The best pizza in Tokyo

PST, as it’s called by fans, is led by Tsubasa Tamaki, who trained under lauded pizzaiolo Sussum Kakinuma of Seirinkan and Savoy. His impeccable pizzas have a salty slant thanks to the pinch of seasoning thrown into the oven before the pizza goes in.

Backed up by a Stefano Ferrara forni (pizza oven) – described as the Ferrari of the pizza oven world – this restaurant is bustling every lunchtime and evening of the week. And with good reason, too: the pizzas have just the right amount of puff and char on the crust to make you feel like you’re in Naples.

The quaint atmosphere of Tutto Bene combined with its excellent, affordable pizzas will have you leaving the restaurant feeling, without a doubt, ‘tutto bene’ (all is good). The lunch special could be one of the best in Tokyo – ¥950 for a large garden salad followed by your choice of pizza. 

The seating around the oven at Savoy means you can watch the pizzaiolo in action, delicately shaping dough and skilfully wielding his wooden peel (the giant pizza spatula). Plus, it gives the space a humble, homely feel that goes perfectly with the wood-fired pizza. 

Pizza Strada has become a fixture in Azabu-Juban for its perfectly executed wood-fired classics, as well as for specials using local seasonal produce like Hiroshima oysters, Hokkaido asparagus and shine muscat grapes. 

Hisanori Yamamoto picked up a string of pizza-making trophies in Naples on the way to opening his own shop. Da Isa is always hectic, but the sourdough pizzas are sublime.

A multi-floor steampunk spectacular, Seirinkan would be worth visiting even if the pizzas weren't top-notch. But they are – all two of them.

The Naples eatery venerated in 'Eat, Pray, Love' made a splashy debut in Tokyo at the start of 2012, and shot straight to the top of the city's pizza league.

After a decade manning the oven at La Piccola Tavola, chef Massimo Minicucci left to open a place of his own. He built the stone oven himself, and it gives his pizzas a soft, pillowy crust. 

Run by a Naples native who's been making pizzas since he was 12, Pizzeria da Peppe serves up superior slices in a cosy space covered with SSC Napoli football paraphernalia.

An interesting setting goes a long way. Housed in a converted old building in Kodenmacho, Il Tamburello has atmosphere in spades – but the pizzas are more than up to snuff.

Cast in the Seirinkan mould, hip Roppongi eatery Frey’s serves just three types of pizza, cooked in an enormous metal oven that looks more like an industrial furnace.

Bella Napoli’s margheritas are arguably the best on that side of the Sumida River, but the real treat is the massive rucola e prosciutto, a veritable tower of ham and greens served on top of a perfectly baked thin crust. 

Who said eating out in Omotesando had to be expensive? Italian-run Napolimania serves up high quality pizzas at stunningly low prices for the area – we’re talking ¥1,000 lunch sets and ¥1,200 margheritas at dinner.

A standout even in the Italian-heavy restaurant cluster of Ebisu, the pizza here veiled in prosciutto and topped with a pile of fresh rocket is our favourite. 

The first Tokyo restaurant to be certified by the Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana, La Piccola has kept its mojo even after all these years. 

Of all the quality pizzerias we've stumbled across in Tokyo, this little-trafficked corner of Nerima must be one of the most unexpected.

While it can get pricey at dinner, the weekday lunch sets at this oh-so-authentic Neapolitan pizza shop in Sangenjaya are excellent value – if you can snag a table.

Using only top-notch San Felice flour without charging top dollar for it, La Rossa gives you a lot for your money, and the herb-covered 'Aroma' pizza is dazzlingly good.

There’s no better combination than a stroll around leafy Inokashira Park followed by authentic, inexpensive Naples-style pizza at this casual neighbourhood restaurant.