Each time I have gone to Japan, I have made an effort to try an Italian restaurant in Japan. My favorite dining moment at an Italian restaurant was trying squid ink spaghetti for the first time and I loved it! But once I again, I wanted to eat pizza made in Japan.
I have eaten at your usual Pizza-La, Dominos Pizza Japan and also Pizza Hut Japan, but this time, I wanted to visit a restaurant that specialized in making their own pizza. A real pizzeria and I eventually found Zio Pippo Pizzeria in Jimbocho (Facebook site here).
As I headed there for lunch, while the menus are posted outside of the entrance, once I got in, I saw a few Japanese men eating a medium-sized pizza. One man folding the pizza and chowing down.
While I was curious about the pasta dishes, pizza is what I wanted to try and so I ordered the lunch special, which was a sausage pizza with onions, broccoli (a staple for Japanese pizzas, but no corn this time around). As I looked at the menu, I was impressed of how the prices were affordable at Zio Pippo, considering how much the larger pizza companies tend to charge (about $35 for a large pizza).
The restaurant owners looked fairly young but the customers are people of all ages, as a man in his ’60s was eating an entire pizza, a group of women were to my right and pretty much the atmosphere was more professional yet hip, considering that the location of the restaurant is near many work areas.
I noticed that the restaurant used a firepit for their baking of pizzas, similar to Me-n-Ed’s.
You are served with a salad in the beginning, but once you get your pizza, you are just amazed of how large it looks.
The pizza was absolutely delicious but if there was one thing I would have them not do is drench the pizza in Italian virgin olive oil.
But overall, it was finally great to not go to a major pizza chain and eat at a pizzeria in Japan. Love the atmosphere and the delicious food and I hope to go there again!
