Pizza Studio Tamaki or Vincenzo Capuano – which new, hyped pizza place to try first?

Just when you thought the pizza market was more saturated than olive oil-soaked focaccia, more specialty pizza restaurants come along to prove that there is always another slice of the pie to be had.

The latest to open are Pizzeria Vincenzo Capuano by Vincenzo Capuano, ranked No 12 on last year’s 50 Top World Artisan Pizza Chains list and named World Champion of "Contemporary Pizza" in 2022; and Pizza Studio Tamaki or PST, famed for turning Neapolitan pizza into a different art form of its own in Japan.

While both specialise in Neapolitan-style pizza, their styles are very different. Here’s what you need to know.

VINCENZO CAPUANO

Nearly a million TikTok followers, a favourite on Italian television, a native of Naples and a fourth-generation pizzaiolo, Vincenzo Capuano is a well-known name in the world of contemporary pizza.

“Half of Italy loves it, half of Italy hates it,” he quipped to us about his style of contemporary pizza involving a very delicate, highly hydrated dough that follows a more complicated preparation process involving pre-fermentation the day before. The flour used is a unique blend developed by Capuano himself. And, in another break with tradition, the pizza is fired for 130 to 140 seconds, longer than usual.

“If you are normal, people will forget. If you move people with emotion, they remember you,” he said, with the endearing brashness that has made him a TikTok star.

There are two things Capuano lives by: Footballer Diego Maradona, whose pictures adorn the walls, and a fierce pride in Naples and its produce. “It’s very important that the ingredients are from Naples,” he said. Tomato sauce, for instance, is made by crushing Italian tomatoes by hand.

“If you want sushi, you go to Japan. If you want pizza, you come to Naples,” he asserted.

One thing that’s certainly different is the gold scissors that accompany all the pizzas served at his 30-odd-and-counting restaurants around the world.

Slicing the pillowy pizza up with scissors instead of a pizza cutter ensures that the crust retains its proudly puffy structure, showing off the beautiful air pockets that form as a result of dough expertise.

But, don’t just pinch and cut the pizza. First, puncture it; make one or two tiny snips in the crust, then slide your blade into the incisions and cut from within in smooth, decisive moves.

50 pairs of these food-grade, made-in-Italy scissors were brought to Singapore, he told us, divulging: “In Italy, we bring in new ones every day, because people steal them. My grandfather put a chain on them once, but it was too difficult to wash them.”

Get the Provola e Pepe (S$28) with smoked provola cheese, pepper and roasted cherry tomatoes – the pizza that won Capuano the Pizza World Champion prize. Capuano has adapted the dough-making to the climate and humidity of Singapore, so you know you’re tasting the pizza just as it was meant to be.

TRY THIS IF:

• You’re all about the crust as you’re a dough and fermentation nerd
• You like classic, cleaner flavours where you can taste the purity of each ingredient
• You prefer a more laid-back vibe

Vincenzo Capuano Singapore is at 01-12, The Pier@Robertson, 80 Mohamed Sultan Road.

PIZZA STUDIO TAMAKI (PST)

Highly anticipated Pizza Studio Tamaki or PST will open only on Jun 10 but is already booked out for the month, as befits the first Singapore outpost of one of Japan’s most talked-about, Michelin-recommended pizza restaurants.

Okinawa-born chef Tsubasa Tamaki’s Tokyo-Neapolitan style pizza is very different in texture and flavour from traditional pizza from Naples, but pays no less attention to quality ingredients, many of which are from Japan.

In what we think is the highest possible endorsement of a restaurant’s food, Tamaki, after furiously making pizzas for a restaurant full of people including us, proceeded to then eat his own pizza for lunch.

Each pizza is ushered into the oven with a preceding toss of Okinawan salt, not so much to make the crust palatable as to enhance the pizza’s deeply smoky aroma.

The olive-oil drizzled pies with their big, beautifully blistered crusts are assertive in both looks and flavour. And their cloud-like texture means you’ll have the appetite to sample two, three, maybe even four flavours.

The signature Tamaki (S$29) features Datterini cherry tomatoes from Italy, smoked mozzarella from Japan, pecorino and basil. Tamaki recommends that you squish the tomatoes with your fork before eating.

Definitely get the Arrabbiata (S$30) with its magically heady combination of Aomori garlic, fresh mozzarella, house-made pork nduja, fresh Italian parsley and a hit of spice from house-made cili padi flakes.

The tiramisu is also very solid, or, for a lighter sweet, go for the vanilla ice cream (S$9.80) made sophisticated with a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkle of sea salt.

TRY THIS IF:

• You prefer oozier toppings and silky textures
• You like punchier, bolder, saltier flavours (you can ask for your pizza less charred or with less salt, but what’s the point?)
• You prefer a more cosmopolitan vibe

PST Singapore opens June 10 at 38 Tanjong Pagar Road.