pizza&cafe BIRD R4

Decent New York Style Pizza on Route 4

We went here before and enjoyed some fairly basic take-out but a few weeks ago we dined in and it was a notable experience. The lunch special was a little more expensive than others we had seen, with a basic soup bar, a limited but delicious drink bar selection and similar salad bar offered for a combined total of just under 1000 yen per person. In addition to this, patrons were encouraged to order a personal-sized pizza, pizza by the slice, and/or a pasta dish to complete their meal, though I fully admit that the menu seemed somewhat ambiguous on this point. The pepperoni pizza-- something I had been craving days earlier-- tasted legitimate, which means something when you've been an expat for a while. My husband's choice was also pretty delicious. The industrial-space-turned-bistro aesthetic of the interior is on trend and fresh, but has a few drawbacks, mainly in how very well the metal ceiling carries sound. When the dining area is filled with couples and small families, this is likely not terribly concerning, but when the entire center of the dining room has been converted to a seemingly 20-top banquet for a large group of Japanese moms, as it had been upon our arrival, the effect can be devastating. We were halfway through our meal when the guest of honor arrived and that enormous center table erupted in squeals that shattered any illusion of comfort we may have been entertaining. We left almost immediately after but do look forward to trying this place again, perhaps in a few months when they might be less busy and certainly never again if a large group is also present.