Jakob C.
Google
As a true Pizza Napoletana enthusiast, I make it a point to visit local pizzerias in every city I travel to — tasting both traditional flavors and creative variations. In Paris, I visited OOBATZ, since it was listed among the Top 50 Pizza Europa 2025.
Let’s start with the positives: their tomato sauce and cheese were well-balanced, and the ingredients were of good quality.
Unfortunately, the restaurant also has some serious drawbacks.
First, the service. I arrived right on time for my reservation and fully understood that the restaurant was busy. Still, one waitress glanced at me and then went on pretending to clean tables, completely ignoring me. It wasn’t until much later that a male waiter, clearly overwhelmed, finally seated me. Later, when I tried to order, the same waitress was standing near the bar doing nothing. I caught her eye several times to signal that I was ready, but the moment our eyes met, she just pretended to be busy wiping tables - it was just baffling.
Then came the issue of quality control. I ordered two pizzas from the menu — Quatre and Cinq. The first pizza arrived with a visibly burnt crust (see photo). Though I was doubtful, I still tried a slice, only to find it extremely bitter from the charring. I immediately informed the waiter, who took it back to the kitchen.
After quite a long wait, my second pizza arrived. It was acceptable this time—slightly overbaked, but not burnt. However, to my surprise, the manager soon came back with the first burnt pizza, saying: “The chef says this is how a Pizza Napoletana is supposed to be.”
At that point, I almost rolled my eyes. Poor quality control is bad enough, but their unwillingness to acknowledge such an obvious issue was even worse. Did they assume that, because I’m Asian, I wouldn’t know what a real Neapolitan pizza should taste like? But let me be clear: that was definitely a burnt pizza.
After leaving, I read other reviews and realized that poor service seems to be a recurring complaint. What truly puzzles me, though, is how such a restaurant could make it into the Top 50 Pizza Europa. Honestly, the random Neapolitan pizzeria I walked into in Paris the next day offered far better pizza—and far better service.