| Kōbo Pizza | |
|---|---|
 | |
 Exterior of thePike Motorworks building with signage for Redhook Brewlab and Kōbo Pizza in 2023 | |
 Interactive map of Kōbo Pizza | |
| Restaurant information | |
| Established | September 10, 2022 (2022-09-10) |
| Closed | October 31, 2024 (2024-10-31) |
| Owner | Shota Nakajima |
| Location | 714 EastPike Street,Seattle,King, Washington, 98122, United States |
| Coordinates | 47°36′51″N122°19′22″W / 47.6143°N 122.3227°W /47.6143; -122.3227 |
Kōbo Pizza was a pizzeria inSeattle, in theU.S. state ofWashington.[1][2][3] OwnerShota Nakajima opened the restaurant in thePike Motorworks building onCapitol Hill in September 2022. It closed permanently in October 2024.
Kōbo Pizza operated at Redhook Brewlab, in thePike Motorworks building onEast Pike Street on Seattle'sCapitol Hill, serving square-shaped[4]Detroit-style pizza. "Kōbo" means "yeast" inJapanese. Pizza dough was made with milk,buttermilk, andclarified butter to resembleJapanese milk bread.[5]
Pizza varieties included The Flat-Earther, a variant of thePizza Margherita withmozzarella and basil on a red sauce,[6] and The Hot Neighbor, which hadfried chicken from the neighboring restaurantTaku, as well asMonterey Jack, cilantro, and koji hot sauce. The Dodger, which was named after the owner's dog, had teriyaki brisket,cheddar cheese, tonkatsu, andKewpie mayonnaise.[5][6] The Ginny had pepperoni, cheese, and garlic honey.[7] Some pizzas, including The Dodger,[6] also had shredded cabbage.[5]
In addition to pizzas, the restaurant served smallcorn dogs,tater tots with chili jam ketchup, small pretzels with misobeer cheese, anddeep-fried broccoli withchili sauce.[5] The Hill-D Cheese was agrilled cheese onsourdough, served with a blend of four cheeses and a bowl oftomato soup. The Hot Leg was a chicken leg with koji hot sauce, seaweed ranch, andpickled celery.[6]
Shota Nakajima opened Kōbo Pizza on September 10, 2022, next to his restaurant Taku.[5][8][9] Kōbo was his second restaurant in the city.[10] It replaced the food menu previously served by Redhook Brewlab.[11]
As aNew Year's Eve special, the restaurant servedEast Coast–inspired pizzas from December 28 to 31. OnNew Year's Day in 2023, Kōbo servedbrunch with banana and misocinnamon rolls, Japanese pancakes with coconut-infusedmaple syrup, and pork katsu with eggs and kimchihollandaise sauce. The brunch also includedcocktails made by Redhook Brewlab.[12]
In October 2024, Nakajima announced plans to close Kōbo permanently on October 31. He wrote in a closing announcement, "We got to make some seriously dope pizza and connect with all of you in the community. A huge thank you to each and every one of you who stopped by, supported us, and shared in the love of good food."[13][14][15] Bethany Jean Clement, a food writer for The Seattle Times, said Nakajima "retroactively [branded]" the business as apop-up in the announcement.[16] The restaurant's final special pizza was the Wandering Forager.[13]
Hayley Hamilton Cogill included Kōbo inTasting Table's 2023 list of the 20 best restaurants fromTop Chef contestants.[17]
