4P's Pizza, Saigon

I don’t normally bother recommending pizza joints since they’re ubiquitous the world over and not necessarily an essential traveller experience when in Vietnam. If you’re looking for a pizza in Saigon, you won’t struggle to find one.

But 4P’s is no ordinary pizza place.

Japanese owned, 4P’s adds a distinctly Japanese twist to the pizza experience - without straying too far from the familiar Italian roots.

It seems to be in perennial expansion too. In 2016, they opened behind Ben Thanh Market in the heart of Saigon, and in Hanoi as well.

Pizza 4P’s Ben Thanh Market is located in a handsomely converted French colonial building on the corner of Le Thanh Ton St and Thu Khoa Huan St. We think the new place feels even better than the original. It’s open till 2AM every night except Sunday too.

Check it out at 8 Thu Khoa Huan St District 1.

On our most recent visit to Pizza 4P’s, we tried Burrata Prosciutto, Teriyaki Chicken, Salmon Miso and Seaweed pizzas to share. All were delicious and ranged in price from around 150,000VND to 330,000VND each.

Pizza 4P’s opened back in 2012 when Tokyo born founder, Yosuke Masuko aka. Masuko, ditched his job investing in Vietnam’s tech sector and decided to try and work out a way to pioneer the Japanese pizza. In his early 30s at the time, he’d been thinking about this for a while.

He’s a man with a keen eye for detail. He’s especially passionate about his cheeses and he’s spent years perfecting a Vietnamese version of cheese that’s the perfect fit for his menu. The 4P’s dairy cattle farm in the central highlands town of Dalat is the source.

Masuko is self-effacing, bordering on shy, on first meeting. His mission is to deliver “wow and happiness”. And he seems to be doing a good job on both fronts.

He has his eye on the long term. His restaurant in Saigon is one of the most popular in the city, yet he told me he hasn’t raised his food prices in years - which are surprisingly reasonable. And he’s rolling out a very gradual expansion plan, carefully managing the detail to ensure the magic isn’t lost.

4P’s has opened a second restaurant in Hanoi and a third will open in Saigon soon.

Saigon’s expats and travellers love 4P’s, but Masuko’s greatest accomplishment has been persuading the locals to the merits of pizza. Yes, remember he's Japanese. These days 4P’s gets the vast majority of its business from young Vietnamese.

Masuko studied sociology and spent a year at the University of Newcastle, north of Sydney. His interest in studying in Australia he told me, was driven not by a regard for the university, but by a desire to play rugby - which he did, and still does occasionally.

So there you have it - A Japanese sociology major, refugee from the tech investment sector, who loves cheese, pizza and rugby. And he’s now one of Vietnam’s most successful restaurateurs. It’s hard to know when it will end.

Masuko is married with two children.

If you’re looking for a unique pizza  experience - and a great atmosphere, check out 4P’s.

Best to book as it gets busy.

The original Pizza 4P’s is located down an alley at the Ton Duc Thang St end of Le Thanh Ton St. The second which opened in late 2016 is listed above.


Disclosure
Rusty Compass recommendations are always independent. We show you the stuff we think is worth knowing about. That's it. We've always paid our way at 4P's and they have not offered any inducement of any kind for this recommendation.