Starbucks pizzas become a hot topic in Japan, but do they live up to the hype?

https://ift.tt/6ADfSZ4 Oona McGee

A slice of Italy…with a Starbucks twist.

Our food-loving reporter Mr Sato has tasted a lot of things in Japan, but one thing he hasn’t tried is a Starbucks pizza. In fact, he’d been oblivious to the fact that the coffeehouse chain had such an offering on its menu until he heard the buzz online about it, where people were praising it for its moreish flavour.

So he set out to find it, tracking it down at the Ginza Marronnier-dori Starbucks Reserve Store.

This Reserve branch just reopened on 3 February after a fresh refurbishment, with a Princi bakery on the ground floor that serves light meals and snacks, including a slice of Margherita pizza for 858 yen (US$7.44).

However, Mr Sato was keen to eat at the cafe on the second floor, which boasts four different menus that change over the course of a day, from morning, noon, afternoon, and night. When he visited at lunchtime, there were three options to choose from: the Tavola Deli, which includes a salad and lasagna, the Tavola Frittata, which comes with a croissant on the side, and the Tavola Pizza, which includes two types of pizza.

▼ Each meal comes with a drink included.

Mr Sato headed up to the cafe and ordered the Tavola Pizza for 1,540 yen, and as soon as he laid eyes on his meal, he was surprised to see it looked just as good as it did in the promo poster for it.

The salad was colourful and fresh, and the two pizza pieces glistened with cheesy goodness. The green-topped pizza was a spinach and meat pizza, while the one next to it was a tomato sauce, cheese and basil pizza.

Unlike the pizzas Mr Sato is used to eating, these ones used a focaccia base, which added a thick texture to each bite, and a slight saltiness that enhanced the sweetness and umami flavour of the toppings.

Mr Sato quickly realised that this base helped to give the pizzas their moreish flavour, making every mouthful a rich and soul-satisfying experience. Focaccia is undeniably fantastic on its own, so adding cheese and sauce to it only amplifies its delicious flavour.

Mr Sato’s pizza lunch was a little pricey, but that wasn’t totally unexpected, given he was eating in an upmarket branch of Starbucks in the ritzy neighbourhood of Ginza. The only criticism Mr Sato had was the fact that it would’ve been better if you could choose the types of pizza you wanted to include in your lunch plate.

▼ And it would’ve been nice if they had more variety to choose from, like they do at the Tokyo Reserve Roastery.

For now, the pizzas are only available at Starbucks locations with a Princi Bakery onsite, but Mr Sato reckons these pizzas are worthy of the rave reviews and deserve a permanent place on the menu at Starbucks locations around the country.

And while they’re at it, they should consider making the sell-out Starbucks afternoon tea set a permanent fixture too!

Photos ©SoraNews24
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