Tucked inside the Rixos Premium hotel in Dubai’s JBR area you’ll find Luigia, an Italian pizzeria that prides itself on serving the best of Italy. Its family-friendly atmosphere makes you feel at home immediately, and the food (not only the pizza) will blow your palate away.
I visited the Italian Pizzeria for the first time during the launch of their newly introduced ‘POP and Pizza Night’, which happens every Wednesday from 6pm to 11pm, and my first thought was “this pizza is quite good”. So, just to make sure the good pizza was not restricted to Wednesdays, I had to go back again on a different day, and this visit was better than the first. I got to try the whole experience, from the starter to the main (minus the dessert usual).
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Décor
Luigia’s interiors are simply contemporary, with an Italian atmosphere. Spread over a wide open area, on one side you’ll find a low-sitting area in terms of furniture, while on the other you’ll find high tables and chairs. It’s up to you to choose where you’d feel more comfortable. As for me, after trying both, I was more comfortable on the higher end of the sitting arrangement, because the lower arrangement was a tad bit squeezed (small tables), but hey, nobody seemed to be complaining.
From where we were sitting, we could see the pizza makers (are they called that?), busy doing what they do best, churning pizza after pizza, and then some. There’s also a bar on one side, where you could just sit, have your drink, nibble on some chips and talk about global warming.
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Food
The food at this Italian pizzeria is simply fresh, authentic and deliciously intoxicating. The team at Luigia, most of who are Italian, or speak Italian, is quite friendly and efficient. The first time I was there during the ‘POP and Pizza Night’, we met Isabella, who educated us on Lambrusco, the sparkling red wine that pairs perfectly with the Wednesday pizza, or any pizza at that. The second time we visited; Isabella was at the bar and accommodated us and our small talk.
On our second visit to Luigia, we started off with a couple of appetizers – Chiacchiere Napoletane, which is fried pizza dough, buffalo mozzarella, tomatoes and olives; and Bruschetta topped with Buratta and anchovies.
For the mains we decided to share what had brought us there, which was the pizza. It’s actually a good idea to share because the pizza is quite big with generous toppings. With my recent obsession with Buratta, it was already decided we’ll be having a pizza that had the creamy stuff as a topping; and so we settled for the Burrata and beef carpaccio, nestled on a bed of baby spinach leaves. The crust was thin and crunchy, and the combination of flavors left me with a pleasant feeling (for a lack of better words). We couldn’t finish the pizza, so the lovely folks packed it for us to take away, to be eaten a couple of hours later.
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Takeaway
The above combined with a couple of drinks was a day-maker for us, and I can’t wait to go back. So, if you are an Italian foodie or any foodie at all, or you are just in need of simple and authentic Italian food, then this Italian pizzeria is worth a visit. And as mentioned above, Luigia has what they call a “Pop and Pizza Night” every Wednesday from 6pm to 11pm, where you get a pizza of your choice and 3 glasses of Lambrusco (sparkling red) for only AED 150. Oh, and Isabella will be on hand to teach you a thing or two about Italian wine (I guess).
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