Carluccio’s Coal Fired Pizza

We watched Diners Drive-​Ins and Dives from Florida so on our way back to the AC Airport we figured we would give this place a shot. We were not disappointed. The Grandma pie is the reason you should go to Carluccio’s. It’s tasty, crispy, and not too filling (unfortunately most Sicilian pizzas are too «doughy»). For a party of five people I would suggest ordering two and it’s cut in eight slices. The pieces are big but you should be able to down three pretty easily.
The service was swift and friendly and they made us first-​timers feel right at home. I would recommend Carluccio’s to any pizza snob as you won’t be disappointed. We now have a reason to stop in Northfield on our way to Wildwood Crest.

Have dined there every month over the past 6 months and it is cheerful, consistent and scrumptious. The variety of pizzas is refreshing and the broccoli rabe is exquisite. Carlo is engaging and his staff is so efficient. The meatballs with a ball of ricotta was unique and outstanding.

I would have given them 4 stars but service was slow (I was there during lunch) and wings were dry as the Sahara We ordered grandmas pie, a coal fired pizza, wings, fried mozzarella, and salad.
Let me start with the wings. Sadly, these were the worst wings I ever had. Burnt on one side, dry on the other side and on the inside. They were so dry and burnt you couldn’t taste any of the flavors they claim to have marinated them in. I had to dip them in my marinara to avoid from feeling like I was eating wood chips and even then it wasn’t palatable.
The fried mozzarella was hands down the BEST I have ever had. It really can not get better than this. The cheese was fresh, and the crust had the right crisp and the right flavor. Unbelievable!!!
The pizzas had amazing sauce and amazing crust. It was really delicious but does not rank in my top 8.
Over all give them a try and avoid the busy peak times. The space is so small that when you get up from the table your butt will definitely brush against someone’s food so chose your seat wisely.

I tried a lot here so let me run it down for you. Started off with broccoli rab. A+ very fresh and flavorful. Next went for a side of meatballs. They were velvety soft and had ricotta on top. That was a good touch. For dinner I had 4 kinds of pizza, all Sicilian style. The meat lovers was loaded. It had your normal mix of meat. Next I had broccoli pizza with ricotta. It was a great combo and gave you a different feel than the normal red sauce pizza. Buffalo pizza was next and my least favorite. It was good for Buffalo pizza but I just don’t like that style. Last I had a cheese garlic and basil pizza. This was really good and the sauce stood out.
It was BYOB which is always a plus. My glass was never empty. Servers were quick and friendly.

Im very particular about italian food since im italian and worked in a «mom and pop» italian restaurant throughout colllege. Weve been to italy a few times as well so most italian restaurants bomb in my book. This place is tiny and the only decorations are the multicolored multitude of pizzas in the window display. Thats the best kind of decoration! Dont dress up because this place is casual with a small amount of seating.
We ordered broccoli rabe and a side of meatballs for an appetizer. I always order a side of meatballs at every italian restaurant and that is my «gauge» as to how «authentic» the food will be. No one has surpassed my grandmother’s but these were served with fresh tomato sauce with huge chunks of garlic and ricotta cheese plus garlic knots!!! Delicious!!! The broccoli rabe was great as well. My husband and I ordered a Sicilian pizza half meatlovers and half bella terra which was broccoli tomatoes and a plethora of white cheeses. This pizza was delectible!!! They have a vast selection of specialty pizzas that look like art and taste like italy!!! The best part is its byob and super cheap!!! I want to come back to try all specialty pizzas!!! If you have a craving for good pizza which we all know is hard to find, stop here!!!

Our television is generally tuned into one of two channels, Food Network or HG TV. My guy is kind of obsessed with the show Diners Dives & Drive-​ins, and when he saw Carluccio’s featured in one of the episodes earlier this year, he has been talking about going here nonstop. Anyway, we finally found the opportunity this past weekend on our way to Atlantic City. We came here for dinner prior to checking into our hotel in AC. I was blown away by all of the pizza displays the second I’ve stepped foot into this charming pizzeria. The place was pretty packed and there was a long time for takeout. We snagged the only remaining table, which was unfortunately right in front of the bathrooms, but I was too starving to care. Our orders came pretty fast, and it was amazingggggg! We loved it so much that we decided to come back for a late lunch the next day on our way back. See below for the dishes we tried:
Meatballs — My absolute favorite dish here!!! The order came with three ginormous meatballs that were juicy and flavorful. It also came with a scoop of ricotta cheese. Meatballs and ricotta cheese are a match made in heaven, I could eat this all day long (I am actually salivating just typing this sentence). They give you a garlic knot to scoop up all the delicious sauce with. We loved this dish so much that we ordered it two days in a row. I wanted to put in four more orders of the meatballs and take them home, but given the long drive, we decided against it.
Pappardelle Alla Siciliana — This was the dish featured in Diners Dives and Drive-​ins. I am kind of obsessed with their version of pappardelle. I am a huge fan of fresh pasta, and this was prefect, just the right amount of thickness and chewiness. This is a pretty busy dish with a lot of ingredients, i.e. cherry tomatoes, three different kids of mushrooms, sausages, eggplants and mozzarella cheese. I could’ve done without the sausages, which made the dish a tad too salty for me, however, the guy disagreed, he loved the sausages. A guy that loves sausages, shocker right? I thought the mushrooms were the best part of the dish, aside from the pasta, as they give the dish an interesting texture and flavor.
Deep Fried Mozzarella — Carluccio’s version of mozzarella sticks, but they are in the form of a small patty. Who doesn’t love fried melted cheese, it’s another heavenly match. My only complaint, and it is a small one, the breading was a tad too salty. I also wished the dish came with more than a few pieces of lettuce, a side salad would be a great complement to the dish. I guess you can always order your own salad on the side.
Pappardelle with Vodka Sauce and Shrimps — this was recommended by our waitress and it was a fantastic suggestion. I am normally not a huge fan of creamy sauces, but this one hit it out of the park! The creamy blush sauce was not only flavorful, but also pretty to look at :) As I mentioned it above, their pappardelle pasta is freaking perfection. I could’ve done the dish without the shrimps, but they were well seasoned and cooked.
Bruschetta Pizza — I wanted to try the Grandma Pie featured on DDD, but my guy really liked the way the bruschetta pizza looked, and since I picked all of the other dishes, I gave him the power to pick the pizza. Ironically, I liked this pizza a lot more than he did. It was a nice complement to other heavy and saucy dishes we ordered. It was not a traditional sauce and melted cheese pizza, instead it was simply bruschetta on a grilled flat bread, which tasted super refreshing. I particularly loved the fresh mozzarella and the balsamic vinegar.
Service here is amazing, even when the place is packed. I particularly loved our waitress during lunch, she was super helpful when I was being indecisive about what I want. She also talked the guy out of ordering a separate order of garlic knots by promising to throw an extra roll or two on our pasta order. Instead, we ordered another appetizer and got to try more dishes on the menu. The ice tea here is really delicious as well. Overall, I am sad that we live more than two hours away from here, I definitely want to come back and try more dishes on the menu. Highly highly highly recommend!

The food here is great! I’ve gotten different types of pizzas and have been satisfied with every single meal. The place is very small and is always super packed! I wish they had a larger location! If they did, I’d go there more often! The food really is amazing! It’s worth the wait and hassle!

This place definitely earned five stars, pizza was amazing. I got the coal fired version with my favorite toppings and I have to say it’s definitely the best is South Jersey hands down. Waitstaff was great, but if you’re bringing a group of people DON’T because it’s small inside, only 6 – 8 small two seater tables and maybe a table that will fit 5 people. Also there is bar seating.

Let me start out by saying I travel a lot in the tristate area (PA/​DE/​NJ) for work. Finding a good lunch spot by looking on Unilocal is a roll of the dice. I’ll be honest, I’ve been let down by my fellow Unilocalers more than I’ve been helped. With that being said, my coworker and myself were looking for a good pizza place. There are plenty of average pizza shops so when the average Unilocal review was ⁴⁄₅ we said what the hell, let’s give a try. The fact it had been featured on «Diners, Drive-​Ins and Dives» had me worried because normally when a food place appears on tv, the food is shit… not the case here!!!
This was by far some of, if not the best damn pizza I’ve ever had. I tend to get plain the first time because you get a better taste for the sauce and dough. This pizza will blow your wig back and roll socks down with the first bite!!! Every bite was so fresh and hot it was like my mouth was having an orgasm! This will be the ONLY pizza place I hit when I’m in the area.
I can’t speak for the sandwiches or bolis, but the pizza is worth the trip!!!

I ate lunch here today. If you order as soon as you walk in at the register that is only for take out. If you are seated at the tables or countertop you can order off a larger menu and a waitress will serve you. This would’ve been good information to know as they thought I was taking it out then looked at me funny when I asked if they were going to bring it to me. I had the BBQ chicken pizza. This was very dry and did not have much flavor at all. I also had a special that included buffalo mozzarella and prosciutto over a piece of dough stuffed with ricotta cheese. Again this didn’t have a ton of flavor. The staff was very nice that I spoke to.

Great place. Stopped here on way home from Boyz Baseball game. Excellent cheesesteak and great service. The only negative is that it is a 40 minute drive.

Grandmas pie was absolutely delicious. Probably the best grandmas pizza I’ve ever had. The fried zucchini was really good as well. The mayo dipping sauce was bomb. Staff was friendly, the food was delivered in a good amount of time. Five stars!

There was definitely high energy in the restaurant. We went for dinner and ordered Grandma’s pizza… delicious! Even though it was extremely busy, we didn’t have to wait too long for a table. Well worth the wait and would definitely go back.

I was so happy to find a great pizza/​pasta spot close to AC, that also has great service and gluten free pizza/​pasta. Although basic in décor, Carluccio’s should be considered somewhat of a destination restaurant, because of the fun & lively ambiance here. It’s also a significant step above the usual stripmall pizza joint we are so accustomed to in NJ. The owner (aka Carlo) presides painstakingly over every detail in this place, and it shows. When you first enter, you’ll see a large glass case containing an amazing assortment of pizzas. It looks like an art installation, done by the Food Network (begin drooling here…).
When you are seated, you’ll probably notice some lively banter between the servers and the regulars. You couldn’t help but laugh at the friendly & funny, but «totally Jersey» attitude our waitress. You gotta problem wit dat?
You may go to Carluccio’s for those amazing pizza varieties I mentioned, but we went because they also have some very good gluten free options, incl their amazing broiled wings, really good GF pizza, and pasta as well.
We sampled those broiled wings with the sauteed onions, and let me tell you, they were meaty, very flavorful, and perfectly cooked. Great charred flavor! They were not the greasy, spicy buffalo variety, but if you actually want to taste the chicken, they far exceed the typical wings you’ll get in NJ.
Our GF pizza was very good as well. A relatively thin crust, which was obviously rice-​crust-​based, but with something extra, so it had real flavor (something often lacking in GF pizza). Maybe a bit more red sauce on it might have been nice, but overall, it was great. Looking around, we noted people really enjoying large bowls of their homemade soup, and the meatballs & gravy — which looked amazing.
There aren’t many pizza/​pasta restaurants like this that I’d give 5 stars to after one visit, but Carluccio’s is in a class by itself in the AC area. After just one visit, it’s easy to tell the owner here has poured his heart into his restaurant.(Catch the signed Guy Fieri poster by the front door!) Locals whom I’ve spoken to back me up on this. They tell me this is THE place to go for pizza, down AC way. Yes, it is.

I was down in AC for work and wasn’t even hungry but felt like I had to pay this place a visit before making a 120+ mile trek home. The exterior is enough of a draw but the pizza options on display will leave you scratching your head over what to order.
I couldn’t decide on just one so I went with a slice of the tricolore and a slice of the meat lovers, which was really more like 2 slices of each.
It’s rare to find a coal oven pizza place that not only does pre-​prepared pizzas by the slice, but also thicker crust. I’m typically not a fan of either, especially when it comes to coal fired pizza. They advertise their oven as being 1000 degrees. At that temperature, you can make a pie to order within minutes anyway.
BUT, the flavor on each was so fresh, I have to go with five stars. The pizza also didn’t come out dry unlike in most places that reheat slices.
$ 8 total for the 2 slices and very friendly service in a casual, inviting atmosphere. I’ll be back next time I’m in the area.

I’ve eaten here before n it was very good the first 2x. This time we had a very bad experience. Tried their version of «margherita» pizza n it’s awful! Altho it’s under a different name (wish they told me b4 I order it). I was looking forward to the fresh basil, tomatoes n cheese. I didn’t get ANY of that. Their coal fire chicken was so dry I almost choked on it. Idk why they changed it. I enjoyed it more when they had long hits in it. The only thing that was good was the chicken tortellini soup. Def NOT coming here anymore

Although the size of the restaurant is really small and a lot of people kept coming in and out. It did not take them long to seat us.
We had a party of 5 and we ordered the grandma’s pizza, eggplant rollitini, chicken afredo, a slice of bruschetta pizza, the tricolor pizza (I think?) And a side of fries.
The food was amazing, and the portions were humongous. There was no way we could have finished it all and left no choice but to bring this amazing food home for leftovers.

What can I say? The locals seem to love it. What they don’t tell you is if you want the coal burner then u need to order a 12″ and ask for coal oven.
Otherwise you will get what’s equivalent to Chuckee Cheeze.
I got a few pizza by the slice. The sauce was bland. It could use a lil more sugar. The crust is way too thick to be NY or Sicilian style. It’s almost a pan. Don’t let the notoriety from DD&D confuse you.

Bumping this place from a 4 to a 5 star. Came here on a busy night and I just loved the way they handled all the craziness, Did our orders take a while to be placed and served? Yes. But both the waitress and manager made sure that we knew that they haven’t forgotten our table by stirring up small, light 1 – 2 minute conversations, and by coming by frequently to apologize to us about the long waits. Can you believe it?! Actually coming by to apologize and keeping us company! That I applaud because not enough places do a very good job of keeping their customers company throughout the long waits due to an overflow of craziness.
SERVICE
* Feel safe coming by during slow or busy hours and know that you will be receiving excellent service
* Staff members truly feel like one big family
* Treated like you are a good, local customer
FOOD (overall)
* Fantastic pizzas at much cheaper prices than competing pizza restaurants around the area
* Nice variety of selections on the menu (salads, pastas, pizza, etc.)
* Freshly made by the front of the store
* Nice sneak peak of assortment of pizza options displayed by the front of the counter
FOOD (experience)
Tried a couple of different things on the menu, but my all time favorite is currently the Carluccio’s Way. Looking forward to trying the Bruschetta and Caprese next time!
ENVIRONMENT
* Bit cramp, but nicely decorated and clean
OVERALL
Combining my overall food and service experience to all the other competing restaurants in the area, Carluccio has yet to disappoint me through both busy and non-​busy hours of the day. Food quality is nice and fresh. Staff members and menu prices are all fairly friendly. So, a 5 would definitely be fitting!

This is honestly one of the few great pizzeria’s you’ll ever go to in the area! I am in love with their service and the food tastes fresh and right out of the oven. I am actually very impressed with this place, because it surpassed my expectations.
Our server was extremely nice and very funny. He was attentive all night and made us all feel at home. Maybe I happened to come during a great night or whatnot, but everyone in the restaurant seemed to be happy and very friendly. I had a small chat with the lady next to me about how awesome another table’s canolies looked! We all just laughed and enjoyed ourselves, which I thought was very really refreshing.
My table we all shared two pizzas, the Grandma (sicilian style) and the South Western (New York Style). They were both amazing pizzas, if you like the taste of fresh tomatoes than you’ll love the Grandma pie. It definitely has that fresh tomatoes taste (we’re not talking about that marinara taste, but you obviously taste that…) and the fresh taste of basil! The South Western however, is definitely something that I would order again. It has a slight BBQ taste and the important part about that is that it’s NOT overwhelming tasting like some places make it. You can clearly taste everything that’s on the pizza, the chicken, the bell pepper and etc. It was easy going in the mouth and tastes great.
Beforehand we did order 2 appetizers, the calamari and the crispy zucchini, both came with marinara sauce. Both the calamari and the crispy zucchini were very flavorful and very crispy and we all really enjoyed it. So if anyone is looking for appetizers than these are great choices if you don’t want to fill yourselves up too much before the pizzas!
All and all Carluccio’s is a fantastic pizzeria to visit if you’re in the area. It’s a bit small so I wouldn’t recommend any party larger than 6 in your group. It’s great for small intimate hangouts between 2 – 4 people. The customer service was amazing and I would come back here gladly anytime!