Antonio Miscellaneo is said to make the best pizza in town right now. His rustic abode, La Bottega Enoteca, clinched the 19th spot in the 50 Top Pizza awards in the Asia Pacific region back in June this year – the go-to Italian authority for pizza ratings across the globe. And most recently, he even went on to snag a spot in the Top 100 Best Pizza Chef awards, coming in at the 57th spot, with pizza godfather Franco Pepe leading the pack.
While Singapore is often regarded as an epicurean’s playground, the Little Red Dot isn’t necessarily the first place that comes to mind when most people think about pizza. But with Miscellaneo clinching these accolades, things are starting to change and pizza purveyors are paying close attention.
Born and raised in the city of Belluno in Northern Italy, Miscellaneo is one who has always kept in touch with his motherland, visiting and living in different parts of it like Bologna, Umbria, Rome, Napoli, and Sicily. Prior to settling down in Singapore with his wife and kids, he also spent a few years living in London and Milan. Following in his mother’s footsteps, he too played the role of a good host to his friends over the weekends in his apartment in Katong.
This almost always involves Miscellaneo whipping up true-to-style Italian cooking. Besides pizzas, he served up comforting dishes that were made from scratch – well-loved signatures include eggplant parmigiana, grilled gambero rosso (red prawns), and spaghetti alla chitarra with tomato. And these Sunday feasts went on behind closed doors for close to a decade.
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From posting about the feasts on social media to word of mouth, Miscellaneo’s friends garnered him plenty of attention and soon, word spread around the grapevine. That eventually led to opening his doors to hungry strangers who were willing to fork out money for his cooking. Casa Nostra, a home-based private diner, became official and business was brisk – that meant fully booked in a month with a waitlist of over thousands.
But when the pandemic struck back in 2020, Miscellaneo chose to return to his hometown in Belluno where he spent the next nine months with family. He also travelled across different regions where there was plenty to eat, especially in Campania and Sicily. Little did he know that this very Italian retreat was set to play a huge part in the making of Singapore’s best pizzeria.
While each region’s culinary influence left a deep impression on him, the idea of setting up shop in Singapore didn’t come into view until his three-month-long stay in Umbria. Determined to turn his fantasy into reality, Miscellaneo returned to the Lion City when the pandemic cooled off.
In 2021, he premiered La Bottega Enoteca, a humble little nook in Joo Chiat that allowed him to spread his love for proper Italian fare to everyone. Right off the bat, Miscellaneo’s unique style of pizza stood out and earned him much praise, both online and offline.
His crowning jewel, the “Newpolitan” pizza takes a page off the traditional Neapolitan pizza. Sporting an evenly charred crust, each pizza arrives light and crisp on the outside while soft and chewy on the inside. Every bite of the 72-hour slow-fermented dough is highly textural and flavoursome with the faintest expression of tang. It is no wonder it is Singapore’s best pizza at the moment.
“You know, people always ask about my secret to making pizza”
“There is really no secret. It's not like you put a secret ingredient and the perfect pizza comes out,” shares Miscellaneo when he spoke with us. “But it is small details that make the difference and we pay very close attention to that.” Things like sticking to specific flour ratios and cooking temperatures, dusting off excess semolina flour to avoid burning when cooking in the oven, and allowing ample rest time before it is served to the guests.
Then there are the ingredients and Miscellaneo is one who insists on only using the best. Think Italian mozzarella, creamy burrata from Puglia, beautiful Spanish sardines, luscious San Marzano tomatoes, and proper Sardinian bottarga. “Don’t forget the Gran Biscotto, it’s the best of all cooked ham in Italy,” exclaims Miscellaneo. The gourmet Italian pork ham is best known for its signature smoky beechwood aroma and buttery texture.
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That passion for food doesn’t stop there. Miscellaneo makes and ages his own salumi too – one that is typical of his hometown where he uses a blend of pork and beef. “In the old days, it used to be done from pork and horse meat,” reveals Miscellaneo. “But nowadays, beef is now more commonly eaten and less expensive.” Only using salt and pepper to season, the aged salumi eats clean and rounds off with an elegant wave of acidity that makes the mouth water for more.
“In Umbria, I befriended a local farmer who rears his own pigs and makes his own hams,” continues Miscellaneo. “He taught me more about ageing whole muscles, which isn’t a tradition in my hometown. And that is how I got inspired to make my own Italian coppa ham which I do for La Bottega”.
“We make about 50 pizzas on a good day but we can only do so much”
Prior to the awards, La Bottega Enoteca was already packed with diners, even on a Monday. The proof is in the pudding but with only two pizza ovens to serve the entire 50-seater restaurant, not everyone will get to enjoy as much pizza as they intended. Now with the awards, the waitlist will only multiply. And Miscellaneo knows that.
He has even reinstated Casa Vostra, which means “your home” in Italian, a delivery arm that offers more access to his Italian cooking. Ultimately, the goal is to make these award-winning pizzas widely available for more people to enjoy. More recently, he has been busy setting up Casa Vostra's new pop-up space in Ann Siang Hill which is set to open on November 4 till the end of 2023.
The temporary outpost will open only on weekends for dine-in where diners are treated to the signature pizzas, pasta, gelato and cold cuts that will be readily available. Miscellaneo also teases DIY kits for both pizzas and pastas along with ready-to-heat pizzas and other imported gourmet Italian products that will stock the shelves in the retail space.
The reign of having the best pizza in Singapore firmly belongs to Antonio Miscellaneo's La Bottega Enoteca and with his latest outpost soon opening, it is about time that these irresistible pizzas are made accessible to the masses.
