Pizza Studio Tamaki Roppongi

This is the second branch of Pizza Studio Tamaki, the original branch being nearby. Owner Tsubasa Tamaki trained as a pizzaiolo at Savoy in Azabu-Juban, and also at its Mishuku branch. He was also head chef at a restaurant called Strada in the same area. Prior to that he trained under a pizzaiola called Susumu Kakinuma, a pioneer of Neapolitan pizza in Tokyo, whose restaurant Seirinkan has been operating in one form or another since 1995. The branch here is tucked away in a quiet street in Roppongi and is quite smart, with an open kitchen and a view over the oven from the dining room.

There are some nibbles available but we were here for pizza, and tried two different ones, a “Tamaki” (priced at £18) with cherry tomatoes and smoked mozzarella and a spicy Diavola. The flour is blended by the chef and the resulting dough is light, the salt used being from Okinawa, where the chef was born. The hot oven cooks the Neapolitan style pizza rapidly in just a minute, giving a touch of smoky charcoal flavour to the pizza. The resulting pizza has a lovely, pliable base with a touch of leopard spot charcoal on the cornicione, the raised rim of the crust. The tomatoes in the topping were from Italy and had excellent flavour, but the key to Neapolitan pizza is the base, and this was top notch. The bill came to €9,849 (£73) for two people with a couple of beers apiece. A typical cost per person might be £30. 

Mr Tamaki is dedicated to making top-class pizza, and has spent a lot of time what goes into a successful pizza, from the airflow of the oven through to the flour and how close the pizza tray is held to the flame. If you are looking for high quality pizza then this is an excellent place to start.