First Look: Wood-Fired Pizzas From $20 At Famed US Pizzeria Roberta’s First S’pore Outlet

Coming face-to-face with a leopard is usually bad news, unless we’re talking about pizzas. Leoparding is the hallmark of a good Neapolitan pie fresh out of a wood-fired oven. The fire’s intense heat hitting the cornicione (aka the pizza’s crusty ‘edge’) creates charred blisters that resemble a leopard’s fur markings.

And don’t scold the poor chef for serving you a chao ta order; for pizza puritans, the little charred spots on the crust add an appealing, bitter savouriness. And leopard pizzas were what we found at Roberta’s, the hip New York City casual pizzeria that’s opening its first direct Singapore outlet at Marina Bay Sands this Saturday (Feb 26).

8days.sg gets a sneak peek of the space, and here’s what to expect.

No reservations

Like all its outlets in the US, Roberta’s Singapore does not take reservations. The 44-seater will operate on a first come, first served basis. Its pizzas are made from scratch only upon order, which means you should likely expect to wait for a table here. Takeaway orders are also available.

 

The look

While its Brooklyn flagship is super grungy and industrial, the MBS outpost has a fun, punchy vibe with Maroon 5 blaring from hidden speakers. The space is filled with artwork brought in from New York and commissioned pieces by local pop artist Andre Tan, who’s also behind the mural that flanks the restaurant’s storefront. It comes alive when you view it on augmented reality art app Artivive. Once you enter the restaurant, you will be ushered to place your food order at the bar by the entrance before you go to your table.

 

The oven

In the middle of the restaurant is the Italy-imported gigantic wood-fired oven with a gaping maw spitting out pizza orders. Ask for a counter seat if you want to watch the action.

 

The chef

Roberta’s Singapore’s kitchen team is made up of mostly Singaporeans, with the head chef training in New York for around three weeks to learn how to make the famous pizzas. Unlike the usual yeast-leavened base, Roberta’s “Neapolitan-ish” pies are made with a 15-year-old sourdough master starter that its director of pizza operations Chris Ancona personally brought to Singapore.

 

The prices

For those who are wondering, Neapolitan pizzas have a thin base with a puffy charred crust, so you should be able to comfortably wolf down at least two slices here. Each of the 12-inch pizzas here yields six slices (look out for our upcoming review on 8days.sg).

The Singapore menu is largely similar to Roberta’s outlets in the States, except there are no pasta dishes. The selection is kept to a tight list of pizzas, salads, house-made breads and beverages like bottled beer.

For a Marina Bay Sands restaurant, the prices here are surprisingly reasonable. They start from $20 for the Rosso, which comes with a tomato base with garlic, basil and oregano, to $29 for the Speckenwolf with mozzarella, mushrooms, red onions and black pepper. You zhng your pizza with additional toppings, like Parmigiano ($1), Pepperoncini Peppers ($2), Pork Sausage ($5) and Calabrese Salami ($5).
 

 

Famous Original, $26

If you’re new to New York-style pizza, this is a classic pick with a tomato-oregano base and three types of melted cheese like mozzarella, caciocavallo (a stretched gourd-shaped cheese) and parmigiano, plus a drizzle of chilli oil.

 

Bee Sting, $28

The Bee Sting is one of Roberta’s biggest hits, and has calabrese salami, mozzarella and basil drizzled with honey and chilli oil for a sweet-spicy kick.

 

Cheesus Christ, $28

Cheesus, this is like cacio e pepe with a crust - this is topped with three types of cheeses (mozzarella, taleggio and parmigiano) with heavy cream and a liberal sprinkling of Indian black pepper.

 

Baby Sinclair, $29

This comes with dinosaur kale (a thinner version of regular kale that’s crispier when roasted), mushrooms, calabrese peppers and garlic.

 

House Bread with Cultured Butter/ Stracciatella, $9/$15

The wood-fired oven in the house produces house-made bread, which is paired with made-from-scratch cultured butter or a creamy stacciatella cheese dip. There's also Marinated Olives ($8) served as a starter.

 

Smashed Cucumbers, $12

This Chinese-style cold appetiser has smashed cucumbers tossed with fermented garlic paste, Korean chillies and a hint of peppercorns and mint.

 

Green Lettuce Salad, $16

If you’re somehow determined to eat clean at a pizzeria, there’s also this salad in a vinaigrette dressing with pecorino, lemon and caper breadcrumbs.

Roberta’s Singapore opens Feb 26, 2022 at B1 The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands. Look out for our upcoming full review on www.8days.sg.

Photos: Alvin Teo