PIZZAKAYA — Restaurant in Tokyo

I have heard many good things about this place so I had high expectations and was so excited about hosting a pizza party with 16 people that I had made a reservation 2 months in advance. The various staff I talked to on the phone during that time seemed friendly too.

In terms of the quality of food, hands down five stars. The 3890 JPY all you can eat + 1 drink was definitely worth it, and my friends loved being able to test out different types of pizza.

However, minus two stars because I was quite disappointed with how they served their amazing pizza and other food, because:

1. I basically had to get out of my seat to fetch the waitress/ owner to get our orders many times throughout the 2 hour course. The waitress was mostly at the cash register and the owner was more attentive towards the other group which was a smaller group than us (like the other review said, I felt like our group was mostly ignored).

2. Not only me but some of my friends heard the staff who served us making annoyed, snarky comments under their breaths

3. The payment method was not the way I initially had confirmed with the owner few days in advance which created chaotic calculations (initially, we agreed that he can do a headcount once people arrive, then just pay the party menu fee first, then calculate all additional costs in the end). In addition, there was also a huge error in the receipt to which luckily one of my friends spotted because otherwise, we would have had to pay double the total cost.

I understand that 16 people is a lot to deal with and taking drink and pizza orders from that many people can be quite handful, especially on a Saturday night. I, as the hostess of this gathering, do thank the restaurant for letting this group come but, I was extremely disappointed that even my guests had to feel unwelcomed by the staff.

With that said, I would definitely recommend this restaurant for a group up to maybe like 5-6 people, but not for a group bigger than that because I sensed there was a limited capacity in terms of staff VS...

Pizzakaya came through for us last night when we needed an urgent gluten-free dinner, and none of the other options we had researched were open (or indeed that affordable). It’s a little confusing about where to go, but google maps took us up Nadare Zaka from Roppongi-Dori Avenue to the side of the Sumimoto Fudosan Roppongi Grand Tower. We then crossed the street, and there was a staircase leading down inside the building (only 1 flight of stairs down from the street). You could see through the open floor past the railing to the station below. Stick to the left side as you come down those stairs from Nadare Zaka, and you will be in a corridor with shops on the left and glass windows on the right the whole way along. Pass a few other stores, and eventually you will see an automatic door ahead of you in the corridor. Go through it, and Pizzakaya is immediately on the left. The staff are all native English speakers by the looks of it, so even if your Japanese is a bit rough, you will be absolutely fine. They explained to us that anything marked gluten-free is always gluten-free, so you don’t have to specify whether you want it gluten free or not. They can’t do the Detroit pizza gluten free, and the gluten-free pizza only comes in the small size. Which is pretty normal even in my home country. We got the roast seasonal vegetables and bbq chicken pizza, and I appreciated how the chicken was in large, tasty pieces. As some other pizza places I’ve eaten at back home really skimp on the meat....

Nice pub, great pizza. We know a founder and former owner of Pizzakaya, so had this on our list to check out. It did not disappoint! There was a reasonable selection of beers on the board, but most importantly, one really nice hard cider. As for the food, the combinations of toppings were among the best we've had in Japan (we had the 3 mushroom pizza and the chicken and avocado pizza), with flavors that were perfectly selected. But the crust, oh, the crust! Hands down the best we've had in Japan. Puffy, crispy (but not too hard), a hint of carbonization, and with the perfect amount of chew, it was the ideal texture and flavor to complement the excellent toppings. The prices were similar to those of the major Japan pizza delivery shops -- in other words, compared to most pizza prices in the USA, pound for pound about 4X the price -- but that tends to be par for the course in Japan. Staff were friendly and attentive, and the decorations were eclectic and entertaining. All in all, a great place to hang out and feel like home, especially if you like a nice American style local pizza joint. Hankering for a great pizza and a pint? Check...