The hunt for the perfect pizza, much like the surfer's search for the ultimate wave, is an unending quest. That doesn't mean we are never satisfied. On occasion we have come tantalizingly close to achieving our goal. And for that we must thank the good folks at Isola.

When, five years ago, they fired up the handsome, hand-built, Neapolitan oven at their original shop in Shirokanedai, they weren't the first in Tokyo to serve premium wood-fired pizzas. But their attention to flavor and quality threw down the gauntlet and set a standard that few other places have been able to match.

Unfortunately that applied to their own operations too. As they spawned offshoots, first in Ginza, then Marunouchi, Azabu and further afield, it soon became clear that a wonderful concept -- like even the finest pizza dough -- can easily be stretched too thin. The problem was especially grave at Isola's outlet near Yebisu Garden Place. There was nothing wrong with the actual pizzas; the place just seemed boring, formulaic, corporate.