The last stop on my Kobe trip was a pizza place called Pinocchio, which has a bit of history and is famous in this neighborhood, but for all its fame it wasn’t really that tasty. Still, Haruki Murakami ate pizza here and wrote about it, so I came by to mark that. And that was after resisting the temptation of the 1,500-yen course meal Igrek was serving in town as a Uniqlo x Igrek special.
The entrance
It’s a small shop with an antique feel. Nothing flashy, but everything from the service to the interior is very relaxed.
Ginger ale
They asked what I’d like to drink, so I ordered a ginger ale, and they topped it with a slice of lemon. Nice touch! Unusually for an Italian restaurant, they actually make cocktails in the kitchen too. I guess that’s why it’s popular as a date spot with young couples. Apparently Murakami dropped by on dates when he was young, too.
Businessman pizza -_-;;
I have no idea why it got that name. It’s what they call their regular pizza loaded with every topping they’ve got. At around 1,600 yen it isn’t very big for the price, and the crust is kind of like a cookie. It’s heaped with cheese, so it feels like it’d make a perfect snack with beer or wine, but on its own it’s a bit heavy. If you want to enjoy what pizza really tastes like, you’re better off going to Salvatore Cuomo. They call it traditional pizza, but to my taste it was ordinary.
This pizza is the 1,180,506th pizza served since the restaurant opened.
Over 1.18 million… they’ve sold a lot. This kind of gimmicky, event-like touch is what the place is all about. Rather than just chasing flavor, it gives you something to talk about and remember, which I think is why it’s popular with young couples. In fact, while I was eating pizza alone at the counter, every seat around me was taken by couples…
A little treat on the way out
A small token of thanks from the restaurant. The pizza was just so-so (partly unavoidable, since I was driving and couldn’t order a drink), but with all the little touches it was a fun experience. If I’d been born in Kobe, I’d definitely have brought a girlfriend here. Eat together, have a few drinks, the little surprises lift the mood! And the date goes exactly as planned.
And that’s how I spent the day before heading home. Following in Haruki Murakami’s footsteps was fun, but I’ll stop here, and next time I’ll try somewhere that’s actually good.