PST Niseko, Hokkaido
As this is SapporoCity.com, we are surprised to be bringing you a review of pizza restaurant PST Niseko. We’re lucky to have a PST here in Hokkaido; it’s an excellent opportunity to for anyone in Niseko to get some top-shelf, Tokyo-quality pizza.
Yes, the pizza is that good. As for a recommendation: Make a reservation (PST Niseko can be packed in peak-season), and then go taste some of Tomo san’s pizza, some of the best pizza in Japan.
What people call Niseko is a collection of small towns in the mountains about two hours to the south (by car) from Sapporo. While some local marketing people will claim Niseko is the “Whistler of Japan,” these are small towns spaced about 20 minutes apart from each other, running through farm country, at the base of the various interconnected ski resorts. PST Niseko is in the district of Soga, up against Mt Yotei, a few minutes from the City of Niseko itself.
PST stands for Pizza Studio Tamaki, and creates high-end pizza that begins with the Napoletana tradition, and ascends to something more creative and original. I know the PST brand from Tokyo. My first taste was at PST in Rippongi. I have since had several meals at PST Higashi Asabu. There is even a to-go PST Pizza Slice for NYC-inspired slices in Azabudai.
On a recent mission to scout some real estate in Niseko, as we circled around the base of Mount Yotei we drove by this shop and instantly knew what we wanted for dinner.
The Niseko location of PST is a two-story structure, backed up to a farm. From the road, you pull into the parking lot on the right of the building, and head up to 2F. They have done a fantastic job with this shop.
Upstairs you’ll find a chic, cosmopolitan restaurant – as nice, or nicer, than anything you’ll find in Sapporo. Inside, it’s modern, but with hardwood floors and stacks of firewood, the feeling is warm and welcoming.
Should we take a look at the pizza?
Big, bulging bubbles in the crust cook to a baked black before the slices are served.
The Niseko PST doesn’t open until 5 PM. On the day we first stopped by, we were sitting in the parking lot, waiting for the shop to open. As we walked up the stairs, we were greeted by a very attentive staff, including the “fire starter” himself, Tomonari Nagata, trained in Tokyo and on-location here in Hokkaido.
This is one of my favorite pictures of pizza-making I have ever taken. Cool guy. Killer spot.
As the (unofficial) Official Pizza Czar of Japan, I have eaten at over 100 of Japan’s best pizza restaurants. And the view from the counter at PST Niseko is about as good as it gets. From our seats at the bar, you could watch Tomo san at work, stretching out a pizza on the peel, with the glow from the big steel oven flaring fire behind him.
Like all the PST restaurants, this is wood-fired Neapolitan pizza. That oven burns at close to 500° C. But more than that, all that natural smoke becomes an essential ingredient adding the flavor of fire.
The Niseko PST pizza menu is something like 15 different pizzas; a full page of Rosso (red sauce) pizzas, and a second page of Blanco (cheese base) pizzas. When I asked for a recommendation from Tomo san, he suggested the Tamaki Pizza (a specialized Margherita).
Tamaki Pizza: Cherry Tomatoes, Fresh Smoked Mozzarella, Pecorino Romana, Basil
— From the pizza menu at PST Niseko
Because I was already a big fan of Pizza Studio Tamaki, I know they usually have a special/seasonal pizza. In my review of PST Riponggi, I wrote about a seasonal pizza with bacon and “wild vegetables.” In different seasons, PST has prepared creative offerings such as a Salmon and Pumpkin Pizza. They do the classics, but bring a lot of art and imagination to their own concepts.
Here at PST Niseko, the seasonal pizza on the day of our first visit was a Hokkaido seafood pizza: their Fruitti di Mare.
To use the analogy of a college education: If I have a “major” in pizza in Japan (c’mon, I have a PhD at this point), I have a well-researched minor in Japan’s seafood pizzas. I was eager to sample PST’s take on this very Japanese pizza with the Italian name.
Pizza Frutti di Mare: Tomato Sauce, Octopus, Scallop, Squid, Garlic, Basil, Fresh Parsley (with a side of Lime)
— From the “Monthly Recommend” on the PST Niseko menu
Tomo san told us we could have that pizza with either tomato sauce, a cheese sauce, or half-and-half. If we could have the opportunity to try that special pizza two ways, yes, that’s what we wanted.
It is a fact that PST Niseko’s black-beast pizza oven quickly cooks a pizza to perfection in about 120 seconds. We watched our pizza master slide the pizza onto the stone, expertly twist the pizza around for even exposure to the flame, lift the mostly-cooked pizza up into the smoke of the dome, and then deliver it to us, hot and steaming, and covered in stretchy, melted cheese.
Look at that; simply beautiful.
My first bite; rich, red sauce. Garlic (we watched him use his tool to shave off some thin slices). After the taste of the sauce, there was a crunch of the octopus.
Tomo san gave us a small dish of some crushed red pepper with our meal; that first bite ended with the spicy red pepper taste, and the added crunch from one of the seeds.
I asked my lovely companion Princess chan what she thought, and she said, “mehcha tasty.”
What an incredible slice of pizza. Just gorgeous.
A seafood pizza like the one prepared at PST Niseko can be marvelous. Of my all-time favorites, I am thinking of the Pescatore Pizza at Massimotavio (in Tokyo), a fantastic seafood pizza at Mio Pizza in Asahikawa, and simple-but-surprisingly good seafood pizza at Pizzeria Lucci in the Maruyama neighborhood of Sapporo.
(Don’t even get me started on more specific seafood pizzas; like the Barracuda Pizza I had Tokyo’s Marumo Pizza, or the wonderful Sardine Pizza I had at Savoy Tomato and Cheese. Or the Tuna Pizzas… I am thinking of Tokyo’s Il Lupone or an amazing Tonno at Sapporo’s Pizzeria Bocchio… too many great examples to mention.)
The intersection of seafood and pizza is a place where Japan really shines. PST provides another wonderful experience in that tradition.
The second slice was from the white-sauce side of our seafood pizza. It was creamy (maybe a ricotta-based sauce?). Also amazing, but…
That red-sauce side though… was just so devastatingly good. So tasty. I have not put enough emphasis on the red sauce; it was fantastic, and definitely my favorite part of the meal.
PST Niseko also makes a killer crust. I was savoring a last, charred bite, and I got just a bit of the fresh, leafy parsley with it; spectacular.
Part of the “legend” of Tamaki’s pizza is the salt; you will hear tale of PST making a “salty” pizza. I myself have seen the salt taken very far (on one occasion). In this case, I asked for “light salt.” I like some salt with the dough, and I was afraid he’d pull back too far, but he did not – this pizza was also salty, perfectly “PST Salty,” without going too far.
Delicious. Thank you, so much.
And yet, that was not to be our only pizza that night. My lovely companion (who will occasionally choose pasta on occasion such as this), added her favorite pizza to our order that night.
Salami – Spicy Pizza: Tomato Sauce, Fresh Smoked Mozzarella, Napoli Salami, Basil, Chilli
— From the Niseko PST pizza menu
The special part about the Salami Pizza, for me, was the salami itself. As I pulled a slice off, I licked my finger and got so much rich, gamey salami flavor from that little taste alone, I knew this pizza would have a special taste. The salami is strong; that “exotic” taste drew me in, and invited me to pay attention. The flavor grew on me with each bite. This was not my favorite PST pizza, but was intriguing and interesting. I would gladly try that pizza again, any time.
In the bites of salami and mozzarella, I was less interested. But when I could capture the salami with more of that amazing red sauce, it was a better balance. In the end, those last bites with red sauce and salt and crust, I loved it.
In Niseko that night, the Princess wanted something sweet and we finished with dessert.
She had the tiramisu; chocolate cake for adults (I’m too much of a simple kid at heart to fully appreciate that flavor). I had the panna cotta; it was smooth and silky, a simple clean finish to a fantastic meal.
On a Sunday night in early Fall, we were alone, at first. After a few minutes, a Japanese couple joined us at the counter, finished, left, and we were alone again. Soon after, a big group of white faces sat down at a table behind us for a big family meal. By the time we left, there was a full crowd inside.
This place is popular.
It was very much off-season on our first visit, but you can be assured this place is packed with very satisfied pizza lovers in the high-season. Don’t forget to make a reservation. Tomo san recommends at least a week in advance. If you’re Hokkaido during the Sapporo Snow Festival – a month in advance would be better.
Tomo was so good to us on that first visit. As he knew I was going to be in Tokyo the following week, he helped me set up a seat at one of the Tokyo PST restaurants. He was a wonderful host, and I very much appreciated his time, his attention, and his masterful work with his face in the fire.
PST Niseko was so good, we booked a snow trip to Niseko for late February. We’re staying nearby, and we’ll make a second trip to PST to have what I am sure will be another very special experience.
When you’re in Niseko, PST is highly recommended. When you’re ready for pizza in Tokyo, they are at the top of my list.
Pizza in Sapporo
— For an outstanding garlicky Marinara pizza, check out Da Massimo in Shiroishi-ku, Sapporo
— Pizzeria del Capitano in Tanukikouji, Sapporo
— The Savoy Pizza in Sapporo is a great choice (in Chuo-ku)
— There are three Circo Pizza restaurants; the Pizzeria Circo Cocono, the Sapporo Circo Vivo restaurant, and the Italian Circo Pizza (near Sapporo Station)
— The farmers from Makino Farms make wonderful little Neapolitan pizza at Makino Pizza (one or two days a month, only)
— A very formulaic Napoletana pizza at Dalsegno Pizza in Chuo-ku, Sapporo
— A new downtown location for the chain store Osteria Salvatore Sapporo Pizza is in this same neighborhood
— To the west, Pluis Pizza in Nishi-ku makes a fantastic pizza
— Pizza Bocchi in Chuo-ku, Sapporo
— Quirky neighborhood style pizza at the American-theme Smile Kitchen Pizza Diner
— A family style experience at Higashi-ku’s Orso Pizzeria Gelato in 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
— Hokkaido Pizza Peace in Chuo-ku, Sapporo
— Sapporo’s Vecchia Roma Pizza in Nishi-ku