The Funk Zone popularised a distinctive California-inflected wood-fired pizza in the 2010s, shaped by seasonal produce from the Saturday farmers market and the natural leavening tradition. Lucky Penny anchors the Funk Zone approach: counter-service, wine-bar-adjacent, wood-fired pizza alongside frozen rose in a penny-tiled room.
California pizza's modern form drew from Wolfgang Puck's Spago kitchen in the 1980s, which introduced California produce and smoked salmon to a Neapolitan format. The Funk Zone iteration developed in the 2010s when converted industrial spaces became restaurant venues: Lucky Penny opened its wood-burning oven in the penny-tiled building next to The Lark, treating naturally leavened dough as the primary ingredient alongside seasonal Central Coast produce.
1 editor pick for Wood-fired California Pizza in Santa Barbara, ranked by editorial score. All Santa Barbara signature dishes · Wood-fired California Pizza across every city.