A guide to all the newest artisanal pizza restaurants in Singapore (2024)

There must have been something in the stars that has made a whole bunch of pizza places pop up in recent months. Some kind of fungi fengshui, perhaps. If the dining scene were its own living organism, it probably stroked its chin and said, “Well, there was a wave of new sushi places, so it’s time to balance it out with an avalanche of pizza.”

You will certainly not find me complaining about this. A pizza pie is like a first love: It’s warm, it’s cheesy and you can see yourself spending your whole life with it and growing old together and checking into a nursing home together and having the nurses wipe tomato sauce off your fingers for the rest of your full, happy life.

If you’ve been overwhelmed by the rash of new options, here’s an overview of where to get the kind of pizza fix that’s up your personal Pizzatown alley. The best part is that everyone wins when every new artisanal pizza place in town serves to raise the standard of pizza dining in Singapore.

Buon appetito!

There is no way to eat this pizza and remain pure – wear white at your own risk. Each draping slice is so slippery with olive oil that the toppings slide off and have to be scooped back onto the buckling crust. Olive oil trickles down my chin and has to be licked off my wrist. Biting into the pizza is like chewing on pillowy clouds drenched in acidic tomato sauce and milky mozzarella. There are no hard edges here – everything is soft, squishy, sopping and scrumptious.

Polishing off a whole pizza by myself is super easy and I’ve barely wiped the “zhup" off the plate with the last of my crust before I’m thinking about my next visit. But, alas! Scoring a reservation within the next month or two is as difficult as eating pizza for a week and not gaining any weight. This, of course, makes you want it all the more.

Beyond The Dough is at 150 Arab Street.

2. L’ANTICA PIZZERIA DA MICHELE

In Naples, you are often told to watch your belongings, but you are not warned that you may lose your heart to pizza. L’Antica Pizzeria Da Michele is one of the oldest and most famous eateries in Naples, where it has sold only two kinds of pizza since 1870: Margherita and marinara.

Singapore-based restaurateur Marcello Mazzotta, himself from Puglia, spent one year hounding the family-run establishment for a partnership that would be the first in Asia, “calling, emailing, calling and emailing” like a lovelorn suitor.

When Da Michele finally said yes, it was with many conditions. Not only did a woodfire oven have to be commissioned and built in Italy according to the exact same specifications, they also stipulated that balls of dough absolutely could not be refrigerated, even in Singapore’s humid heat. Da Michele uses a madia, a kind of antique Italian cabinet, to keep unbaked dough at a cool temperature.

It was 12,000 euros for the oven alone – forget the cost of having to knock down and rebuild the entrance because the mammoth appliance wouldn’t fit through.

Recipes and techniques are the same ones that have been used throughout the centuries. In Italy, Neapolitan pizza has the official status of STG (Specialita Tradizionale Garantita or Guaranteed Traditional Specialty) and you know you are as close as you can get to the real thing here – all the ingredients are from Italy, specifically, the region of Campania, where ingredients used for authentic Neapolitan pizza are accorded DOP (Denominazione Origine Protetta, or Protected Designation of Origin) status.

A fellow diner I chatted briefly with turned out to be from Naples and told me it was the first time he’d found the authentic taste of Neapolitan pizza outside of Italy.

So, what is a super traditional Neapolitan pizza like? The magic really lies in its simplicity. The fresh Fior di Latte mozzarella from Agerola, tangy San Marzano tomato sauce and pecorino Romano of a classic Margherita come together in natural union.

Each slice, with melting centre and crusty outer cornicione, can be inhaled in two or three bites, although the pizza itself is sized for sharing. Everything is clean without weightiness. Even the Diavola is unexpectedly elegant, with the savoury meatiness of aged salami from Calabria. It’s pizza you can return to and count on, again and again.

Although the restaurant is packed to the rafters, Marcello says he won’t open another outlet in Singapore because “The New York Times called Da Michele a temple of pizza. There is only one temple. If you want to pray, you come here”. Praise be.

L’antica Pizzeria Da Michele is at 8 Club Street #01-08.

3. TORNO SUBITO

There are so many things your eye darts to on the menu at this restaurant by globally acclaimed Italian chef and restaurateur Massimo Bottura. And indeed, you must try everything curated by the global culinary great, who needs no introduction.

But, you also would not be faulted for coming here just for the pizza.

Torno Subito’s kitchen is helmed by executive chef Alessio Pirozzi who is from Abruzzo in Italy and led the culinary direction of Torno Subito in Dubai. Along with other Italian ingredients, Italian Petra flour is used to make the pizzas here and nowhere else in Singapore, the team tells me. A combination of natural yeast and 48-hour dough makes the crusts light, firm, fluffy and scrumptious, filled with beautiful air bubbles and spotted with a lovely char.

The accommodating folks here have kindly offered to make me mini pizzas so I can sample more flavours.

Everything tastes clean, light, fresh and elegant. The “Upside-down Margherita”, found on the tasting menu, tries to “aha!” you by playfully using green pesto as a base, and cheese and tomato as toppings.

The Made In Sicily pizza (S$58), featuring pistachio, provola, Mazara del Vallo red shrimp tartare, lemon gel and basil, has the power to instantly transport, demanding an al fresco setting by the ocean with Prosecco and people-watching on the agenda.

But it’s perhaps the fig pizza or Fichi E Culatello (S$42) with fior di latte, walnuts and culatello ham that unexpectedly enchants with its seldom-found balance of refreshing flavours.

Torno Subito is at 26 Dempsey Road #01-02.

4. L’ARTE PIZZA & FOCACCIA

Three of the most difficult sentences to say are, “I am sorry”, “I was wrong” and “pineapple on pizza”. For Italians and those who identify as Italian in palate, the controversial culinary choice to put tropical fruit atop a pizza pie is a provocation to take up their pitchforks and riot.

But chef Radostin Kiryazov, who in his native Bulgaria is hailed as the “god of pizza” and whose accolades include multiple World Pizza Championship awards, brazenly opines, “We need to move into the future”.

L’Arte, previously serving crispy Romana style pizza, has launched eight new “contemporary” pizzas by Kiryazov. And one of them is the Tropicana (S$23) , featuring caramelised pineapple, parma ham, mint, basil and a medley of pecorino, gorgonzola, mozzarella and parmesan.

Don’t worry, he isn’t a complete infidel. “Pineapple with tomato – no. Pineapple with cheese – okay,” he tells us cheerfully, explaining that the caramelised sweetness of the pineapple serves as a flavour contrast to the salty unctuousness and slight funk of the four cheeses. Okay, that makes sense. And it’s extra convincing coming from a man who is wearing a pizza ring, from a line of jewellery he designed himself.

The dough in his new pizzas has 85 per cent hydration and is fermented for 48 hours, resulting in a pizza that’s easy to digest and doesn’t sit weightily in your stomach after your meal is done. It also helps that the pizzas are on the smaller side, which just means there’ll be room to try more flavours.

The All’amatriciana (S$24) is a hit with everyone at the table, with its guanciale, pecorino, mozzarella and spicy kick of cili padi. Other flavours are pretty classic too, like the Formaggi with mozzarella, gorgonzola, parmesan and smoked scarmoza; and the Carbonara with guanciale, pecorino, mozzarella and runny egg yolk. For the sweet-toothed, there’s also a dessert pizza featuring the classic, can’t-go-wrong combination of mascarpone and berries, with some pistachio, honey and mint.

L’Arte Pizza & Focaccia is at 5 Wallich Street #01-14.

5. IL CLAY

IL Clay at Clarke Quay’s claim to greatness is that the pizza here is by Italian chef Ciro Sorrentino, who has worked all over the world, is credited with bringing authentic Neapolitan pizza to Vietnam and has earned accolades such as 50 Top Pizzeria Eccellente Italia and 50 Top Pizza Asia-Pacific 2024 by the 50TOPpizza Italia Guide.

The main dining room is designed as a “supper club” that comes to life with beats and flashing lights at night, but true pizza devotees will find this superfluous. In fact, everything that is not pizza is, so, although there is a long list of other dishes, save all your room for the pizza, which won’t let you down.

There’s absolutely no fault to be found about the flavours and textures. The Napoli pizza (S$38), with mozzarella, anchovies, black olives, fermented garlic, chilli, basil and extra virgin olive oil is even more delicious, with a spicy hit that’s tremendously appetising. I also sampled the 6 Cheese & Honey pizza (S$55), with mascarpone, mozzarella, smoked provolone, pecorino, gorgonzola mousse, parmesan chips truffle and acacia honey – great for lovers of salty-sweet dynamics.

The surprising thing about these pizzas is how strikingly tasty the crust alone is – fat, charred and chewy, it has its own savoury flavour, asserting that it won’t be left in a sad little heap on the side of your plate.

IL Clay Supper Club is at 3D River Valley Road #01-04. Pizzas are available until 5pm in the indoor seating area and throughout the day in the alfresco area.

6. THE LONG WEEKEND PIZZA

This one has been around a little longer and east siders will know it well. A home business helmed by a former restaurant pizza chef who’s kitted out the front driveway with a fully functioning kitchen complete with the woodfire oven that formerly sat in the restaurant, the pizzas here are no-frills, honest and properly done.

On top of that, there’s something intangibly magical about the experience, from the little sales counter with a red-and-white striped awning that reminds you of a kids’ lemonade stand, to the satisfaction of receiving your box, opening it and tearing right into the pizza while it’s fresh and piping hot. There’s also a wholesome, old-fashioned sense of community here as the place throngs with regulars from the neighbourhood.

There are seven pizzas on the menu, including the Margherita (S$17) that’s a simple, delicious tomato sauce and mozzarella pie with no other toppings; Pepperoni (S$20); Ham & Onion (S$20) and Ratatouille (S$20) with roasted veggies.

Pizzas are available via preorder for collection on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from 5pm to 9pm. Weekends may never be long enough, but at least there’s pizza.

The Long Weekend Pizza is at 61 St Patrick’s Road.