Photo via New York Post

How a tiny LA mom-and-pop pizza joint skyrocketed to ‘best’ in the world

Read the original at New York Post ↗
Cite

Zalben, B. (2026, September 17). How a tiny LA mom-and-pop pizza joint skyrocketed to ‘best’ in the world. New York Post. https://nypost.com/2026/09/17/lifestyle/how-a-tiny-la-pizza-joint-skyrocketed-to-number-five-in-the-world/

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

New York Post · collected 2026-09-17 · by Bianca Zalben

Quick Summary

Pizzeria Sei, a small pizza joint in Los Angeles founded in 2022 by Chef Willian Joo and Jennifer So, has been ranked fifth globally in this year’s 50 Top Pizza awards announced in Naples, Italy. The restaurant is known for its Tokyo-style Neapolitan pizzas, which blend traditional Italian techniques with Japanese precision, resulting in uniquely flavored pies that have garnered a devoted local following despite their relatively high prices starting at $21. Despite the challenges facing many restaurants in LA, Pizzeria Sei has expanded and continues to thrive due to its innovative approach and quality offerings.
Written by AI on 2026-09-18, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

Chef Willian Joo and his partner Jennifer So opened Pizzeria Sei in Los Angeles' Pico-Robertson area in 2022 with a goal to create the best pizza in Los Angeles. Recently, their vision was validated when they tied for the fifth-best pizzeria globally in the 50 Top Pizza rankings announced in Naples, Italy, beating out many Italian competitors. This achievement is particularly notable given the challenging restaurant industry landscape in LA. So expressed her pride and appreciation on social media, highlighting the team's hard work to meet demand while maintaining high quality at both of their locations.

Written for “Best Pizza Joint In The World” on 2026-10-31, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Best Pizza Joint In The World
Entertainment · 1 article(s) covering the same event.

Compared with similar articles

Nothing to compare against. No article is close enough to this one for the pipeline to have linked or judged the pair.
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
19
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
5%
1 of 19 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
66/100
New York Post's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Entertainment
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-09-18 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

New York Post · 15511 article(s) · 35 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 35 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Bianca Zalben
36 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 Someone else calculated that the same money could buy roughly 14 of Costco’s famous $1.50 hot dogs.
🔮 Set to open by summer 2028, the ambitious development will include 406 luxury guest rooms (featuring 119 VIP suites), and 900 additional slot machines, which brings the gaming floor’s fire-power up to 3,000 slots.
🔮 Once there, they can take advantage of buying goods in bulk, potentially splitting supersized grocery purchases that might otherwise be impractical for a single student. “We realized it’d be best if we can just all band together, have people with memberships and cars, go to Costco so we can buy items in bulk,” Kathryn Chong, the club’s social media manager and a fourth-year biology student, told the school newspaper.
🔮 Hospitality entrepreneur Jeremy Fall and former Mozza Restaurant Group executive Sean Maloney are behind the ambitious revival, and while the beloved French dip will remain the star of the show, its return will include white tablecloths, fancy French fare and even an au jus-infused martini.
🔮 Rocket riches could be fueling a sleepy Los Angeles area city’s sudden interest in the finer things.
🔮 The team had anticipated a low-key debut, staffing the bakery for what they though would be a relatively quiet soft opening.
🔮 The bulk-buying behemoth is moving closer to opening its first warehouse in Oakland, with newly filed plans revealing a massive store that could bring roughly 400 jobs and millions in tax revenue.
🔮 Helmed by Chef Willian Joo, Pizzeria Sei specializes in Tokyo-style perfectly blistered Neapolitan-style pies.
2026-10-09 · assertive framing · Five California pizzerias ranked top 27 in the US
🔮 The poster admitted their own contribution to the list might ruffle some feathers: an $8.75 personal 8-inch pizza from Erewhon.
🔮 Southern California’s craft beer scene may be drowning in closures, but one experimental newcomer is betting there’s still plenty of life left in the tap.
Also by Bianca Zalben
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 36 articles by Bianca Zalben →

Topics

Los Angeles Neapolitan Pizzeria Sei Sei Tokyo

Subjects

Joo PERSON · 3× Neapolitan ORG · 3× Sei ORG · 3× Los Angeles GPE · 2× Tokyo GPE · 2× California GPE · 1× Italy GPE · 1× Naples GPE · 1× Pizzeria Sei ORG · 1× the City of Angels GPE · 1×

Narrative

The pint-sized spot that Chef Willian Joo and his partner Jennifer So opened in LA’s Pico-Robertson area tied at number five, worldwide, beating out scores of Italian offerings — an astonishing feat that tells the world what Southern California diners already know. “So proud of William and all of our team at both locations working tirelessly to keep up with demand while retaining the highest quality possible,” So wrote on social media following the stunning win.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-18
🔮 The pint-sized spot that Chef Willian Joo and his partner Jennifer So opened in LA’s Pico-Robertson area tied at number five, worldwide, beating out scores of Italian offerings — an astonishing feat that tells the world what Southern California diners already know. “So proud of William and all of our team at both locations working tirelessly to keep up with demand while retaining the highest quality possible,” So wrote on social media following the stunning win.
2026-09-18 · New York Post
How a tiny LA mom-and-pop pizza joint skyrocketed to ‘best’ in the world · assertive framing

Claims (19 extracted, 1 hedged)

It all began in 2022 with eight counter seats, one scorching-hot oven and an audacious goal — to make the best pizza in Los Angeles. asserted
It → begin → Angeles
Four years later, Pizzeria Sei isn’t just the best pizza in the City of Angels — it’s also some of the best in the world. asserted
it → ’ → world
That’s according to this year’s 50 Top Pizza global rankings, announced Tuesday in Naples, Italy — where experienced judges from the Boot and elsewhere handed out the coveted awards to a lucky few. uncertain
judges → accord → few
Sign up for the California Morning Report newsletter The biggest news, opinion and culture shaping California right now. Thanks for signing up! asserted
Sign → sign → California
The pint-sized spot that Chef Willian Joo and his partner Jennifer So opened in LA’s Pico-Robertson area tied at number five, worldwide, beating out scores of Italian offerings — an astonishing feat that tells the world what Southern California diners already know. “So proud of William and all of our team at both locations working tirelessly to keep up with demand while retaining the highest quality possible,” So wrote on social media following the stunning win. asserted
So → open → win
In a Los Angeles restaurant landscape stunned by endless closures, spiraling costs and changing habits, Pizzeria Sei’s signature, Tokyo-style Neapolitan pies have found an insatiable audience — one that quickly demanded a considerable expansion of the operation. asserted
that → stun → operation
Even after the pair opened a larger flagship in Palms this summer, reservations tend to disappear soon after they are released — while hopeful walk-ins have been known to line up before the doors open. asserted
doors → open → Palms
Chef Joo’s culinary foundation includes stints at LA greats like Providence — his pies combine traditional Neapolitan pizza-making techniques with Japanese precision, producing blistered, leopard-spotted crusts with a distinct sea salt crunch. asserted
pies → include → crunch
A true, Tokyo-style Neapolitan emphasizes dough fermentation and texture — Joo’s version pinches and crimps the dough’s rim before it hits the oven. asserted
it → emphasize → oven
Takeout from the original location, now branded as Sei Pizza Bar, is the easiest way to experience the phenomenon — with small-ish pizzas starting at $21, currently. asserted
pizzas → brand → 21
For that, you’ll get a marinara pie without cheese — tomato, garlic, basil, oregano, extra virgin olive oil and a bit of Sicilian sea salt. asserted
you → get → salt
One diner who managed to snag a reservation at the new Palms location, at the corner of Overland and Tabor, declared the original Sei their “favorite pizza in the city,” before diving into a $38 special pizza, called the Culture Diavola. asserted
who → manage → pizza
The ultra-thin, crispy pie — topped with gochujang, candied guanciale and stracciatella — was “one of the most complex and unique pizzas I’ve ever had,” the diner gushed on Reddit. “So much going on here, and it works beautifully together,” they added. asserted
they → top → Reddit
Another diner who scored a table on opening night conceded that Sei is “a little pricey,” but they said they happily “bit the bullet for date night or a special occasion.” asserted
they → score → night
“10/10, I’ll be back again and again,” the fan raved. asserted
fan → rave → ?
“Pizza [is] bomb as hell,” one commenter declared — although they complained about the cramped dining conditions, acoustics, comfort levels and the high price point, before conceding, “Pizza was so good though!” asserted
Pizza → declare → conditions
The Palms location gives Chef Joo a chance to branch out beyond the original pies that made Sei famous. asserted
Sei → give → pies
The new menu adds two dramatically different pizza forms: montanara, a Neapolitan specialty in which the dough is fried before being finished into a pizza; and scrocchiarell, a thin Roman-style pizza baked until audibly crunchy. asserted
dough → add → pizza
Calls to the restaurant were not answered. “Holding it down in LA by myself this week,” So told her followers on Instagram earlier. asserted
So → answer → Instagram
💬Give feedback
🕘History 🎫Support