Naples native Peppe Erricchiello has been making pizzas professionally since he was 12, which gives him a significant edge over even Japan's most veteran pizzaioli. Based in Tokyo since 2006, he worked the ovens at Shinjuku's Spacca Napoli and Komazawa-Daigaku's La Bicocca on the way to opening his own restaurant in Kamiyacho at the end of 2011. The ensuing success finally allowed him to expand in October 2015, which is when this spacious branch right by Komazawa-Daigaku Station started business.
A visit to Peppe's is like a quick Italian vacation: from the blue-tiled exterior and shop awning proclaiming 'Napoli Sta' Ca"' ('Naples is here') to the boisterous staff welcoming you with true Italian hospitality, everything's spot on. You get to choose from more than 20 different topping combinations for the pizzas, all made with the finest Italian produce. Peppe’s speciality, however, is the Pizza Don Salvo: its crust is stuffed with ricotta and spicy salami, then folded into an eight-point star and topped with tomato sauce, a generous amount of mozzarella, fresh tomatoes, basil and parmesan.
You’ll also find hot and cold antipasti, grilled meat and seafood, plus enough pasta to feed an entire Neapolitan family. And as no Italian meal is complete without dolce, we’d be remiss not to mention Peppe’s tiramisu. Top it all off with a glass of chilled limoncello and you’ll be speaking the native Napoli tongue in no time.