Lucile Pizza & Wine Bar Is Closing—But Something New Is Already in the Oven
Image: Everett Dennison
The downtown Sarasota restaurant Lucile Pizza & Wine Bar announced that it will serve its final meals under the Lucile name on Sept. 12 before undergoing a remodel and returning with a new identity.
Until then, diners can stop in for their favorite dishes while supplies last.
“A new name. A new menu. A new chapter,” the restaurant's social media announcement reads, adding that the restaurant is “going back to our roots.” It hasn’t disclosed its new name, menu or reopening date.
A recently issued City of Sarasota building permit offers some clues. The project calls for alterations to the existing 743-square-foot restaurant, with no change in use. Baldwin Construction and Design is handling the work, and Stephen Chung is listed as the architect.
Baldwin Construction and Design’s Mark Baldwin was Lucile owner Ryan Boeve’s original partner in the restaurant, which opened in December 2020. Named after Boeve’s maternal grandmother, the intimate pizzeria grew out of the vegetable-forward cooking he helped establish at nearby restaurant Lila. Its original menu leaned heavily on plant-based pizzas, sides and salads while also offering traditional meat and cheese toppings. The approach won plenty of fans. We included Lucile in our 2026 guide to the area’s best pizza, while an earlier review praised its fried artichokes and “addictive” black garlic and truffle spread.
Image: Kim Doleatto
Image: Kim Doleatto
Lucile’s summer menu moves easily between plant-based cooking and more traditional comforts. Small plates include grilled zucchini with green goddess dressing and feta cheese made with almonds, chicken wings and walnut-lentil-mushroom meatballs. Housemade pastas range from goat cheese ravioli with fire-roasted tomato sauce to truffled potato gnocchi with cashew cream and spaghetti all’Amatriciana with pork belly.
But pizza remains the centerpiece. The menu ranges from a simple tomato-and-mozzarella pie to a pie with truffled mushrooms with cashew-black garlic cream, a plant-based "supreme" pie, one with spicy peppers and one topped with ’nduja and fermented honey. Diners can also build their own pizza. The dough is made in-house and cold-fermented for at least 48 hours, and a gluten-free psyllium-flaxseed crust is available.
We can't wait to see what's next.
Lucile Pizza & Wine Bar is located at 1660 Main St., in downtown Sarasota. Its last day of service will be Saturday, Oct. 12. Call (941) 330-0101. Click here to learn more.
