PST OKINAWA by the sea（ピーエスティー オキナワ バイザシー） — Restaurant in Onna

We were very excited to try this Bib Gourmand-awarded pizzeria as we were not able to dine at the Tokyo location earlier in our trip. After being seated we were told that all guests must order a drink. The cocktail menu was very disappointing. There was nothing with sake or shochu and only a whisky highball for local liquors so we both decided on Moscow mules and ordered a Caesar salad to start. The mules were so watered down I wasn’t sure we received the proper drinks. It was served in an American sized Coca Cola glass filled to the rim and I’d assume that half a can of ginger ale was split between both beverages and the rest sparkling water. The single worst Moscow mule I’ve ever had in my life. The Caesar salad arrived with no croutons, no lemon juice, no eggs, Worcestershire sauce, anchovies, garlic, Dijon mustard and no black pepper. Just olive oil and Parmesan over lettuce. In the restaurants defence we did ask for no pork but that should not have affected the dish. I ordered the margarita pizza and my partner the local white fish ajillo. The waiter brought the ajillo out in a skillet with his bare hands (no towel or oven mitts) and there was no steam or sizzling coming from the skillet (important detail). My partner waited approximately 5 minutes for my pizza to arrive but when the waiter came back around to our table she asked if everything was alright and if they should start on the pizza. Confused as to why dishes weren’t brought out together nevermind the pizza already put in the oven already, we told her to fire it up as we were expecting to eat together. I told my partner to start eating as I didn’t want his dish to get cold but quite the opposite happened. It was scorching hot, with no warning from the waiter and no tell tale signs of the dish being anywhere near that temperature. He received second degree burns on the entire upper left side of his mouth (bubbling, peeling and then bleeding).

He took a bite from his dish and IMMEDIATELY burned his mouth, skin peeling almost instantly, thankfully he didn’t eat it as soon as it was served, otherwise who knows how much worse the burn would’ve been. We left about 15 minutes later since the pain was only getting worse. I brought it to the attention to staff, and they showed no compassion, they even giggled between themselves in front of me. I asked for my pizza to go since we needed to see a doctor, they even charged me for a to-go pizza box.

Even besides this situation, we were served dry Caesar salad and watery moscow mules. Nothing but a disappointing experience, I wish I could...

Around a week ago we visited the PST in Tokyo. Very good pizza, especially the one with arrabiata. When we visited Okinawa and saw PST had a restaurant here, we were eager to try it. We booked a table in advance, and when we came, we were told we could sit outside in their sofa. 32 degrees outside… When we got our pizzas, they were outrageous spicy. As a person who has traveled in India, Thailand and other places known for spicy food, I wouldn’t consider myself as a person with a low spice tolerance. We asked the staff, why it was uneatable spicy, compared to the restaurant in Tokyo and the waiter showed the chilli seeds they put in our tomato sauce. When we started looking into details on the pizza, hundreds of chilli seeds were spread out on the pizza. When we complained the waiter came with a glass of water. In general the service was under par, and the reason I wrote this review is the service we met when we were paying. Arrogantly laughing in our face. Feels like a cash grab. Would...

PST by the Sea is surprisingly still such a hidden gem! The pizza was excellent, we tried the Tamaki and the Nduja. Pizzaiolo Jimbo Shoichi trained with Tamaki-san for half a year, and it was beautiful watching him create that signature pleated crust so quickly and effortlessly. The crust was soft and fluffy, with the perfect chew and just the right amount of char. The signature salt throw under the crust added a great hit of salt to each bite, just the right amount to be addictive. We would have ordered a third pizza if our stomachs would have let us! Highly recommend, and while I was happy there wasn't a crowd, I know more people should be lining up for their pizza- so go! It's just on the side of the ANA intercontinental hotel, with a free parking lot before you get to the entrance of the hotel. Hopefully we'll be back sooner than later. Thank you to Jimbo-san...