Pizzeria Sei

The Tokyo-Neapolitan Method

Tokyo-style Neapolitan pizza emerged from Japanese pizzaiolo Susumu Kakinuma’s interpretation of Italian techniques over 25 years ago. The style features less sauce than traditional Neapolitan, more salt on the crust, and a distinctive pinching method that creates the cornicione (edge) with an almost mochi-like chew. Chef William Joo trained at Providence, Angelini Osteria, and Ronan before opening Pizzeria Sei with his wife Jennifer in February 2022. He studied Tokyo pizzerias through videos and online research, teaching himself the techniques that would eventually earn him international recognition.

The restaurant’s name references both “sei” (six in Italian, for the six slices each pizza is cut into) and Seirinkan, one of Tokyo’s legendary Neapolitan pizzerias. Joo has never visited Tokyo but spent years experimenting with different flours and fermentation times to replicate the style. By 2025, his work earned him Pizza Maker of the Year honors and put his restaurant in the global top ten.

Watching Pizza Theater

The restaurant occupies a sparse, minimal space where the wood-fired oven dominates. Bar seating wraps around the counter where you sit inches from the pizza-making action. You watch dough being stretched, topped, and slid into the 800-900°F oven. Pies cook in about 90 seconds, emerging with charred spots and that characteristic pinched, puffy edge. The kitchen moves fast. Your pizza arrives hot enough that you need to wait a minute before eating.

The menu lists about seven pizzas. The Margherita ($19) showcases San Marzano tomatoes, fior di latte mozzarella, basil, and olive oil on the signature dough. It’s considered the best representation of Sei’s technique. The Napoletana ($21) adds capers and anchovies. The Funghi ($22) features thinly sliced mushrooms with pecorino and thyme. The Bismarck includes prosciutto cotto, egg, and truffle oil. The Mala Lamb Sausage, one of Joo’s more creative offerings, combines Italian, Mexican, and Chinese influences with cilantro blossoms.

Antipasti include giardiniera (pickled vegetables), prosciutto plates, burrata, and salads like the tricolore (arugula, radicchio, and endive). The house-made tiramisu is the only dessert. Everything moves quickly. Most dinners last under an hour.

The Omakase Experience

On select Tuesday evenings, Joo offers a $150 pizza omakase (called “omakasei”) for just 16 diners. The three-hour tasting features 8-10 courses of pizza variations and pizza-adjacent dishes. Past menus have included bread pockets with fried cod and uni, wagyu tongue sandwiches with ox bone broth, potato pizza with caviar and crème fraîche, and experimental slices like tom yum-infused sauce with yellowfin tuna. These dinners sell out within seconds when reservations open.

What to Expect

The space is tight. Chairs at the counter sit close together. You can hear other diners eating. There’s no romantic lighting or extensive wine list. The room has an echoey, gallery-like quality. This isn’t a place for large groups or long, leisurely meals. You come for the pizza, watch it being made, eat it fresh, and leave so the next diners can have your seat.

The restaurant accepts walk-ins but holds most seats for reservations, which open two weeks in advance on Mondays at noon Pacific time. Prime weekend slots book immediately. Weekday afternoons offer better availability. Street parking on Pico and Robertson can be tight during peak hours but usually opens up with patience.

Pizzeria Sei plans to move to a larger location in Palms sometime in 2026, which should ease the space constraints. For now, it remains one of LA’s most sought-after pizza experiences, cramped quarters and all.