Beyond the Dough’s elegance and plush dough earns credence for Singapore’s most overhyped pizza restaurant
Passing by Domino’s Pizza sparked a certain bemusement in me, as I inched closer to Arab Street’s hottest new opening that lay a few doors down, Beyond the Dough.
There’s a certain irony since public sentiment for Beyond the Dough had manifested as a deluge of plaudits which had swept it to the top of gourmand rankings as Singapore’s most popular pizza spot.
As expected: The restaurant has master pizzaiolo Eddie Murakami takes his place behind the counter, sculpting dough with experienced hands that were broken in at two of the world’s most revered pizza joints, Pizza Studio Tamaki and Michelin-affirmed Pizza Strada.
More than enough reason to drive the fanfare with the virtuoso bringing his nous to Singapore, where Tokyo-style Neapolitan pizza has yet to establish itself in local dining circles.
But despite all the hype, Beyond the Dough itself is a rather small, unassuming space decked in wood and orange tones. And with all the action compacted within an intimate 28-seater, securing a reservation is like catching lightning in a bottle.
Amidst all that zeal and fervour, whispers of scepticism surfaced as we pondered: “How good is the pizza, really?”
A side of satisfaction
Leading up to the carby main event, the meal started with Beyond the Dough’s adorably compact Homemade Mini-Bucket Lasagna ($12). Sheets of pasta and sauce are compressed, crampedly layered into a palm-sized receptacle.
Tomato richness underscores every modest nibble, creamy sauce melding with al dente pasta and punctuating studs of minced beef — there’s a little bit of everything, and a huge abundance of comfort.
What was assumed to be another Japanese karaage-style Fried Chicken ($12) turned out unexpectedly splendid, save for a bit of dryness.
Sheer airy crunch embraced each chunk of tender chook, richly and aromatically seasoned, dredging up echoes of Western-style fried chicken — hugely satisfying and nothing like the humble izakaya staple.
The elegance of dough
Beyond the sides, though, is where the crux of Beyond the Dough lies — that enthralling Tokyo-style Neapolitan pizza has captured the heart of many food critics, and the attention of many pizza connoisseurs.
Compared to the smoky and air-pocket-laden Neapolitan at some of Singapore’s best pizzerias, the dough takes on a more slender profile that leads with a delectable firm crunch before transitioning into a lighter, chewier mouthfeel.
Many enthraling options pepper the menu but the Smoked Margherita ($30) caught our eye since Beyond the Dough challenges the time-honoured Italian ultra-classic, the Margherita, with a supposedly more intense take that uses smoked mozzarella.
Splendidly lush with tomato richness in the sauce and accented by the heady aromas of basil, little fault could be found in this. One glaring chink, however, had to be the conspicuous absence of any smoke — solid Margherita but not quite out of the ordinary.
After approaching the staff for recommendations, we were persuaded to go for Bismark ($35) for our second. This one is a comparatively less ubiquitous classic but undoubtedly a more potent flavour bomb, comprising prosciutto, mushrooms, and cheese but gloriously finished with a sunny side up.
While everything came together marvellously and was as hearty as its ingredient list suggested, this had the same issues as Beyond the Dough’s Smoked Margherita — it fails to muster up the je ne sais quo to justify a more inflated price tag.
With utmost candour, that summarises our experience with Singapore’s most hyped pizzeria: Elegant and plush dough and solid flavours but unfortunately fell significantly short of expectations.
Expectations set by the ridiculous public fanfare and by the confidence shown in its pricing — which, in hindsight, were dangerously unrealistic. Do a factory reset and visit on a clean slate and we suspect you’ll still find plenty of pleasure dining at this Kampong Glam “it” opening.
Make a reservation online first before visiting Beyond the Dough.
Beyond the Dough
- Address: 150 Arab St, Singapore 199832
- Hours: (Mon) 5pm to 9:30pm, (Tues to Sat) 11:45am to 1:45pm, 5pm to 9:30pm