Pizzeria Sei was rated the ninth best pizza in the world, according to 50TopPizza.

It tasted like it.

Pizzeria Sei is a Tokyo-style Neapolitan pizza shop created by South Korean chef William Joo. Tokyo-style pizza is known for its emphasis on simplicity and quality ingredients, such as crispy dough. Opening in Feb. 2022, Pizzeria Sei has established itself as one of the most in-demand slices in the city.

The restaurant’s interior was minimalist, with only a register at the counter, the kitchen and a few tables. The open-style kitchen gave diners a clear view of the high-quality pizzas being made and the wood-fired oven that cooked them to perfection. However, the high ceilings, white walls and dark-colored furniture, which can only seat about 25 people, felt as stale as a dentist’s office.

The menu is small, consisting of nine pizzas and a handful of non-pizza items, such as salads, cheeses and meats. In-store, the restaurant offers extra items as specials, which include pizzas with elevated ingredients and an appetizer. Despite the menu’s size, it contains a well-balanced mix of traditional pizzas and ones with more experimentation and unique toppings.

Our first pizza, the Special Margherita with Bufala, was exactly what you’d expect coming from the specials menu. It may not have been the most unique of pizzas, but by ingredients alone, you can tell it was different from any other Margherita. To start, the tomatoes brought a light acidity that added to the rich taste of the mozzarella di bufala. Alongside the two key components of the Margherita were the extra-virgin olive oil and fresh basil, adding a subtle yet distinct taste that brought everything together.

The pillowy yet crunchy crust soaked the juices from the cheese, oil and tomatoes into a bite that lingered in one’s mouth, even after the pizza was gone. You can find a Margherita pizza almost anywhere, but what made this one truly special and warrant a visit back were the use of pristine ingredients and the attention to detail to make the pizza memorable.

Our second pizza, the Bismarck, was a white-sauce pizza with prosciutto, pecorino and an egg set in the center of the pie. The prosciutto and pecorino were heavy yet packed with flavor. The saltiness of the pecorino paired nicely with the prosciutto, but after many bites became redundant until you had a bite with egg. The egg in the center added a great twist; however, we wish the yolk was a little runnier so it could spread to the rest of the pizza. The cheese and fluffy dough felt like you were chewing a large piece of dairy. When the egg oozed over your slice, only then could you begin to understand how the chef originally intended it to taste.

This white-based pizza is one we’d recommend if you enjoy every ingredient on the pizza, because if not, it can be a very rich and heavy pizza.

Our final pizza, the Ruti’s Pizza, was the showstopper of the day. Topped with soppressata, ricotta and hot honey, the Ruti’s was literally an explosion of flavor. The sautéed shallots melted into the sauce and provided a sweetness to each bite that counteracted the heat of the honey and soppressata. The arugula’s crunch, along with the creaminess of the ricotta, again added to the harmony of flavors and textures that made this pizza our favorite.

Pizzeria Sei lives up to the hype of their international acclaim. Each pizza was memorable in its own way and had its time to shine. There wasn’t one pizza that overshadowed the others, and it highlighted Pizzeria Sei’s versatility and very well-balanced pizza selections.

As two people from the East Coast (Boston and New York), the bar for a slice of pizza is high. We know the comfort of having a quality New York slice, and to find that in Los Angeles can be daunting. The mere size of LA gives us a plethora of options when it comes to getting a slice of pizza – but at Pizzeria Sei, pushing the boundaries of pizza through experimentation with classics is what sets it apart from the rest. Their quality ingredients make their pizza recognizable amongst the plethora of pizza available in the world – and it was well worth it.