800 Degrees - Fast Casual Pizza in Shinjuku

Restaurant Review by K. M.
 
800 Degrees Neapolitan Pizza recently opened in Shinjuku, conveniently located at the Shinjuku
New South Exit, across the street from Lumine 2. This fast casual chain restaurant offers delicious Neapolitan style pizza in a style that reminds you of a Subway sandwich shop or Chipotle, as you order at the counter and watch the clerk build your pizza while you select the ingredients.

The way to order is like this: first, you choose your base pizza. I chose the Margherita (980 yen), which has tomato sauce, Mozzarella cheese, Reggiano cheese, and some basil leaves. (Other choices for the base pizza are Bianca, Marinara, Verde and Crema.) Then you add the ingredients you like; I chose pepperoni (+300), black olives (+100), red onions (+100), roasted garlic (+100) and Gruyere cheese (+200). The total cost for the pizza was 1780 yen plus tax. It came out fast, but tasted really great! I like that you can choose exactly the ingredients you want, and there are over 30 choices!

I was with my wife, so we also had a Caesar Salad (780), which was quite large, and a side order of meatballs. I also had a cafe latte (380) and a craft beer (680) on tap. The beer was excellent, though a little small for the price.

This restaurant seems to be good for university age students and for people who are in a hurry, such as people who want to eat quickly before or after work. It's not really a place to sit and relax, as it's kind of noisy and people are walking around the tables, since you have to get up to order at the counter. It might also be good for people eating alone, as you can get what you want quickly, sit at the counter by the window, and be on your way.

This chain is new to Japan, but there are a number of locations in California and Nevada, as well as some in Dubai. It appears to be similar to another pizza chain in the U.S. called MOD Pizza, which has locations in America and the U.K.

An article in the Japan Times talked about how fast casual restaurant chains from the U.S., such as 800 Degrees and Shake Shack, were entering the Japan market and giving the fast food industry in Japan a new look. Interestingly, the article doesn't mention Panda Express, an American Chinese food chain which also entered the Japan market recently..

800 Degrees Neapolitan Pizza
Location: Shinjuku Station - New South Exit
Hours: 11:00 a.m. - 11:00 p.m.
Website: http://800degreespizza.jp/