Pizza Studio Tamaki is a pizza restaurant chain that originated in Tokyo. The first branch opened in Higashi-Azabu by Chef Tsubasa Tamaki in 2017. Since then it has opened branches all over the world including New York's East Village, Singapore and Indonesia. Australia's first branch opened in May 2026 in Sydney. Find out what makes this Japanese pizza restaurant different.
When I lived in Japan, pizza was its own thing. They had their own version of toppings like tuna and sweetcorn but Pizza Studio Tamaki isn't that. It's Italian or more specifically Neapolitan pizza with Japanese precision with signature charred spots on the crust or cornicione.
Their dough starts using a proprietary flour blend. The dough is fermented for 30 hours before being baked in a wood-fired dome oven at 450-480°C for just 60 to 70 seconds. They use hardwood like hickory and add Japanese cedar shavings to the fire to control the heat. They also sprinkle the oven with Okinawan sea salt before baking. Chef Tamaki first started studying pizza in 2000 before opening up his first store in 2017 taking the Japanese method of dedicating yourself to perfecting one food and applying that attention to detail to pizza.
Mr NQN and I meet up with The Wizard and Witchy Woman on a blistering cold spring night that feels like we're in the midst of winter. It's one of those September days that remind you that you're still in "false spring" and not quite in actual spring yet. So when they welcome us with a hearty "Irasshaimase!" greeting and a cup of complimentary creamy mushroom soup it's a very nice welcome indeed. We slide into a roomy green velvet booth.
The menu starts with drinks and then cold and hot appetisers and then red and white pizzas. There's also a "spring special" that if you order two pizzas then you get a complimentary serve of meatballs, arancini or yuzu octopus (maximum of one per table no matter how many pizzas you order).
We start with a couple of antipasti - the Japanese pumpkin is served sliced and sticky roasted pieces with balsamic dressing and olive oil. The sweet stickiness of the kabocha comes to the fore when roasted and it is seasoned with olive oil and balsamic glaze.
The meatballs are tasty and come four to a serve so it's perfect for the four of us. They are bathed in a rich tomato base sauce and have the hint of warm spices as well.
The pizzas arrive shortly after as they bake them at a very high heat for between 60 to 70 seconds. The first is the Diavola with tomato sauce, fresh mozzarella, pork sausage, olive slices, red pepper and basil. I usually think of spicy salami with a Diavola rather than sausage and it isn't quite as spicy as I'd like. They also don't have chilli oil, they have chilli flakes but these are very mild. As for the crust, it is very thin and wet like a Neapolitan pie with a burnished puffy crust.
The next one to come out is the Bismarck, which is the only white pizza that we order. This has fresh mozzarella, mushroom, pork sausage, Pecorino Romano and egg and ends up being everybody's favourite pizza for the balance of flavour and unexpected richness from the Pecorino and egg. Also because it didn't have any tomato it wasn't as wet as the others.
The Arrabiata comes with tomato sauce, fresh mozzarella, cherry tomato, pork nduja and garlic. Witchy Woman had seen that on their Instagram they have a ritual called "Smash. Fold. Bite." where they suggest squishing the cherry tomatoes on top before folding the pizza and eating which we do. The Wizard gets a squirt of cherry tomato on his clothes so it's best to pierce and then squish! The pizza is nice although I keep hoping for a spicy hit that doesn't come even with all of the chilli flakes.
There are a couple of special pizzas that are $55 each and the Ocean Umami is the red pizza special with tomato sauce, cherry tomato, scallop, prawns, tuna, capers, fresh mozzarella and parsley with wasabi and lemon on the side. This has a lot of seafood on it and it's nice especially with a touch of wasabi and a squeeze of lemon. The tuna is quite strong on top of the pizza and dominates the flavour whenever you get a bite with tuna in it.
The lasagna actually takes 20 minutes so that comes out after our pizzas. And actually the lasagna is the thing that I cannot stop eating the most with its soft layers of cheesy pasta sheets and velvety braised beef. The prize mouthfuls are the crispy edges clinging to the cast-iron dish.
*Jūroku (16 layers chocolate cake) x KOI Dessert Bar $18 *
We are all quite full but I know the guys can always eat more so we decide to share a couple of desserts. The first one is an exclusive collab between Pizza Studio Tamaki and KOI Dessert Bar, a slice of 16 layer chocolate cake. The cake is moist and the layers of chocolate add a richness to it. It's balanced and a nice dessert served with a scoop of vanilla gelato.
However the dessert that we all really go for is the gelato. It comes with 4 generous scoops of vanilla gelato with Okinawan sea salt and extra virgin olive oil and we go back for more and more of this.
So tell me Dear Reader, which pizza would tempt you most here: the Bismarck, Diavola, Arrabiata or Ocean Umami?
This meal was independently paid for.
Pizza Studio Tamaki
59 George St, Sydney NSW 2000
Phone: 0456 969 174
Monday Closed
Tuesday & Wednesday 11:30 am–2:30 pm, 5–9:30 pm
Thursday & Friday 11:30 am–2:30 pm, 5–10 pm
Saturday 11:30 am–10 pm
Sunday 11:30 am–9:30 pm
www.pst.pizza/
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