From the outside, the Pizzeria Trattoria Lucrino looks like one of several small shops wedged together in a busy block of Pozzuoli, Italy.
The sign is low-key, and the glass-door entrance is easy to miss. But when you enter and walk past a counter that blocks the view of passersby, you find yourself in a cozy, elegant pizzeria with tablecloths and a full set of silverware. In Italy, you eat pizza with a knife and fork.
Trattoria Lucrino also offers a variety of seafood and pasta, which is common in a Naples-area pizzeria. What’s less common is the modest price for such ample portions and high quality.
And there’s a large, low-fee parking lot across the street, a rare convenience in downtown Pozzuoli.
The price of pizzas ranges from 4 euros ($5) for a basic margherita to 8.50 euros ($10.50) for one with more lavish toppings.
Appetizers range from potato chips for 3 euros to a small seafood pasta for 9 euros. Salads also vary in price, from a 3-euro garden salad to a 10-euro octopus salad.
If you have a hearty appetite, you can get a full-course dinner, complete with a first and second dish. Being moderately hungry, I ordered a mushroom pizza and an octopus salad, along with a small decanter of red wine.
The wine was smoother and less dry than other house reds I’ve had in Italy. And the pizza and octopus were tasty and filling, for a total of 18 euros.
Friendly restaurant staff was a bonus. They were happy to let me in the kitchen to take photos of the cook baking pizza in the wood-fired oven. I plan to dine there again and try other items on the menu, and next time I won’t have to look for the entrance.
Location: Via Miliscola 500, Pozzuoli 80078, Italy
Hours: 12-4 p.m., 6 p.m.-midnight daily
Parking: Streetside and lot across the street for about 1 euro ($1.25) an hour. A coin-operated machine dispenses a ticket to display on your dashboard.
Phone: (+39)(081) 866 2710
Website: www.pizzerialucrino.com