Circo Vivo Pizza in Chuo-ku, Sapporo

Featuring yet another tasty pizza restaurant in Sapporo, we present this review of Circo Vivo, near Susukino Station, in Chuo-ku, Sapporo. The short answer: there is a table charge (-1), and they allow smoking (-1), but the pizza is very good.

The Circo brand has several restaurants (maybe as many as seven?), with at least three “Circo” pizza restaurants. In addition to Circo Vivo, there is Pizzeria Circo (in the Cocono Mall), and the classic Italian イタリアン Circo (closer to Sapporo Station). All three locations make excellent pizza.

This Circo Vivo Pizza restaurant (I thought this place was called Circo “Vino” for a while) is just a couple of blocks away from Susukino Station (near Tanukikouji 5), very easy access. It’s next to a Family Mart, in a building called Groove Susukino, downstairs, on B1.

I’m not sure when Circo Vivo opened, but as of late 2026 everything about this location feels newly built.

While the Italian Circo feels like a replica of a proper Italian restaurant, this one is more faux-Italian; with cheaper materials (fake wood on the walls), real wood chairs with bad vinyl covers, and very fake-looking, plastic “Italian” tablecloths. Personally, I’d rather have older, well-worn, natural materials versus brand new, fake plastic features.

(For a pizza shop in Sapporo with a superior interior, take a ride out to Pizza Pluis in Nishi-ku; that shop makes a beautiful pizza, is genuinely cool, almost artsy, and has a very comfortable, natural feel inside.)

How about that pizza, though?

The pizza is good. I have some complaints about this place (and I probably won’t go back), but the food is very good.

The pizza menu at Sapporo’s Circo Vivo only has a couple of classics, and is otherwise stacked with more original, specialty pizzas.

Moving right past the generic Four-Cheese and Margherita Pizzas, there were something like five different pizzas I wanted to try on the menu.

Check this one out:

Teriyaki Pizza: Shredded Cheese, Teriyaki Sauce, Onion, Mushroom, Chicken, Mayonnaise
— From the pizza menu at Circo Vivo

Mayonnaise on a pizza is a terrible idea… but very Japanese (they put Kewpie on everything in this country). If anyone is going to do a good job on this kind of pizza, I trust Circo to do it well. I would still like to try this pizza, but maybe – “hold the mayo.”

From our table, we watched them make one of the Teriyaki Pizzas: the mayonnaise comes out of a plastic bottle, with something like 20 thin lines of the white goo dragged back and forth over the pizza, then a big heap of red saffron threads, then cheese and white slices of mushroom.

I am going to complain about a few things (Circo Vivo has at least three problems that make me not want to go back), but for now; let me tell you about the best part of my visit.

Carbonara Pizza: Mushroom Paste, Mozzarella, Mushrooms, Bacon, Soft-Boiled Egg, Flower-shaped Cheese, Black Pepper, Truffle Oil
— From the Sapporo Circo Vivo pizza menu

That… was a fantastic pizza. Original, and amazing.

First, the smell; a heavy, woody, mushroom smell. The mushrooms are fresh, put on top after the pizza is baked (like the “snow white” pizza at Pizzeria Leon in Osaka), and the essence of mushroom is strong.

The Carbonara Pizza at Circo Vivo is a mix of complicated flavors. First taste; mushrooms (of course), black pepper, the big chunks of bacon.

What a wonderful crust. One bite near the cornichon had a pastry-like taste; it tasted like “breakfast.” I would eat at any Circo pizza restaurant based on the crust alone.

My second slice brought the taste of mushroom, pepper, and bacon again. The cheese was subtle compared to the other flavors. Again, at the crust, it was almost sweet.

At the Italian イタリアン Circo shop, the salt flavor on the crust was prominent. On this pizza, the crust had some light salt, but more so a soft, sweetness. Like a breakfast bun. Must be some sugar in the sauce, in the crust, or both (that is only a guess).

There is actually a lot of onion on that pizza, but it blends very well. My last slice was mostly onions, but still enjoyable. The final bites of the sweet crust cleared my palate.

I really like the kind of pizza place where you can sit at the counter and watch them make the pies. (At this moment, I am thinking of Tokyo’s PST Higashi Asabu, in particular, with the counter that wraps around the black, hot pizza oven). At Circo Vivo, there are no counter seats, but you can see the oven from where we were sat in the center of the room.

It’s a small gas pizza oven, a Valoriani.

At Circo Vivo, the pizzas are in the oven for about two minutes (1:55:00, we timed it), which is longer than a lot of places. For comparison, Sapporo’s Da Massimo pizzas are in the oven for about 0:50:00; Circo has a smaller, cooler oven, and a longer bake time.

Below we’ll show you another pizza, but for now, here is one of the appetizers on the menu; from the “Pesce e avocado” menu, we went with the shrimp.

Gamberetto: Marinaded Shrimp, Avocado, Basil, Semi-Dried Tomatoes
— From the appetizer menu at Circo Vivo Sapporo

Perfectly tasty shrimp; avocado, olive oil, and some vinegar. Good taste. Refreshing.

For our second pizza, there was a small menu malfunction. My lovely companion got better info from the description, but the label of “prosciutto” in the name of the pizza was a little less than truthful.

Prosciutto e Rucola Pizza: Tomatoes, Whitebait, Basil, Oregano, Anchovies, Onion, Garlic, Parmesan
— From the Circo Vivo pizza menu

If you’re awake as you read that you will undoubtedly notice: there is no prosciutto on that pizza. There is no “rucola” either.

That pizza is mislabeled; it’s a Cicinielli Pizza; a classic Naples pizza, with tiny “whitebait” fish on top.

The flavor on the Cicinielli pizza was very “even:’ it was a mild, simple pizza taste. One bite; strong garlic flavor then a sort of watery, fresh-tomato taste. Some raw (or barely cooked) crispy, crunchy onions. The little whitebait fish are more visual, than flavorful. That whole pizza looks better than it tastes.

First time I had that particular pizza was at Critter’s Pizza in Osaka, it was good, but there are much better choices on the menu. Generally, I can’t recommend that pizza (not at Circo, not at any shop).

Okay, so, let’s talk about why even though I like the pizza at Circo Vivo, I won’t be back to this particular shop.

Three things:

One: They are really into their QR-code ordering system. They wanted us to order using our phones, which is the very worst trend in food “service.” I told them I’d rather order in person. They tried to argue with me about it, which made it even worse.

I should not have to explain why it is important to offer a real-life human interaction when I’m out to dinner, but: What if I have a question? In our case, I did have some questions about the menu. And I wanted some water – and “water” is not an option on the QR-code menu (it’s bad service that I even had to ask for water). What if you want the Teriyaki Pizza, but you want them to skip the mayonnaise? You really want to try to say any of that via their phone app?

It’s terrible to push QR codes on customers. It trains your staff to ignore the guests; they are waiting for the online cues, and not paying any attention to the guest experience. Bad service. -1 for loving tech more than human connection.

Two; This is “smoking friendly” restaurant. It’s the location; they are not quite in Susukino, but are basically in Susukino. And they want the drinking crowd, and that comes with cigarettes. This is one of the only pizza restaurants in Sapporo where you can smoke. If you like that, good for you. Some guys next to us lit up at the end of the meal, and it is impossible to smell pizza with tobacco smoke in the air. Another -1 for smoking.

Three; There is a table charge. They bring you the “otoshi” as a part of that charge, but… it was the worst taste in the meal. And while I understand that charging for a seat is a common Japanese “custom,” like “key money” when you rent an apartment, it’s a ridiculously bad custom.

The seat charge was something like 400 JPY per person. The total bill for two of us (two pizzas, appetizer, drinks) was close to 8000 yen; at 880 JPY for the seats, about 10% of the meal is this extra “seat tax.” If you choose another pizza restaurant in Sapporo, you most often won’t have to pay that kind of unnecessary “gift” to the restaurant. In fact, five minutes away at the Cocono Circo pizza, you can have the same quality pizza, with no “seat charge.” I don’t like eating at Cocono that much, but I probably like it better than Circo Vivo, and… no table charge.

Because of the QR-code (which is only at this location), and the smoke, and the seat charge… I won’t be back. But no hard feelings, it’s just not a particularly good customer experience. I know I can order their pizza at Circo Cocono or Italian Circo, so… I can safely boycott Circo Vino (which I think is the worst of the three Circo locations).

Good pizza, though. 100%.

Sapporo Pizza Restaurants

— There are two other Circo pizza restaurants in Sapporo; Cocono mall location of Pizzeria Circo is just a short walk away, and closer to Sapporo Station you’ll find イタリアン Circo Pizzeria
— The Savoy Pizza in Sapporo is a great choice (in Chuo-ku)
— For a wonderful, simple-yet-perfect pizza, try Da Massimo Pizza in Shiroishi-ku
— The farmers from Makino Farms make wonderful little Neapolitan pizza at Makino Pizza (one or two days a month, only)
— You have to try the Smoked Mackerel Pizza at Pizzeria del Capitano in Tanukikouji, Chuo-ku, Sapporo
— Sapporo’s Pizzeria Bocchi makes one of the finest pizzas in Sapporo City
— A very formulaic Napoletana pizza at Dalsegno Pizza in Chuo-ku, Sapporo
— New the Sapporo Beer Museum, you’ll find Orso Pizzeria Gelato in Higashi-ku, Sapporo
— A new downtown location for the chain store Osteria Salvatore Sapporo Pizza is in this same neighborhood
— Quirky neighborhood style pizza at the American-theme Smile Kitchen Pizza Diner
— In Sapporo’s Nishi-ku, you’ll find Pizza e Svago di Pluis
— Hokkaido Pizza Peace in Chuo-ku, Sapporo
— The only New York pizza slices at Pizza Joint Pike in Chuo-ku, Sapporo
— There is a full menu that includes good Neapolitan-style pizza at Agora Pizza in Chuo-ku, Sapporo
— One of the worst Chicago pizzas in all of Japan can be found at The Craft in Susukino in Chuo-ku, Sapporo
— Vecchia Roma Pizza in Nishi-ku, Sapporo