How Luigi Agostini Built One of San Diego’s Favorite Pizza Shops

The chef and owner of Luigi’s shares his journey from opening a small bar above Lake Como to lines forming around the block in Golden Hill for his pies.

At 23, Luigi Agostini left his hometown of Varese, Italy for America, finding his way to San Francisco in search of adventure and new beginnings. Living with 17 other strangers, he soon began working in restaurant kitchens across the city and eventually found his niche in making pizza. From Los Angeles to Hawaii, and eventually San Diego, he honed his craft before opening his first pizzeria in Poway in 2002. It was an instant hit.

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Six years later, when Guy Fieri walked in to record Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, lines began to form around the block to try Luigis’ pizzas. Today, the shop continues to be one of the city’s favorite places for a pie. In the episode, Agostini shares the lore surrounding his Crime Scene pizza made with meatballs, ricotta, and sauce on top. We also chat about Vinum Locus, the Japanese-Mediterranean wine bar he opened next door to his Ocean Beach pizzeria through the back of an old tattoo shop, where a former Nobu chef de cuisine who showed up during Covid makes his own bread, butter, and pickles, and a mix-and-match charcuterie program. 

The episode ends with a San Diego pizza fantasy draft including Tribute Pizza, TNT, Long Island Mike’s, Amalfi Cucina Italiana, Milo’s, Pizza Kaiju, Wayfarer Bakery, Catania in La Jolla, and Love Letters Pizza on El Cajon Boulevard.