Toyonaka, Osaka, Japan｜ピッツェリア ダ マリオ

Friendly service, rustic, and Italian-inspired ambience. Came in on a Friday evening of Golden Week (major National Holiday in Japan) with a party of five and they seated us no problem. There were six tables, so a larger party can be seated if reserving ahead of time. A friend of mine and myself are vegetarian, so we asked for the lasagna pizza without meat. They have a one-drink per customer policy, which was surprising in a Japanese restaurant. No problem because even soft-drinks fill the requirement.

As an Italian with many travel experiences, I think this is one of the best pizzeria in all of Japan. The owner studied in Ischia (Naples) at one of the best pizzeria of the island. You can see his pictures all around the shop. I tried the "Per Mario" pizza, which is an uncommon combination of different tastes that can only be found at this shop and I must say the balance is just perfect. I am surprised by the combination of quality, quantity and price. This is now one of my favorite places.

Best pizza restaurant I've visited in Japan so far! Really good pizza, at a really good price, and the chef seems really friendly but respectful. I'm sure I'll be back many times. Take out is nice, but eating at the restaurant to get a hot and fresh pizza is really great. The pizzas was big, the crust was fluffy, crispy and had good taste. Not tasting "flat" like many others I've had in Japan. The tomato sause and cheese was nice too. Over all a really good pizza. Maybe not the absolute best I've had, but pretty close still. And what takes it to a clear 5 stars for me is the good size and quite frankly surprisingly good price. But the food is not everything for a review. What makes the restaurant a clear 5 star to me is not just the food. The restaurant felt clean and roomy, had its own style and over all just nice. They had cleaned and sterilized even the menus, and offered hand sanitizers at every table. The menu could maybe do with a few more pictures and a bit more design to showcase the different pizzas. But pizza is usually fine with just descriptions, so I didn't actually have any problems with it at all. It's just the only nitpick I can think of. One more comment: The chef offered to pack up the remaining pizza if we didn't eat all, when he heard our reaction of how big the pizzas were. It felt like he cared for our experience. It made me happy to get so good food at such good price with that good service too. Thank you!