CONTRIBUTED BY MARIE LEWIS
Marie enjoyed a complimentary meal at Pizzakaya, but the opinions below are all hers.
In my seven months in Okinawa, I had yet to taste the local pizza varieties. I chalk it up to my loyalty for New York pizza and my fear of disappointment in sampling the precious pies from anyplace else. But who would turn down the opportunity to try out California-style gourmet pizza billed “the best in Asia” by its American owners, and a wide array of craft beers on tap to boot? Not this girl. So off we went to Pizzakaya.
My first impression was high-end dining meet casual atmosphere. Edgy artwork stands out against the stark white walls, and chrome bar stools give a hip, modern vibe to the place. The white décor also made the small dining room feel larger than it actually was. Our party was greeted by friendly, English-speaking staff (in fact, most of the employees are American, including several military spouses.)
I can honestly say the quality of the food here was top-notch, in my humble opinion. From “Nancy’s Crack Dip” (950¥) – an addictive blend of sausage and cheese – and tangy but not-too-drenched-in-butter Garlic Marbles (690¥), I was purely delighted. I ordered a “Bikini Blonde” Lager that perfectly complemented our appetizers. I was pleasantly surprised by the full body and rich flavor of the beer here. I’ve found both beer and wine selections on-island have been limited at best, and this taste reminded me of the local breweries back home where there was always something unique to satisfy my thirst for a brew.
Our next course was the Tomato Basil Salad (1260¥), a light and zesty segue into our main course. This included onion and, surprisingly to me, feta cheese rather than mozzarella. I am partial to mozzarella as it was a staple in the salads my Italian grandmother used to make, but the feta tasted great nonetheless. We shared this salad between five people (small samplings for each of us) to save room for the pizzas.
Saving room was a wise decision. The three pizzas that followed were fantastic. We ordered the small option of each pie so as to sample the widest variety possible. Our first was the Santa Fe pizza (2270¥ for a small). This featured lime chicken and caramelized onions, and fresh (REALLY fresh!) guacamole. I’m not a fan of spicy food and was relieved that this pizza did not leave me guzzling water. The crust was crisp and slightly crunchy on the outside, and soft and doughy on the inside. It struck just the right balance for my personal taste.
Somewhere around this time I opted to try another craft beer, festively titled the Pumpking. If pumpkin pie could morph into beer, this might be the result. The darker beer was hoppy and sweet at the same time. It was definitely a heavier taste and not one I could drink all night, but I loved it.
Next up was the Mixed Seafood Pizza. Our server delivered to our table a piping hot pie covered with shrimp and squid. It was definitely not your conventional pizza, but I appreciated the incorporation of local seafood and thought it came together deliciously.
When I took my first bite of the Pizzakaya Gourmet Combo pizza, I realized we had saved the best for last. The aptly titled pie carried all the classics you’d find on a supreme: pepperoni, sausage, bacon, ham, mushroom, olive, green pepper, onion and tomato. Before I even tasted the pizza I noticed that the chef did not skimp on the meat. Every inch of it was generously coated with toppings. What I found most noteworthy about this pizza, however, was the quality of the meat. It tasted better than anything I’ve bought at the commissary, by far. It wasn’t doused with salt as many other pizza toppings I’ve experienced. Everything about this pizza screamed fresh and, like the others we tried here, was not at all greasy. My husband says it’s the best pizza he’s ever tasted. It definitely rivals some of my favorite New York slices.
I did notice that the prices were a bit higher than I would typically expect to spend on a pizza, but after having tasted everything here for myself, I feel the prices do reflect the higher quality. It’s a casual place, but it is definitely gourmet and you should expect to pay a little more than you might be accustomed to for pizza. Bottom line, it’s worth the price. They also feature a vegetarian menu, a two-person set and an all-you-can-eat option for parties of four or more.
Website: Menu and pricing at www.pizzakayaokinawa.com/
Hours: Open Daily 11:00 a.m. – 11:30 p.m. Reservations accepted, walk-ins welcome.
Phone: 098-936-0042
Payment: Yen, Visa, Master Card, American Express, Discover. Tips welcome.
Directions: In American Village’s Depot Island, Chatan (back corner of the building, facing out to the sea and the project lot of upcoming Hilton Hotel; behind Makeman and Seaside Bowling; Under the Mihama Amusement Center).
Address: Mihama 9-17, ATS Chatan 2-1 (Depot Island), 904-0115
Oh my word that place is expensive!
VERY EXPENSIVE! Good but I don’t think worth the price. They also played the music really loud and with alot of kids around, a little inappropriate.
I had a personal pizza last week. Excellent service (English speaking staff) and awesome atmosphere. Pizza was okay. I’m from NY and no comparison (sorry). I won’t be back, way too expensive for food quality. Y3500 for a large combo is to expensive to be realistic in my opinion.
I was there with a friend a couple of weeks ago, we ordered two small pizzas and two appetizers, wow , it was expesive to pay over Y7000 , the food was ok , but definitely not worth the price , I agree with the other comments ,place is expensive!
Service horrible.
Whoa! Too expensive!
Had the pizzakaya gourmet pizza and I have to say it was pretty amazing! Love the atmosphere of this place! Reminds me of being back home (California)
Hi all. We went for dinner and also agree with the other posters…. Way too expensive!!! We went for dinner and service did not warrant 7000 yen for 2!!!!!!! Oh well…
We will be arriving in February, and I was really excited when someone told me that there was a pizza place. My family and I LOVE our Pizza Fridays. Being from a town that is famous for its pizza, I have to say, I’m a little dissapointed by the look of this pizza and the astronomical prices that they charge for it. Good pizza should be simple, fresh and inexpensive. Sad Face.
I thought the “say you are disappointed Obama was re-elected” free beer promotion, posted on various base affiliated facebook pages, was in poor taste. It may have won them some customers but it likely turned off just as many. I had been looking forward to trying it out.
We’ve been to this place twice. Very delicious. Love the garlic marbles. Great atmosphere, too. Awesome beer selection. But, it is expensive.
It’s definitely a splurge when we go. I do appreciate their 100 Yen = $1 exchange rate during the curfew though.
Pizzakaya is extremely expensive and not worth it. Pizza was average and service was horrible.
I think you got your “American” pizza experience with the service
We really enjoyed it but think they need to re-examine their pricing model, stat. It was much too expensive to go there on any kind of regular basis. If they lower their prices a bit I think they would bring in way more customers and generate the kind repeat business that is so crucial for a successful restaurant.
As far as pizza in Okinawa goes, this place takes the cake by far! Way better than anything I have had on island. Yes, the prices are high..but not for lunch. Lunch is 1000Y for a lunch set (10$ with the exchange rate), which makes it much more affordable. The set includes a drink (FREE refills), salad and 2 topping pizza. I’ve been twice in the last week for lunch, and both times the service was a little on the slower side to get our order in- but let’s be honest we are on island time, I’ve waited a lot longer at other off base places- but once we ordered the food came out quickly. If you aren’t wanting to fork out the dinner prices, I’d suggest giving them a try for lunch!
We tried this the other day. HORRIBLE slow service. We sat for at least fifteen minutes before even getting a menu. Then waited another ten just for a coke and ginger ale. The pizza was pretty good but not much to compare to on this island. I would not recommend or go back because of the lack of service.
The service is horrible. The place reminds me of clock work orange. The place and style makes no sense. The prices are ridiculous. They skimp out on the cheese. especially the vegan cheese. seating is very uncomfortable. Not worth the price at all. Not worth it. A small pizza (8 tiny slices) is like 20 bucks. Its also way too bright. what is up with the lighting?
This is EXACTLY what I said. I said it looked like we should be sipping milk out of a statues teet. The lights were BLASTING in my face too! LOL. While sitting on the cold steel chair, I felt like an autopsy was about to begin. Random music videos? what is this place??????? I don’t think i need to say anything about the prices…
Matthew and Shell – the ambience which you don’t like as well as the lighting is based on our theme interior of an art gallery. The paintings on the walls are original oils – Andy Warhol and Brian Viveros…the chrome bar stools are from a contemporary Japanese artist whose works sell in Los Angeles and NYC art galleries. The flooring is lacquered w tin. The lighting is LED and the entire kitchen is purposely all custom made in stainless steel. We chose to make our kitchen facing our guests so that our chefs can mingle w the guests as well.
Our pizzas and cuisine is all using the finest imported ingredients possible. We are all civilians and buy from import trading companies directly…we wish the imported supplies were cheaper but unfortunately they aren’t.
Matthew I am surprised as I read that you loved your dinner that we comp’d you on the other night since we ran out of credit card slips before our credit card machine came in.
I really do appreciate your hospitality and kindness Janette. The food was AWESOME. Not only did it taste great, but you could see the great effort put into it. I guess I forgot to mention the positives, as the overall experience was unpleasant. My apologies if I am too critical, but I plan to have a restaurant of my own soon. For the past year or so all I have done is view how businesses operate, design, adapt, advertise and interact with customers. Pizzakaya was just a real shocker. The chefs could use a little pep talk on how to chat and crack a smile. One just stared at my girlfriend (she’s beautiful), while the other seemed stressed out and anti-social. I’m not completely sure if the average customer really enjoys relaxing/eating pizza/drinking beer in a white spot-lit art gallery. I don’t think customers are aware of the small exotic details of chairs and floors, it’s probably not of great concern. For being a place with a classy and modern style, the very non-classy mainstream top-40 music videos were very out of place. Finally, LED spotlights should go on the walls instead of in the customer’s eyes. The atmosphere made no sense Janette. I don’t mean any offense, I hope you merely consider my opinions, because they are just that… opinions. I hope these things can be helpful in possibly making some future decisions at Pizzakaya. Also, the young lady (regrettably forgot her name) that helped us was AMAZING. I would hire her for my shop in a heartbeat.
Side note: For the current interior design, I would recommend getting rid of the TV and playing some deep house on a really good sound system. link to youtube.com
One word Marino’s! Hit that place up if your craving some European style Italian pizza and the price is worth it. This place was allright ,but like everyone said not worth the price.
I am thankful they’re offering vegan cheese on pizza. It is already hard enough being vegan here. They’re coming out with vegan mac and cheese and other vegan options. I think it’s amazing they’re thoughtful of different diets. Yes the prices are a little high, but I was very satisfied with the quality so it makes sense to me. I am willing to pay more especially if it keeps vegan options on the menu available. I missed a good cheese pizza!
I am also thankful they have vegan options! Which is awesome, however, being that it is so difficult for us and obvioulsly being a vegan can be expensive.. I dont think the pricing is fair. I mean lets face it. There are what> 18 people on here stating that the prices are horrible as well as the service. You would think as business owners they would change that. If they actually lowered they prices their business would get a huge boost! The vegan pizza is good but when I went there was hardly any cheese and they said they just made or got a fresh batch in, so that was odd. I would like this place a lot better if they would actually consider their customers comments and try to change a few things.
Nala, the last vegan cheese pizza we served was to Mathew Bray and his girlfriend. We have since adjusted the amount of cheese on the Vegan pizzas. Nala and the rest of you, please understand, we, unlike other vendors wanted our pizzas to be the real deal…real pepperoni from Brooklyn, cheeses from the US and Europe, etc. The entire team of Pizzakaya is tired of “make do” American food as Americans residing in Japan and that’s why we opened here in Okinawa…to provide the best California Gourmet Cuisine possible to all of our guests. We knew from the start that our pizzas couldn’t be cheap as we use the finest ingredients – after all, our partner Derek has owned the Pizzakaya serving Americans in Roppongi Tokyo for over 16 years. Year after year, he has been voted the best pizzas in Tokyo and Japan. Yes you do get what you pay for and service should be the best. We are constantly striving to improve our service, expand our menus at a competitive price and to accommodate all but like the saying goes “cant please all the people all of the time.” I would urge anyone who has any dissatisfaction at Pizzakaya to please immediately let the executive chef, Langdon Hyatt know or the Assistant Manager, Megan…if you feel that the service was that bad, send an email to marketing@pizzakaya.com describing the service you received and who DIDNT help you and consideration for their termination will be considered. I, too, don’t like going to a restaurant with bad service!
I love Pizzakaya and my kids won’t eat pizza anywhere else. I dig the interior as well. I’ve never personally had much of a problem with the service but have had bad service at other restaurants around Chatan. Yes, they are a little pricy but you get what you pay for. For those who say it’s not worth the price, I hope you enjoy Pizza Hut. As a New Jerseyan myself I think it stacks up to anything I’ve had from back home and NY. For New Yorkers it’s important to keep in mind that Pizzakaya is California style and NOT NY style and I appreciate the difference of both styles. I know Pizzakaya has reduced the price of their salads by quite a bit. Maybe they’ll follow suit with the rest of the menu.
I don’t understand why people stay and eat if they don’t like the prices personally. If we can’t afford it or don’t want to pay that much for something we get up and leave or we research the pricing before we walk in the door. It’s called “gourmet” for a reason. They’re using better quality ingredients so it’ll cost more to make any sort of profit. To ask someone to lower the prices means asking for them to use less quality ingredients. Honestly I don’t want corn syrup, MSG, and other sorts of things in my food all to save money. Vegan cheese pizzas cost just as much as the normal pizzas so we’re definitely not paying more for it. This business just opened up and they’re getting into a rhythm of how to run things. I think it’s awesome they give refills and such. Most places off base don’t even give refills or come around to ask about it.
I love this restaurant. I have been overseas going on 3 year and I miss good old American pies so when I am feeling the need I travel 45 minutes on the train to these guys. First off the wings and especially garlic marbles are phenomenal. My absolute favorite pizza is the Santa Fe with extra guacamole on the side. The curry pasta is also a great alternative to the pizza.
I read the majority of people complain about pricing but you get what you pay for. Its superb quality, excellent taste, friendly staff, and kicks Dominos, Pizza Hut and everything else in the butt. Don’t listen to negative reviews go try it for yourself.
My family and I really enjoyed the pizza and though prices are high for ala carte, their lunch special at Y1000 is a pretty good price. I pretty much spend the same amount of money if not more on lunch anywhere else.
Went here for lunch recently. While the food was OK (for Okinawa, it’s one of the better pizza places we’ve had in over 3 years here) the service was shameful. They were rude and ignored us at every chance they could. We were the only people in the place on a dreary monday afternoon.
It is NOT kid friendly and they seemed angry that we even brought our kids, who we did clean up after. The prices were a bit much, but we went for lunch so it wasn’t too bad. I don’t see what all the rave is about this place. I would consider going back, but was so disappointed with the service that I don’t think it’s worth it. I will not be returning or recommending this place.
Do NOT go here with your family. This is a date night only restaurant! And if you’re going on a date night- there’s better places anyway!
@KC – there is no train here, so you must be talking about the one in Tokyo. While they are the same company, it’s not the same location. It can be confusing when someone is talking about something on mainland on an Oki restaurant thread.
I have heard of this place a few times and a friend of mine and I were looking for a new place to check out for lunch so we decided to check this place out. It was SO good. Since we went for lunch the prices were good, about the same we would pay for lunch anywhere else and the quality was way above anywhere else I have been. It was super fresh and tasty! The service was also great!!! They checked up on us multiple times to see if we needed anything and service was really fast. I can’t wait to go back and try out their other types of pizzas with my family!
Had lunch here yesterday and I’m in LOVE! Slow service only because there was one man preparing the food. Which was fine since I wasn’t in any hurry. I had the shrimp and avocado salad, to die for!! Paired that with garlic marbles, yeah…my mouth is watering all over again
My 5 year old had a kids cheese pizza and she was very skeptical since we’ve eaten other pizza out in town and she hated it! The cheese was too overwhelming, I would say it was mostly parmesan cheese (smell is overwhelming) and not mozz like we’re used to. But she tried it and also loved it! She wants to take her Dad and brother because it was so good 
!! I also ate a couple of slices of my friend’s Santa Fe pizza and it was great too! I had heard it was expensive, but it really doesn’t bother me one bit. Maybe for a couple of times a month isn’t too bad. It’s my birthday on Thurs, and I really think I’ll be taking my family back and enjoying some great food. I do think the prices are high because of the ingredients they use. It’s all fresh! Two thumbs up 
This place is seriously way too expensive you would think after all the comments (and you can tell either the owner or worker Janette reads this) they would change prices.
and dessert and all you can drink us included along with enough salad that you get more than 2 bites.
Honestly if you want pizza go to Marinos!!! Much better food in my husband and I’s opinion and cheaper plus you can get fondue
Pizzakaya charge less and maybe you would get more business! Also your waitresses could be more friendly I’d much rather eat somewhere ‘local’ where they treat my family so nice!
Jess, all prices have been lowered in the past several weeks. we cant control what we pay for imported US / European ingredients. We use the real deal and the best that money can buy for our dishes. As far as the waitresses – all but Ema are no longer with us! Ema is now our manager and you can see her on the weekends. Our new incoming hall staff is either Japanese or Australians. And yes, you are right – as a mom…I am all over people being good to my kids! Our new staff is awesome AND we also have a kids menu where all are 500 yen. We even now have desserts made just for kids! And, we also now have gluten free & vegan pizzas as well as incorporating other really great gluten free / vegan dishes. Come on in and meet our new co-executive chef as well, Jeff Phillips. He is a graduate of Auguste Escoffier and Le Cordon Bleu and man, he whips everyplace into shame.
Starting April, we have lobster pizzas, crab pizzas – even foie gras pizzas. Vegans – we have vegan cheese and truffle mushroom pizzas! Those of you from back east and know what a real lobster roll is – coming in fresh in April…(never going to lose my weight!)
Janette-
Could you give us a little more information on your gluten free options? We have a 3 year old daughter with Celiac Disease, and of course dining out is a real challenge. One of our biggest concerns is cross-contamination in the prep/cooking/serving areas along with staff that isn’t really trained on gluten awareness. We would be so excited if Pizzakaya was a viable dining option for us.
My husband, son, and I ate here recently because I heard they have good pizza. While I thought their pizza was good it definitely wasn’t worth the price. Now I know they keep repeating that they get the best ingredients and they have to pay a lot to get them so their pizzas are going to be a bit more but again I just didn’t see a big difference in quality. My husband and I agreed that we might go back once but it definitely wasn’t a place we can go often. Bella Napoli has the same quality IMO and is cheaper. I will say that this place does have a good priced kids menu though, 500¥. I also like that they have a good variety of pizzas to choose from, including a sashimi one my husband enjoyed.
Just home from Pizzakaya and I have to say – super disappointed.
I had heard amazing things about the food – I knew it was pricey, but was prepared to take that hit for great food.
However, I never even got to try the food!
We arrived at 5:50pm and finally got our order taken at 6:20pm. At 6:50pm when my 4yo and 3 month old were starting to crack up, we talked to the staff and asked were our garlic marbles at least ready? We were told they had only just gone in the oven (!!!!) and that our pizza was still four tickets away from being made.
At that point, we left. We didn’t receive an apology. We were just told “This is what it’s like at this time. If you want faster service, come at a different time.”
Side note: the table next to us arrived before us, and only ordered a quesadilla to share. It arrived as we were leaving at 6:55pm. They waited over an hour for a quesadilla. Insane and unacceptable.
Read all of the reviews on this website and despite the bad ones we had to go make our own opinion. The food was great! There was only a few other customers there- which after seeing in their Facebook page that they only had one waitress today because the rest called in, I was very glad! The waitstaff was very friendly but it was obvious they were stumbling through service whether due to inexperience or just short staffed. Yes, I think its a bit pricey for most of the target customer base but again, the food was delicious! I think they’ve addressed the price issue as far as they’re willing to with “It’s not too expensive, you’re just too cheap” stickers posted in numerous places. It’s not somewhere my husband and I can go regularly but rather maybe will keep in mind for special occasions. As far as the atmosphere, it was very “trendy modern” and due to the super bright upbeat atmosphere we decided to eat at the more relaxing outdoor tables and enjoyed our meal
Really? There are stickers all over the restaurant that say “It’s not too expensive, you’re just too cheap”?!?! Classy, Pizzakaya, real classy.
It seemed from the previous posts by “Janette” whom I assume is the manager or owner that Pizzakaya was not going to go the “Bovino’s route” and was being mature. I see that is no longer the case. Pen is now in hand and Pizzakaya is getting crossed off my list. Sad.
After posting my above comment, I just re-read all the comments and saw this for the first time: Pizzakaya had a “say you are disappointed Obama was re-elected” free beer promotion, posted on various base affiliated facebook pages. Really?!
That has defintely confirmed it. NEVER setting foot in this place again. I don’t always agree with my President’s policies but he is my President and he deserves respect. Based on what I am reading between this beer promotion and your “I’m too cheap” stickers, you are undeserving of my money. My family of 6 has no problem dropping a LOT of money eating out, but we will not be doing it at Pizzakaya!
I just went here today, I thought it was fantastic. I don’t know why everyone is crying about the prices and the set up and ambience. You’re all just a bunch of whiners.
I was really thankful that they had vegan choices. I loved the vegan jalapeño poppers and the vegan cheese on the pizza. They had a vegan dessert but the waitress said they ran out, I was pretty bummed because I wanted to try it, but I’ll hopefully get some next time I go. I’ll definitely be going back. The place was nice, clean, everyone was friendly. Thanks pizzakaya!
The owner/manager Janette is all over Facebook condemning this website and others who have eaten here and had complaints. I would be very wary of patronizing this establishment. She has already been indicted in the United States on fraud charges (which she and her husband skipped out on).
She constantly posts on Facebook social groups regarding various hot button topics and will be quick to tell someone to “get a life” if they bring up her past run ins with the law- while offering up her side of the story.
Bottom line, she seems very unprofessional and slightly off her rocker. I would be very careful about eating here and paying with anything other than cash or yen.
Quite the shame- the pizza’s are good, but not worth supporting a potential You felon. (You can find the articles with a simple google.com search- Janette Dillard-Stone.
Whoops! Janette Diller-Stone is apparently her name- nonetheless… strange behavior.
This place is expensive because they use all organic/fresh ingredients. You get what you way for.