At first glance, Lucifer’s Pizza seems like a sort of one-trick pony. Their schtick is having multiple heat levels for their sauces, hence the name. They don’t wood-fire their pizza and like most local pizza places claim to have fresh ingredients. Yet, upon visiting Lucifer’s on Melrose for the first time, I found they were more than just a pizza place with spicy sauce.
The first clue was a menu that consisted of more than just basic pizzas. There was a Roast Pumpkin and Prosciutto, a Thai Satay Chicken and more that were out of the ordinary. I decided on the one pizza that seemed made for an unvegan: Three Little Pigs. Topped with prosciutto, bacon, sausage and fresh mozzarella, this pizza seemed to be more than just a typical meat-lover’s pizza. I ordered sauce at the Fiery level, which is one step from the top, because I wasn’t quite sure how hot it would all be.
What came out was a pretty pie, with a nice spacing of toppings and cheese. There was a great balance to the toppings and the mozzarella was great, although I would have liked a little bit more. The sauce, by the way, was pretty fantastic. It was really quite spicy, to the point that I downed my than one glass of water while eating, but not to the point that it took flavor away from the pizza. The dough wasn’t anything overly special, but definitely a step or two up from typical chain pizza.
It’s good to see that there is still room for creativity in pizza without going too crazy. Lucifer’s managed to stick with what has made pizza so universally loved, while tweaking it just enough to make it their own. Also, they have a gluten-free crust that is apparently the best my mom has ever had.
