Meet the Chef: Anto’s Pizzeria Romana in Conway, South Carolina

We sat down with Executive Chef/Owner Anthony Ludovici-Debrigida of Anto’s Pizzeria Romana in Conway, South Carolina. In the laid-back charm of Conway, Anto's feels like the kind of place you stumble upon once—and make a point to return to every time you’re in town.

Anto’s Pizzeria Romana in Conway, South Carolina: Meet the Chef

Unpretentious yet full of character, this neighborhood favorite brings together the warmth of a classic pizzeria with the kind of handcrafted pies that keep locals coming back week after week.

Tell us about what your morning routine looks like, and how you like to end your day?

I get to the shop at 8 every morning. First thing I do is make an espresso and take our dough out of the cooler to sit out a bit. Most days we make 3 or 4 batches of dough between our round pies and our Romans. While that’s mixing, I start making our slice pies to start the day. We’re downtown so we usually get a pretty good lunch crowd with a lot of people coming in for pie by the slice. I’ll make anywhere from 15-20 different pies to start, and then I start partaking our Roman crusts for the day.

I like to end my day with another espresso after the shops all cleaned up and ready to go for the next day, and my wife and I will usually sit in the dining room and make dinner before we go home for the night.

Do you have a favorite chef that you look up to and what advice would you give to aspiring chefs?

I’d have to say my favorite chef is Chris Bianco. I try and do my own thing as far as our style of pies, but if I had to emulate one chef it would definitely be him!

Do you have any awards or achievements you’d like to mention?

We’ve been very fortunate to have been able to win a few awards since we opened last October. We won WMBFs “Best in the Grand Strand,” Post & Courier’s “Greatest of the Grand Strand” for best pizza and runner up for best pizza . We also won silver for “Best of the Beach” for best pizza, and this year won our first reader’s choice award from the Horry Chronicle for “Best Pizza.” This past October we went to Rome for the Pizza World Cup and took home first place in the focaccia/padellino category with our Roman dough.

What do you typically cook at home?

I don’t cook at home very often because my wife is a much better cook than me, but when I do it’s usually just traditional Italian food. I still use my Pop’s sauce recipe and cook a good amount of pasta, lasagna, risotto, and things like that.

What’s a food trend that you’re loving right now and why?

Just like everyone else I’ve been on the hot honey train for a couple years now. It’s just so good and pairs with so many different flavors that it’s hard not to throw that on a pie. But lately, I’ve been really into microgreens and different citrus zests.

What’s the strangest food combination you’ve ever tried? And did you like it?

That’s a tough one, but I think it’d have to be a pie we made with different kinds of beats and frisse. I’ve been making a lot of pies with Chef Darren Smith, who owns Rivertown Bistro just down the street from us. He’ll come down after closing time with a bottle of wine and some different things from his restaurant and we’ll come up with some crazy pies. He brought some duck confit down one time too and I wasn’t really familiar with it, but strangely enough it was really good on our Roman crust.

What drink do you enjoy most?

Sunday through Saturday evening my favorite drink is a double espresso. Saturday night after we close my favorite drink is a glass of Chianti or two. We’re closed Sundays and Mondays so Saturday is the end of our work week. That’s how we like to end the week.

Have you ever cooked for a celebrity? Do you have a story to tell?

I think the closest I’ve come to cooking for a celebrity is making a pie that Dave Portnoy reviewed when I was working in the Florida Keys. That was fun because he gave me a hard time after I showed him my tattoo of Tom Brady getting strip sacked to lose Super Bowl 52 (Go Birds).

What’s your Instagram so readers can follow you?

Our Instagram is @antospizzaromana.

Why should readers visit Anto’s Pizzeria Romana in Conway, South Carolina?

I think our pies are different from a traditional NY style pizza shop you would go to in the area. We are one of the few in the state that offer Roman Style, and although we call our round pies NY style it is kind of a cross between NY and Neapolitan style pizza. We pride ourselves in only using the freshest and cleanest ingredients and we have had tons of people that are gluten intolerant or can’t eat pizza or most dough come in and have had no issues eating our pies.

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