About Lucio

Where It All Began

Lucio De Falco born and raised in Naples, Lucio began working with pizza at the young age of 14. Starting from the bottom at his aunt and uncle’s pizzeria in central Naples and working his way up over the years, he has cooked in locations all over Europe including Rome, Corsica and Isola de Elba. It was in Isola de Elba that he met a Sydney-based Neapolitan chef scouting for a pizza chef to work in a restaurant on Sydney’s North Shore. Lucio arrived in Sydney at just 21 years old, intending to stay for only a year – now, the successful owner of Lucio Pizzeria in Darlinghurst and Zetland, he has been here for 15 years and now calls Sydney home.

Dreams, Passion & Determination Become Reality

Opening his own pizzeria had been a dream of his since he was 14, he knew it would be tough but had the drive, passion and determination to do it, he wanted to showcase the traditional and authentic Neapolitan style pizza, like back home, here in Sydney.

Lucio was able to make a name for himself as one of Sydney’s finest Pizzaioli. In 2008 Lucio ventured out on his own and opened the much-loved Lucio Pizzeria Darlinghurst with his customer base not only including the Neapolitan community but also the wider Italian community. Darlinghurst is a typical Italian pizzeria, where you will find authentic Neapolitan pizza, antipasti and desserts, traditional Italian dishes using beautiful fresh produce sourced both locally and from around Australia, fresh and simple ingredients without overcomplicating his authentic recipes.

In 2015 Lucio opened his second store at Zetland with a large open kitchen, you can enjoy a wider menu where you will find a mouth-watering mozzarella bar with an array of meats and cheeses, homemade pasta dishes, along with traditional meat and fish dishes from all over Italy made here with fresh ingredients all this adds to the already legendary traditional authentic pizza menu.  You can enjoy an Italian aperitivo at the bar which also boasts a great selection of Italian wines, beers and spirits.

Lucio has a love for Italian wines, and recently started travelling to Italy to hand-pick and import most of the wines you will find on the menu at Darlinghurst and Zetland, it’s a way of making the dining experience even more unique, having matching wines hand picked by Lucio himself.

AVPN – Staying True To Authenticity

Lucio is the vice president Australasia and proud member of the AVPN (Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana) the stamp of approval for true artisan pizza.

As an accredited member of the AVPN, and through Lucio’s experience and skills Lucio has been able to educate his Australian customers on what real Neapolitan pizza is all about.

Award Winning Pizza

In April 2018, Lucio competed at the Campionato Mondiale Della Pizza in Parma Italy and was awarded best pizza in Australia and 5th in the world, having competed with over 750 participants and 44 different nations, Lucio’s Margherita pizza came out first place in Australia.

Lucio has gained rave reviews and awards for best Pizza with world renowned foodie bible Gambero Rosso, Good Food Guide, Time Out Magazine, Sydney Morning Herald, The Sun-Herald, Sydney Weekender on Channel 7, Hospitality Magazine and Mosman Daily and many more.