As far as the rest of the world's concerned, Japanese pizza exists in a weird parallel universe where cabbage, mayonnaise, mochi and Korean bulgogi are all considered legitimate toppings. Rather less attention gets paid to the fact that, over the past decade or so, Japan's pizzerias have started to get very good indeed. So good, in fact, that you can now find margheritas in Tokyo that are every bit as good as what you'd get in Naples – albeit three or four times as expensive.
While we think Da Isa – run by prize-winning pizzaiolo Hisanori Yamamoto – is currently producing the best pizza in Tokyo, you no longer have to schlep across town to get your fix. Some of the best restaurants, like Massimottavio and Pizzeria da Peppe Napoli Sta’ Ca", are run by Italians; others are entirely homegrown operations, overseen by Japanese chefs who learned the ropes in Italian kitchens – or, in the case of Seirinkan's Susumu Kakinuma, just by eating a lot of pizza. And if you prefer American-style pies to the Italian variety, don't worry: we've also found space for a few places that do it right.
Reviews by James Hadfield
The top ten
Restaurants, Pizza
Da Isa: The best pizza in Tokyo? Probably
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 its sourdough pizzas are sublime.
Restaurants, Pizza
Seirinkan: Margherita or marinara: take your pick
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.
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Restaurants, Pizza
L’Antica Pizzeria da Michele: The big-name Neapolitan one
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.
Restaurants, Pizza
Massimottavio: The renegade pizzeria
After a decade manning the oven at Eifukucho's La Piccola Tavola, chef Massimo Minicucci opened a place of his own (literally) just around the corner – and it's even better.
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Restaurants, Pizza
Frey’s Famous Pizzeria: Keeping it minimal in Roppongi
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.
Restaurants, Pizza
Pizzeria da Peppe Napoli Sta' Ca": When only 100% Neapolitan will do
Run by a Naples native who's been making pizzas since he was 12, Pizzeria da Peppe offers superior fodder in a cosy space festooned with SSC Napoli paraphernalia.
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Restaurants, Italian
Pizza Da Babbo: Perfection is overrated
An intimate, L-shaped restaurant in Ningyocho that already looks far older than its six years, Da Babbo serves misshapen margheritas of the highest order.
Restaurants, Italian
Tarantella da Luigi: There's more to life than pizza
Tokyo's best pizzeria for people who don't like pizza, Tarantella da Luigi has an impressively well rounded menu – and it's cheaper than you'd expect.
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Restaurants, Pizza
Rocco's New York Style Pizza: A slice of the Big Apple in Tokyo
Forget Sbarro: this is the real deal. Rocco’s sells its pizzas by the slice, NYC-style, and they're actually good enough to merit a trip to Oji. Yeah: Oji.
Restaurants, Italian
Pizzeria Il Tamburello: Location, location, location
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.
Honourable mentions
Restaurants, Italian
Napolimania: Cheaper than you'd think
Who said eating out in Omotesando had to be expensive? Italian-run Napolimania sticks it to local big dog Napule by serving similar quality pizzas at half the price.
Restaurants, Pizza
Pizzakaya: Go for the pizza, stay for the beer
Forget Naples: the speciality at this long-running Roppongi diner is honest-to-god, Californian-style pizza, with US craft beer on tap in the evening.
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Restaurants, Italian
Partenope: Boring. But good
It may lack the flair of some of Tokyo's newer contenders, but for solidly, stolidly good Neapolitan pizza, it's hard to go wrong with Partenope.
Restaurants, Italian
La Piccola Taverna: Eifukucho's second best pizzeria
The first Tokyo restaurant to be certified by the Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana, La Piccola is still good, but it lost a little of its mojo when star pizzaiolo Massimo left.
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Restaurants, Pizza
Pizzeria da Aoki Tappost: An unexpected gem
Of all the places we've stumbled across quality pizzerias in Tokyo, this little-trafficked corner of Nerima-ku must be one of the most unexpected.
Restaurants, Pizza
Trattoria e Pizzeria L'Arte: Sangenjaya's prime pizza spot
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.
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Restaurants, Pizza
Pizzeria La Rossa: Herby goodness
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.
Restaurants, Italian
Pizzeria GG: Perfect for a park-side pitstop
After building a strong following in Higashi-Nakano, Pizzeria GG upped and moved to Kichijoji in 2010 – but its prices and cheeky atmosphere haven't changed.
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Bars and pubs, Craft beer pubs
DevilCraft: Go for the beer, stay for the pizza
Sure, it's primarily a beer bar, but Kanda microbrew Mecca DevilCraft has earned a strong following for its lovingly crafted deep-dish Chicago pizzas.
Restaurants, Pizza
Sempre Pizza: Cheap and cheerful in Koenji
Of all the dirt-cheap pizzerias to open around Tokyo in the past year or two, this no-frills shop – which dishes out margheritas for ¥390 a pop – is still our favourite.
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