A new pizza joint opened its doors recently in Glenelg South, and it’s taking traditional Italian-style pizzas and adding subtle twists that make them stand out from the competition.
For owner Lucas Lima, Doughjo is a first: his first business, built during what he describes as one of the most difficult periods of his life. It was a period that meant his dream of opening the shop almost didn’t happen. Shortly after taking on the lease, Lucas was hospitalised with pneumonia in both lungs.
Having asthma since birth, moving the equipment and doing a full refit of the shop himself proved far more taxing than he anticipated, both physically and mentally. But that wasn’t going to stop him.
Lucas continued planning the shop from hospital, then worked on the fit-out while recovering at home with daily nursing care. At that point, he said, “I was still going to the shop to make sure everything was ready for the opening.”
A very proud first-time restaurant owner, Lucas jokes, “I’m the owner and the chef, and the dishwasher… I’m here pretty much every day.”
Doughjo centres on Neapolitan-style pizza, but Lucas is quick to point out that his approach isn’t traditional for tradition’s sake. “I make Neapolitan pizzas, but we make them a little bit different,” he says.
The philosophy is simple: classic foundations, executed with intention, then gently pushed in unexpected directions. “I like to make the classics, but with a twist,” Lucas explains. A margherita, for example, still sits proudly on the menu, but swirls of basil pesto and cherry tomatoes give it new life.
What Lucas is perhaps most excited to share with customers is the dough. “My dough takes two to three days to make.” He explains that in the process of getting Doughjo up and running, he was experimenting and working hard to create the ideal pizza base, and it sounds like he’s just about got there.
That experimentation is what gives Doughjo its name. Borrowed clearly from the idea of a Japanese dojo, “a place of training,” it speaks to constant refinement. “You’re never going to be 100 per cent happy with what you’re making,” Lucas says. “You always have room to improve. How can I make it better? That’s what I like.”
Before pizza, Lucas spent a decade working as a chef across fine dining, pubs and weddings. That background shows, particularly in workflow. Every piece of equipment is positioned deliberately, the fit-out designed and built by Lucas himself. “It’s an open shop, so we keep it extremely clean,” he says. “Customers can actually see what you’re making, stretching the dough, putting on the toppings, baking, slicing.”
Even delivery has been thought through. Lucas invested in a commercial hot box early on. “Sometimes delivery drivers can take around 30 minutes to get to the shop,” he says. “So we wanted to make sure it’s going to be nice and hot. Those little things, I think, at the end, make it worth it.”
While salami and margherita are the most popular orders, Doughjo also serves two flavours Lucas tells us are rarely seen in Adelaide, or anywhere outside of his home country, Brazil. One is the Portuguese pizza, topped with sliced boiled egg, onion and ham. The other is chicken and cream cheese, made using a house recreation of Catupiry, a Brazilian cream cheese brand we’re told can’t be imported.
“I had to make it from scratch,” Lucas explains. “It took a little while, but now I’m very happy with the product that we’re selling.” Though he initially thought those flavours would only appeal to Brazilian customers, the opposite has proven true, and the two pizzas are flying out the oven.
Looking ahead, Lucas has big plans to bring on more kitchen staff, start catering weddings and celebrations, and even opening a second location.
For now, Doughjo remains deeply hands-on, doing what he initially set out to do: serve delicious, creative pizza.
Doughjo Pizza Shop
Where: Shop 8/101-103 Partridge St, Glenelg South
When: Wednesday & Thursday 5pm to 9pm, Friday & Saturday 5pm to 9:30pm
For more info, click here.
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