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Photo: L’antica Pizzeria da Michele
Scooped out piping hot from the oven, the pizza lands on the table. Its crust is airy, leopard-spotted, and nicely crisp; yielding but firm enough to prop up layers of tangy tomato sauce, savoury toppings, and oozy, gooey cheese.
The first bite almost scalds your tongue, but the second bite, taken with just a hint more caution — sublime.
Indeed, there are very few problems that a great slice can’t fix. It is good news, then, that the pizza scene in Singapore has long been blazing red-hot, with many of the best pizzaiolos from around the world — especially the birthplace of modern pizza, Naples — to sling their take on the Italian import.
Read on for a hit list of the buzzy pizza parlours to check out.
1. L’antica Pizzeria da Michele
Photo: L’antica Pizzeria da Michele
The latest outpost of a legendary Neapolitan pizza institution has recently landed in Singapore. L’antica Pizzeria da Michele, a mainstay in the pizza capital of Italy since 1870, brings with it the same rigorous attention to closely guarded recipes, time-tested techniques and Italian terroir. Like its other locations in 19 other countries, including Saudi Arabia, Japan, and the United States, the pie chain’s inaugural Southeast Asian outpost (which seats 70) will feature its signature pizza a ruota di carro.
The term translates to “wagon wheel pizza”, fashioned from imported Caputo flour and baked in a custom-made Stefano Ferrara Napoli pizza oven. (Fun fact: The pizzeria was featured on Eat Pray Love, the 2010 film version of the best-selling travel memoir)
Expect Neapolitan favourites like the traditional margherita, served here with a heaving portion of region-protected pecorino romano, Agerola Fior di Latte (flower of milk) cheese imported from an area just south of Naples and tomato sauce. This is featured alongside a full-flavoured repertoire of red and white pies, such as the Cetera, which spotlights a briny, savoury combination of capers, olives, and anchovies fished off the Amalfi coast.
#01-08, Mercure ICON Singapore City Centre, 8 Club Street, damichele.sg
2. Beyond The Dough
Photo: Beyond The Dough
The austerity of Italian culinary tradition meets exacting Japanese gastronomy at Beyond The Dough, pizzaiolo Eddie Murakami’s ode to his signature style of Tokyo Neapolitan pizza. His creations here are remnants of his time at Pizza Strada and Pizza Studio Tamaki in Tokyo (no. 82 and 88, respectively, on the Top Pizzas in the World 2023 list).
The 28-seater restaurant features a woodsy, minimalist decor to better allow patrons to focus on its pies, slung from a dough that’s been proofed for over 30 hours. Signature flavours range from the traditional, like the classic margherita and diavola pizzas, to new-wave offerings, like the Beyond Bianca or the locavore Singapore Rampage.
The former comprises mascarpone, buffalo cheese, burrata, and a splash of truffle oil, while the latter features a fiery mix of shrimp, chilli, garlic, and basil.
Reservations have been coming in fast since the restaurant opened, so you’ll want to act quickly if you want to get your hands on Murakami’s stuff within the next couple of months.
150 Arab Street, lounge.oddle.me/en_SG/beyondthedough
3. Puffy Bois
Photo: Puffy Bois
Casual pies, a good selection of booze, and groovy tunes are the name of the game for the newly opened Puffy Bois in the hipster enclave of Bali Lane. The boys in question, Zul Zaba and Sam Ng, have both spent time abroad shoring up their skills in the world of spirits and puffy pizzas, with stints at such establishments as Melbourne’s Black Pearl (a regular entrant in The World’s 50 Best Bars list) and Employees Only in Singapore.
There are only five pies for now — the margherita and pepperoni for a one-two combo of the classics, three rotating flavours, and all the crowd-pleasing cocktails you’ll need to wash it all down.
20A Bali Lane, puffybois.com
4. Osteria Mozza
Photo: Osteria Mozza
Osteria Mozza, the Singapore outpost of American bread maestro Nancy Silverton’s one-Michelin-starred flagship in Los Angeles of the same name, has been wowing crowds with its brand of star-powered contemporary Italian flair since reopening at the Hilton Singapore Orchard two years ago. Most recently, they’ve refreshed their menu with three new pies.
There’s a play on the classic BLT sandwich featuring crispy bacon strips, thinly sliced pancetta, tomato confit, and rucola greens in lieu of lettuce on a bed of onion cream and aioli. Additionally, there’s a pizza that places indulgent goat’s cheese at centre stage, alongside supporting acts in the form of sauteed scallions, butter-braised leeks, more crispy bacon, and garlic confit.
Finally, there’s Le Bianche, where roasted fingerling potatoes find themselves alongside gorgonzola dolce, a sweetish Italian blue cheese, fior di latte, radicchio, and rosemary.
Level 5, Hilton Singapore Orchard, 333 Orchard Road, hilton.com/en/hotels/sinorhi-hilton-singapore-orchard/dining/osteria-mozza/
