PocoLoco Pizzeria – Quality Italian Pizzas & Pastas for less than $20

Having first started from a humble branch in Ang Mo Kio, PocoLoco Pizzeria has earned a reputation for bringing hearty Italian fare at affordable prices to the masses. Situating themselves in the heartlands might make it a bit difficult to get to if you’re not staying in the area, but the cheaper rental lets them keep their prices down. For 2 mains and a dessert, our bill came up to less than $40. What a steal!

Since their Golden Mile Pizzeria specialises in Pizzas, we tried the Proscuito e Rucola ($15), a pizza with parma ham, rocket salad, and mozzerella cheese tomato sauce. The dough used to make the pizza changes every few days. It is homemade and has a few different ‘flavours’, including squid ink (black), saffron (orange), beetroot (red) and seaweed (green).

Our crust was lightly coloured green – we almost didn’t notice it! The 10-inch pizza arrived promptly with a crisp crust and doughy insides. While there is a bit of a seaweed aftertaste, it was overpowered by the toppings, and we hardly noticed it except when it was eaten on its own.

High quality ingredients is used here. The parma ham had no stringy pieces of fat, and was drizzled with a heavy hand of olive oil. The olive oil left the pizza a bit soggy, as the rocket salad was drenched with the oil.

This flavour is a classic, perfect for families and date nights. If you want something more unique, get their Mentaiko Pizza ($13), a combination of Japanese pollock roe and Italian pizza.

Expect a smaller selection of pastas here compared to their branches at Ang Mo Kio and Jurong East, which specialise in pastas. We tried the Granchio ($12), tagliatelle pasta with crabmeat tossed in pink sauce. I spoke with the waitress who told me that they make fresh batches of the tomato sauce from scratch, instead of buying store bought ones.

The pasta was al dente with a nice bite, and the thick nature of the tagliatelle held the creamy sauce well. The sauce was neither too creamy nor too diluted. To combat the potential jelat-ness, little cubed onion pieces were included alongside the silvers of crabmeat. For the price point of $12, a smaller portion of crabmeat is to be expected.

Altogether a satisfying main to order! A usual here recommended the Manzo ($12), pasta with beef in truffle cream sauce. Another one of their signature dishes, it is a more filling alternative to the Granchio for our meat-loving friends.

PocoLoco Pizzeria features a special menu that changes weekly (sometimes shorter/longer, depending on the popularity of the item). Do check with the service staff as it is not printed on their main menu and is easy to miss.

For a sweet end to our meal, we tried a spin on the usual Chocolate Lava Cake ($10), the Matcha Lava served with Vanilla Gelato ($10). Made using white chocolate with matcha powder mixed in, it contains more lava than cake and is EXTREMELY fragile. We waited approximately 30 minutes for our desserts because it kept breaking while being baked!

The melty goodness was worth it, as the green coloured ‘lava’ oozed out immediately after using a spoon poke at it lightly. It wasn’t overpoweringly sweet, but the taste of the matcha did not come through so well.

If you don’t see this on their special menu of the week, the original is highly recommended, alongside their Tiramisu which goes for just $6.

On the whole, PocoLoco Pizzeria is an affordable option for fans of the Italian cuisine. Remember to make a reservation beforehand, as the place only sits around 40 pax. It was full at 6.30pm on the Saturday night we were there. While they accept payment through credit card, the minimum spending is $50.

PocoLoco Pizzeria is a hidden gem in Golden Mile Tower (note that it is not at Golden Mile Complex) serving great food with excellent service!

MissTamChiak.com made an anonymous visit and paid its own meal at the stall featured here.

Do check out our article on PocoLoco’s Ang Mo Kio outlet too!