This Italian restaurant is at the top of narrow winding road that climbs from the shinkansen side of Hiroshima Station, close to the silver Peace Pagoda. It offers great views over the city and the Inland Sea from a spacious terrace. And the food isn't bad either!
The menu at Al Pizzo (アルピッツォ) generally contains classic Italian fare. The chefs seem to change fairly regularly here and this does seem to affect the quality of the food. That said, if you stick with classic Italian dishes you are unlikely to be disappointed, though I have found that opting for Italian-Japanese fusion dishes can be a bit hit and miss. They have a brick pizza oven and the quality of the pizza seems to be something that you can count on. At time of writing, there is no English menu and service can be a little brusque, but a meal at Al Pizzo is as much about the location as anything else, and if you remain chill you can have a very pleasant time here.
You can order off the menu, but it usually pays to go for one of their set courses. These seem to change according to the season, but lunch pizza and pasta sets generally start at around ¥1200 (a little more on weekends) and dinner courses from around ¥2500. Some people do comment that the most basic lunch sets are a little on the small side, so if you are hungry you might consider one of the slightly more expensive sets which include a meat or fish dish. You can also pay a little more to add dessert or larger (o-mori) portions.
Al Pizzo is especially beautiful during the cherry blossom season late March to early April when large sakura trees form a beautiful pink canopy over the terrace. After dark the blossoms are illuminated and the night view over the city is one of the best. It also makes for a motivational target.
