Every year, the 50 Top Pizza World list recognizes the best Neapolitan-style pizza inside and outside Italy. Though a pizzeria in Naples naturally tops the 2023 list, there are also a couple of Tokyo restaurants on there — one of which, The Pizza Bar on 38th, climbed the rankings from #16 to #4 this year.
Located on the top floor of the Mandarin Oriental hotel in Nihonbashi, The Pizza Bar on 38th is also listed as a Bib Gourmand selection in the Michelin Guide (though prices are more in the one-or-two-star range). Normally, the restaurant, run by Rome-born Chef Daniele Cason, can only accommodate eight guests around its marble-top counter. However, when we ate there for Sunday brunch last month, it had expanded beyond this setup. The counter was closed off and they had everyone seated in the adjacent dining room of the hotel’s other Italian restaurant, K’shiki.
This may have been because The Pizza Bar on 38th was temporarily serving a special combined menu with Tokuyoshi, the namesake of Chef Yoji Tokuyoshi, who runs Alter Ego, another one-star Michelin restaurant in Central Tokyo. For three days in October, this limited-time omakase (chef-curated) tasting menu allowed guests to dine on the cuisine of two Michelin chefs for the price of one.
Read More