L'Antica Pizzeria da Michele Ebisu branch — Restaurant in Tokyo

An Italian friend recommended this restaurant to me as serving the closest thing to real Italian pizza in Japan. I haven't been to Italy, so I wouldn't know if it was authentic or not, but I though the pizza was very tasty and I really enjoyed it. It was very different from the pizza I know from America, and I thought it was a wonderful change. The crust was soft and springy and the ingredients were high quality. My friend and I also had some mixed drinks, which were very tasty, and an appetizer plate of various meats that was good too. In terms of food and quality, this restaurant certainly deserves a five star rating and I would not hesitate to eat this food again.

I have given this restaurant one star because of the highly inappropriate antics of the waiter, whose sexist, predatory behavior left me feeling very uncomfortable. (I was at this restaurant March 8 around 17:00, if anyone reads this and wants to check the staff roster.) The waiter made it very clear that he was only interested in serving or speaking to women. A few examples: 1) instead of approaching my table directly to ask if I (female) and my friend (male) enjoyed our meal, the waiter came up behind me and started talking close to my ear, with no "excuse me" or attempt to let me know he was there. I had to make a startled, 180-degree turn in my chair just to see him, only to discover that he was VERY close to me. I did NOT like being snuck up on in that way. It was scary and unnerving. 2) I watched the waiter walk past one of the female staff whose hands were busy inputting data on the restaurant Ipad. He put his hand on her waistline and slid his hand around her side and across her lower back. Her face didn't look happy to me, though she tried to play it off. 3) My male friend noticed the waiter's behavior and decided to do a little experiment. As we were paying and getting ready to go, my friend made eye contact with the waiter and said "Gochisousama" (a common expression of gratitude used after a meal in Japan). The waiter did not respond, looked away, and started talking to the female staff. So my friend caught the waiter's eye again and pointedly repeated "Gochisousama", and was again ignored in favor of the female staff. So my friend tried a third time and was ignored again, though this time the waiter decided to chat me up instead. It was a very rude and disrespectful way to treat a guest of the restaurant, as well as evidence that the waiter was a sexist jerk.

In summation, I thought this restaurant was great and I thoroughly enjoyed the meal. I would recommend the food to anyone. But I felt very uncomfortable with the sexist, predatory behavior of the waiter, not to mention the rudeness he showed my male friend, and I will not be returning...

I used to go to this restaurant once or twice a month when I worked in the area, but now just go for special occassions.

I usually order margherita pizza and zeppoline, both of which taste absolutely incredible and would easily net the restaurant 5/5 alone. However on my latest visit I noticed a couple of changes that have made me lower the rating:

1. The prices have considerably changed. A margherita used to cost 1,550 JPY and is now 2,380 JPY. The DOP Margherita (buffalo mozzarella) doesn't seem to be an option any more.

2. When I asked for chili oil they said they don't supply it any more. This is a shame as it's a fairly common ask and made the pizza a lot better in my opinion.

3. They no longer provide espresso at the end of the meal and charge 200 JPY for it. Not much, but it was a nice local addition that seems to be ignored now.

4. We went here for our 2 year anniversary and left a note. Didn't expect anything special in terms of free food (it's Japan after all!), but expected good service. Unfortunately we got given a 'meh' table next to a family with kids and babies (which I love, but wasn't able to hear our conversation..), absolutely 0 service in terms of staff members rushing around ignoring us, not filling up water, etc. Overall lackluster service and a little disappointing.

Food: 5/5 Price: 3/5 (still reasonable, but no longer 'doable' for a standard lunch) Service: 1/5 Attitude: 2/5

I'd come back, but definitely not for a special occassion, and probably only as a takeout so I can be happy at...

I very much wanted to love this pizzeria, given its prestigious lineage. The shop was charming, bright, and spacious; the staff were pleasant; and the food arrived promptly. Probably if this had been the first pizza I'd tried in Tokyo, I'd have been duly impressed. It was certainly decent. The tomato base was clean and fruity, and the crust nicely charred and very thin in the authentic Neapolitan style. That said, the crust also lacked that dynamic of crispy exterior and soft, airy interior which defines the very best pies. It was dense and heavy all the way through, and took enough effort to tear off and chew so as to be conspicuous (you didn't devour it so much as persevered as a matter of duty). Moreover, while a good dough should always be well salted, I found this dough to be unnecessarily salty. Lastly, whereas other shops top off their pies with a drizzle of peanut oil or chilli-infused olive oil, LAPM left their pies undressed (at least the ones we tried), which made them feel dry and, as the cheese cooled, slightly rubbery. (The pies are also big, and therefore more suited for sharing, as otherwise they're hard to finish while still hot and melty.)

I'll definitely go back at least once to see if this is really their style or if they simply weren't on top of their game that day. In the meantime, I'll be returning to my old favourites, Pizzeria Capoli (Shinjuku), Pizzeria Tonino (Shimo-Takaido), and my personal number one, Borsa...