EDITOR’S NOTE: This restaurant was closed for a period of time but as of July 2012 we have been informed that it has reopened under new ownership and a new name.  The post below reflects its former incarnation as Pizzeria Il Piccolino.

CONTRIBUTED BY AVIVA

KidsLoveIt

A friend of mine told me that he knew of the best pizza on Okinawa. I am a pizza snob. I know it. I own it. But I’m not turning down a chance at pizza for lunch, and I do trust this friend. So he called and made a reservation, since a bunch of us were going – and off we went to Pizzeria Il Piccolino.

Mushroom

He said, “It’s in Onna,” and I cringed – that seemed far. But really, it wasn’t. It was directly off 58, just north of Yomitan. From my place near gate 1 of Kadena it took about 20 minutes door to door. WORTH THE TRIP (start pretending you smell garlic and melting cheese…).

We walked in to a really sweet woman who set us all up – we had kids with us (the biggest critics). The lunch menu was all I saw – sorry, I should’ve gotten a picture of the dinner menu too… guess I’ll have to go back! All lunch pizzas are part of ¥1000 sets that come with coffee or tea (iced or hot), a salad consisting of greens with cherry tomatoes and shaved onions with an olive-oil vinaigrette, and a dish of ice cream. Water is self-serve, and under the water pitcher there are some magazines to read. It does have a real pizzeria feel to it!

WaterAndMagazines         LunchMenu

There are several tables, though it’s not huge. There are no high chairs or booster seats. The menu had several tasty options as you can see – we all got pizza, but I’m definitely going back to try the calzone (the menu said, “Carzone” and described it as “looks like GYOZA”!) and the Panino sandwich. Mmm.

The couple at the restaurant both spoke decent English, and we got exactly what we ordered. Kids aren’t big fans of fresh basil, so we got the margherita fresca for them without the leaves. I got a Funghi (mushroom) pizza, and my hubby got the Salame pizza (the salami was NOT hot dogs – it was real italian salami – see the photo), one friend got the Napoletana (with anchovies and she loved it. They put a few in the oven at a time, but all pizzas are individually-sized. No corn on this pizza – and the crust was incredible. It was a great meal for me, my hubby polished off the slices my daughter didn’t eat with ease. It was so good he might’ve eaten more. Easily some of the best if not the best pizza I’ve had here!

Salami

As everyone groaned when I mentioned putting the restaurant on Oki Hai, my friend who brought me said, “NO! Please DO put it on there! The economy is bad and they need business!” So GO FORTH AND EAT PIZZA, my friends!! Let’s keep this place alive! You will not be disappointed! If someone hits this place for dinner before I get to, please leave a comment about any menu differences.


Wine & Pizza 58

Hours: 12:00-1500 for lunch, 1800-2200 for dinner (last order at 2100) – CLOSED WEDNESDAYS. They take yen only, no US dollar or cards. Phone number is 098-964-6464. I know they take reservations, only necessary for a larger party.

Address: Onna, Maeganeku 国道58号線

GPS Coordinates: 26.4502852, 127.80411279999998

Directions: 58 North through Yomitan. Once you see the MOON BEACH hotel on your left, start looking for a McDonald’s on your RIGHT. Make a RIGHT into the McDonald’s and come around it about 3/4 of the way. The pizzeria is behind McDonald’s, you can park in the back of the McD’s lot.

Front

32 COMMENTS

  1. Moved to Onna village days after this place closed down last year and was really disappointed. I can’t explain how excited my husband and I were to see that it had reopened, so we invited our usual gang out to try it for the first time. Seating is limited and we came with 4 kids in tow, but lucky for us there’s a huge grass lot right in front (although I think it’s part of the jewelry store located right next to the pizza place. The staff was very friendly and the pizza was delicious, everything we had hoped for plus more… Wine and beer 🙂

  2. Good news. Its open again, now renamed Wine & Pizza 58. Different owner but similar menu. Just had the lunch set for 1000 yen. Pizza, salad and a soft drink! Very good deal and many pizza types to choose from. They only take yen cash.

  3. Sad news, the owner will be moving to Kyoto at the end of September…so if anybody wants to enjoy his pizza before that, make sure to stop by…He is closed Tue, Wed, and open other days 12-1430 for lunch and 1800-2100 for dinner

  4. Like has been said earlier, DO NOT look for a Mcdonalds or you’ll be driving around in circles. When you see the blue colored MOON BEACH hotel sign, start looking for an empty gravel lot on your right. If you pass a docomo store you went too far.

    You cannot park in the gravel lot but the restaurant is just behind the lot and off to the side.

    This and pizza in the sky make the best pizza on the island. This is real pizza, not American gut-bombs.

  5. Yum, Yum, Yum! Went this weekend with my family and it was Great. For Y800-Y1200 Yen per person. My kids are 5 and 3 so they shared a set. My husband and I each got our own. Each set comes with a choice of pizza in S, M, L hence the price range, choice of tea or coffee, Salad (not a cabbage salad but a very fresh green salad, and ice cream for dessert. Great experience, well worth the price!

  6. This resturant is great, but took several attempts to find because the McDonald’s in the directions has been torn down. There is now a gravel empty lot in it’s place. Also, it is on the right BEFORE the moon beach hotel, not after! If you reach the moon beach hotel you have gone too far. Having eaten in Italy, this place transported me back there and is very authentic northern italian style pizzeria. Definatley worth serching for! It is closed monday, tuesday, and for about a week during the new years holiday.

  7. Christmas Buffet Dec 23 – 26; 6-9pm. All you can eat pizza and drinks Y2000, special rate for kids is available. One hour time limit. Pizza is great and the owner is so friendly. He’ll be closing next year so get your pizza fix now!!!!!

  8. Piccolino is having an anniversary special and there are only two days left (11/22 and 11/23). He’s open this Tuesday becaused of the special even. From 6 – 9pm the owner is having an all you can eat for Y2000 per person. He has an array of pizzas to choose from and a variety of drinks are included in the plan as well. There are special rates for kids 11 and under. Enjoy!!!

  9. Just went here today for lunch with the hubby and two tots. We ordered the large prosciutto, and salami pizza. They were both very simple and delicious. The side salad was also simple but extremely good. I ordered a large Orion draft too. The portions were generous and we all left stuffed. We thoroughly enjoyed this place and will be going back soon.

  10. The McDonalds closed! We went there yesterday and drove back and forth a few times before we found it because McDonalds is usually our reference. If you are traveling north and make it to moon beach, you’ve gone too far. There is a tiny sign on the ground, but look for the abandoned building that kind of looks like a Micky D’s.

  11. Sarah,

    When you travel north up 58, you have to go quite a ways. You will pass the 6 and the Marriott Renaissance and still continue for some time. You will see a large hotel on your left that says “Moon Beach” and the McDonald’s is right there…if you don’t see Moon Beach, you haven’t gone far enough. It took about 30-35 minutes from Kadena with limited traffic.

  12. We love this place! We’ve only been for lunch, but it’s so good and cheap! You get a salad, small pizza, tea or coffee, and icecream for 800yen! (1000yen for medium & 1200yen for large). It’s delicious.

    And in case you think you don’t see it, it’s behind the green fence (and yes it’s behind McDonalds — off to the right — like the directions say)

    Now jump in your car and go enjoy some yummy pizza!

  13. Hubby and I went up tonight for our early V-day date! The buffalo mozzarella in the salads was wonderful. The pizza was great. And the TINY sip of limoncello I had was yummmmmm. But it was a bit of a drive… They had a sign that says they are open THIS Wed (2/11) but closed on Thurs (2/12) and closed on Fri (2/13) for lunch –open for dinner. Enjoy!

  14. I had to tell you all – I went to have some pizza today (at 2pm, mind you – and every table was full!) and the owner came up to me and said, “Did you take picture and put my pizzeria on Okinawa Hai website?”
    “Why… yes I did.”
    “Thank you! It is SO busy now for the last 3 weeks, especially weekends.”
    He was super appreciative, and I told him we want this good pizza restaurant to succeed! Yay for you ALL, I’m so glad word got out and there are lots of new fans that made the trip!

  15. Excellent! My husband is a pizza snob after living in NY and Naples, but he was in love with it! Owners are very friendly and decor is inviting. Which this was around the corner from my house! Can’t wait to try dinner for the expanded menu!

  16. oh I’m SO happy for all of these comments! and really happy for the owner as I’ve heard from 3 different people I’ve sent there that it’s “packed with Americans” when they go! I’m thrilled that I shared this idea, and that hopefully we can keep it in business as it was struggling before (probably b/c of its hidden location)

    I think it’s high praise enough to have New Yorkers and hard-to-please hubbies (as I know Kelly’s is) saying it’s good – but a real Italian!? Now THAT is amazing! Bravo, Pizzeria Il Piccolino!

  17. Went here with my husband, son and friend and we all agreed that it was divine! A new favorite for us and my husband is hard to please. I got the calzone (which was fantastic) and they ordered pizzas. It was hard to pin down the exact source of deliciousness. Was it the freshness of the tomato sauce? The mozzarella? The ground pepper? The crust? You’ll have to go figure it out for yourself. Thanks Aviva! (Agree that the appetizers were pricey…but that plate of prosciutto – yum!)

  18. Thank you so much for sharing this great find with the rest of us. We went for dinner on Jan 13th. As an Italian New Yorker,(most people eat to live, we live to eat)it is my duty to seek out excellent pizza no matter where I am on the planet and enjoy it. My Calzone was excellent and my wife’s Eggplant & Anchovie pizza was even better. I also had a cafe Macchiatto which was great. As my Japanese is horrible, I conversed a bit with the owner in Italian which was fun as he understands more Italian than I do Japanese. He tells me he went to Rome for 8 months to learn how to make the pizza’s which explains the authentic taste as we spent 3 years in Italy and pretty much lived on Pizza while there. We will be going back WEEKLY and bringing friends. We enjoyed our meal so much, I got a pizza to go for lunch tomorrow.

  19. This is our FAVORITE restaurant on the island. I am a New Yorker (a harsh pizza critic as well) but this pizza is incredible. I would also highly recommend the Calzone, not like a traditional calzone, but really delicious. The dinner menu has a bit more selection and you must try the “shrimp from the oven” and the prosciutto bruschetta, they are a little pricey for appetizers (especially the bruschetta since it is a single slice of bread) but delicious. I am a fan of the mix pizza myself, well worth the trip!!

  20. Really good pizza…we got a sandwich too just to give it a try and it was also really good, but loved the pizza best…the post must be working too because there were two other groups of Americans there and one other couple for sure went because of the Okinawahai post…