Award-winning Pizzaiola, Chef, and World Champion Laura Meyer is set to open Pizzeria da Laura, her first solo venture, on March 16 at 2049 Shattuck Avenue, Berkeley. Following years working with famed Tony Gemignani from Tony’s Pizza, Laura is taking her pizza expertise solo to the East Bay.
Pizzeria da Laura is a corner pizza joint in the heart of Berkeley, where pizza, pasta, and good drinks bring people together to connect and celebrate. Tucked into a vibrant art deco building on the bustling Shattuck Square, Pizzeria da Laura is a love letter to the pizza community of the Bay Area and the quirky people of all ages who raise a glass to the good life. Laura brings her passion for dough fermentation to a new kind of pizzeria, where a variety of styles and traditional methods blend effortlessly with Laura’s warm, welcoming hospitality. Pizzeria da Laura is a classic pizzeria reimagined, elevating the humble pie with perfectly mixed classic cocktails, a killer women-led wine list, and inventive pasta dishes that are house-made with love.
Guests can expect dishes like the Ray J: a double pepperoni with stracciatella, fermented honey, basil, and parmigiano, where crust style can be customized between Detroit style, Sicilian style, Grandma, or New York. In addition to the pizza, the menu will feature house-extruded pasta dishes like Spaghetti with Dad’s Ragu, reminiscent of family dinner at the Meyers’ Hayward home. There will also be classic cocktails built with unique Italian aperitifs, featuring Garibaldis -– a low ABV favorite made with freshly squeezed citrus-like grapefruit and blood orange.
“Opening my own restaurant feels like I am finally welcoming people to my home. It’s truly taken a village, and I am so proud to finally be able to give back and feed the village that raised me,” shares Laura. “The menu is inspired by and named for the influential people in my life – we hope you’ll come by for a slice and a beer and become part of the Pizzeria da Laura family too.”
Born and raised in the East Bay, Laura brings two decades of pizza craft and many accolades to Berkeley. Laura fell in love with pizza working in her local shop in Castro Valley, and went on to helm Tony’s Pizza Napoletana in San Francisco. In 2013, Laura sealed her fate when she became the first woman and first American to ever win the World Title in Parma, Italy for pan pizza and has since won 2 more championship titles. During her tenure at Tony’s, Laura was recognized as the SF Chronicle’s Rising Star Chef, Eater Young Gun, Zagat’s 30 Under 30, and Forbes’s magazine 30 Under 30 in 2016. In 2019, she won first place at the Caputo Cup in Naples, Italy for Best American-Style Pizza, once again becoming the first—this time winning in a newly created category in one of Italy’s oldest pizza competitions.
Inside Pizzeria da Laura, a hand-painted mural by artist Carlos Sumang blends art deco style with contemporary Bay Area inspiration, leaving guests with the feeling of stepping into a hidden fresco-filled space in the heart of the city. The decor and ambiance finds inspiration at once in inviting Italian taverns, the calm of the Mediterranean, and the architectural history of this slice of downtown Berkeley.
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