brooklyn, NY 11249
718-581-5900
Map
Cuisine: Italian / Pizza
Andrew Carmellini's southern Italian restaurant serves Neapolitan pies and wood-fired mains from the ground floor of The William Vale hotel.
Openings: Breakfast daily, Lunch Mon.-Fri., Dinner Tues.-Sat., Brunch Sat.-Sun.
Leuca, Brooklyn, NY


Leuca Restaurant Review:



About the restaurant & décor: Andrew Carmellini, one of Manhattan’s most celebrated chefs, makes his first foray into Brooklyn with Williamsburg’s Leuca on the ground floor of The William Vale hotel. The restaurant is named after a town in Puglia’s Salento region, and southern Italian fare is the star of the show. In the modernist metal and glass hotel, Leuca’s spacious, soaring-ceilinged dining rooms feel warm with wood panels and an open kitchen where you can watch dishes emerge from the wood-burning oven and grill.

Likes: Ricotta, pizza, black shells; lovely space.
Dislikes: Service can be spotty.

Food & Drinks: Executive chef Anthony Ricco’s menu is full of Italian hits, but that doesn’t make the food sleepy. Start with a cloud of sheep’s milk ricotta, spiked with hot honey and plenty of garlic, or silky chickpea spread made briny with bottarga. The Neapolitan pizzas arrive with a nice char – the “OG” with pepperoni, 'nduja and Fresno chili is the sort of thing that could become a happy Friday night staple. The wood-fired oven also produces a crispy-skinned, juicy chicken, presented with blistered peppers and savory jus. If pizza isn’t enough of a carb fix, black shells with shrimp and rings of calamari are tossed in a light tomato sauce that doesn’t distract from the flavors of the sea. Finish the meal with Sicilian pistachio cake or a lavish wildflower honey creamsicle sundae for two. The short but thoughtful wine list ventures around Italy, from Sardinia to Piemonte to Liguria.