PST Pizza Rippongi, Minato City, Tokyo

As we build our list of the best pizza restaurants in Tokyo, we submit this original review of PST Rippongi Pizza, in Minato City, Tokyo.

PST Roppongi (Pizza Studio Tamaki Roppongi) is nestled down somewhat below street level, in a hilly part of Roppongi, Tokyo. A lovely neighborhood; the location is remarkably quiet and peaceful for being in the heart of the city.

PST is well known, with an excellent reputation for some of the best pizza in Tokyo. It may be a little hard to get a reservation. In our case, we were able to get two seats, but they put a time-limit on how long you can stay (as they’re trying to turn over more tables). We were there for a 7 PM appointment, were seated immediately, and never felt rushed.

Inside – it’s all very modern; a repurposed commercial space, with an almost messy aesthetic. High ceilings, t-shirts hanging along the back wall, painted concrete floors, shiny subway tile under the steel-framed counter, and of course – stacks of pizza boxes.

PST Rippongi is entirely comfortable, but not especially “nice.”

PST is a proper restaurant. There was plenty to drink; my date started with some wine, and I ordered a beer (per usual). They delivered a shallow glass of an orange soup; which was mostly likely the “otoshi” (the little snack that comes to you, along with a tax for your seat which is added to to the bill).

All of this, the time-limited reservation, the un-ordered soup, the table-tax… are all a terribly unseductive build up to the main event, which is, of course…

The pizza.

It’s about the pizza. And the pizza is everything everyone says about it – PSTs pizza is absolutely fantastic.

I am not overly-enthusiastic about Napoletana style pizza; I’m not. In fact, I am antagonistic about the category. The Japanese are slavishly devoted to the Naples style, and demonstrate that by being over-eager to be the very next pizza restaurant in Tokyo to make an otherwise mediocre, thin-crust, “me too” margherita – and who cares.

I have had some good, “fancy” Napoletana pizzas – but mostly not. Mostly they were “just okay” – and I would put a neighborhood American pizza spot up against almost all of them (and bet on the American shop to win). But PST is different… probably in part because being just another formulaic “authentic” Naples pizza isn’t exactly their goal.

I have had some really good thin crust, “round oven” pizza’s before, but this night at PST was a turning point in my love for the category. Along with Marumo Pizza (also here in Tokyo), this is one of the best Neapolitan pizza you’ll ever find.

The have a big ‘ole menu, with at least a couple pages of pizza choices. In the photos in this review, you’ll see a full page of red-sauce options… I never even made it to the other side of the menu. I knew what I wanted.

As the Official Pizza Czar of Japan, I’m a crust guy; I like the bread. I do. And we’ll get to that (I promise). But I also like a pizza with some meat on it, so I went after the Diavola.

Tomato sauce, Fresh Mozzarella, Homemade pork sausage, Olive, Red pepper, Basil
— From the pizza menu at PST Rippongi

Nice. Real nice.

And it was better than is sounds. All that you could possibly expect from a description was there, and very finely done, and loaded up with that fantastic sausage. The olives, the sausage, a slight burn from chili flakes – every bite was wow.

And then, the crust. Yes, the crust. And…

And the salt. Yes, again. PST is, in fact, a salty pizza. And perfectly so (even as the dry saltiness made me reach for a second beer). The salt mixed with the char-burnt bubbles on the crust, A+. People say that about every Napoletana pizza, but this time – it was actually true. As skeptical as I can be of the Naples-craze in Japan, this time… I was delighted.

(As an aside: For an interesting example of a Taiwanese-twist on the spicy Diavola pizza, see our review of Pizza & Burrata Vespa, in Nagoya.)

And yet, even so… that was not the best pizza of the night. What followed was better, and thrust PST forward as one of the best pizza shops I have ever sampled (and I eat more pizza than you, I promise you that is true).

Homemade bacon and four kinds of wild vegetables pizza.
— From the pizza menu at PST Rippongi

The second pizza of the night did have some bacon on it, and while I like meat the bacon was (surprisingly) inconsequential. Our second pizza was also billed as a “wild vegetable pizza,” and that didn’t sound compelling to me, but it did indeed prove to be so.

Bacon, is always a good idea. “Homemade” sounds great, but even if you bought the bacon out of the trunk of some guy’s car I’d eat it. In this case, it wasn’t the bacon that packed the punch. Each bite was full of flavor, but then something unexpected – there was a fresh, barely-cooked element to the pizza that looked like it might be whole, fresh oregano (like I have seen at Makino Pizza in Sapporo. In this case, the herby mystery turned out instead to be Japanese butterbur…

You don’t know Butterbur? We didn’t either; we had to look it up.

This species is commonly cultivated for edible uses in Japan…. Cooking the plant transforms the flavor profile from slightly bitter and herbal to fragrant and very pleasant. The flower buds and stems are also edible, and are reportedly prized in Japan.
— Tripplebrook Farm, Massachusetts, USA

The butterbur is apparently sweet when it’s cooked, but on this pizza it was raw and bitter; a stabbing surprise in each bite, a distinctive counter-note to the otherwise smooth pizza flavors. We pulled a few pieces off to the side, asked the staff what they were, and then put the last bit on a bite of crust.

Amazing flavor. Not particularly “authentic Naples” – which made it better.

You have all these “wannabes” bragging about how “Italian” their pizza is (how “Pizza Vera” it is), as they produce a copy of a copy, and arrive at another unremarkable cheese and tomato drowning in oil. PST eclipses so many of the pizzas in Japan as they are willing to make their own pizza, reminiscent of a style, but stylishly their own. Bravo.

There is so much good pizza in Tokyo, but PST is head and shoulders above most anything in the category. I can’t wait to go back.

The pizzas at PST come in (R) regular or (H) half sizes. We ordered two separate half sizes – each the size of a large dinner plate. A perfect size for one person, and easily sharable – so you can each get your own and trade slices.

While still a thin-crust pizza, the crust at Tokyo’s Pizza Studio Tamaki can support itself (at least on the smaller pizzas) – you can pick it up, and eat it in the proper way. That is an indication that the crust is neither too paper-thin, nor too saturated with olive oil. Again, perfectly done.

On this evening, there were also appetizers.

In part to create a more thorough review (and in part because we were hungry) we ordered the escabeche. Savory pickled fish, with slivers of vegetables in orange (carrots), green (peppers), and white (onions). Vinegar, with enough hot-spice to inspire a long draw of my draught beer.

Do you love pizza? We do too. And if you can get a seat, come in and have some of the best that Tokyo has to offer.

PST has at least two locations in Tokyo. This is the Roppongi Pizza Studio Tamaki. There is a second location, known as PST Higashi Azabu.

PST delivers a Neapolitan pizza in Tokyo that breaks out of the generic, imitative masses. Totally extraordinary pizza (look at me, I’m gushing) – it is as good as everyone says it is.

Highly recommended.

For more Tokyo Pizza see:

— Pizza Marumo in Ebisu, Tokyo
— Tokyo’s Pizza Bar on 38th at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel
— Sabasu Pizza in Akasaka, Tokyo
— Savoy Pizza Domi-LA in Asabujuban, in Minato City, Tokyo
— Devil Craft Pizza in Kanda, in Chuo City, and also the DevilCraft Gotanda, in Shinagawa, Tokyo
— Pizzakaya’s Detroit-style pizza in Rippongi in Minato City, Tokyo
— Shibuya pizza at Kevelos, in Tokyo
— Frey’s Famous Pizza in Rippongi, Tokyo
— Seirinkan Pizza in Meguro, Tokyo
— Pizzeria da Peppe Napoli Sta’ Ca” in Setagaya City, Tokyo
— Chicago pizza at Butcher Republic in Ebisu, Tokyo

Pizza Slices in Tokyo

— Rocco’s Pizza in Ojihoncho, Kita City, Tokyo
— Some of the best pizza slices in Japan at New York Pizza Tonyz Tokyo in Koto City, Tokyo
— NY-style pizza slices at Nim’s in Azabujuban, Tokyo
— Tokyo’s Pizza Slice shop on Cat Street is mostly a disappointment