t’s been said that, compared to running a full-service ristorante, selling pizza is like a license to print money. So it’s fitting that the Thonglor branch of this growing empire shares space with a bank. They do brisk business here and understandably so. While there are plenty of excellent traditional Italian restaurants that serve more delicious food, Scoozi’s winning formula of “authentic” (they’re not strictly traditional, but they don’t pander, either) pizzas and pastas, reasonable prices, contemporary décor and courteous service places them—or at least this outlet—at the top among casual Italian eateries in the capital. Surrounded by glass on two sides and blessed with a high ceiling, this Scoozi Pizzeria manages to fit a lot into a small amount of floor space. There are a handful of tables inside and out, a raised communal long table in the center and a kitchen area with a handsome pizza oven separated from the dining room by a wall of glass. The pizzas are by far the highlight, although it’s nice to have options and Scoozi also offers a half-dozen or so (of each) salads (B99-330), appetizers (B40-359), sandwiches (B75-150) and pastas(B250-200). The salads are fairly pedestrian: the Caprese is a bit of a stretch at B250 (fresh cheese but bland, crunchy tomatoes), for example. Better are the hot antipasti, such as Italian sausage with mashed potatoes (B159) or eggplant parmigiana (B159). The pasta portions aren’t very big, but they’re nearly always good and good value: our linguini with pesto sauce (B150) was superb, with textbook al dente pasta and fresh, bright-green pesto. The house special black fettuccine with seafood, olive oil and chilles (B250) proved to be another smart choice; though the pasta was a bit on the mushy side, the seafood (mussels and prawns, especially) was fresh and perfectly cooked. There are over 30 kinds of pizza on the menu, ranging from a naked flatbread with oil and rosemary(B90) to posh pies with luxury toppings like champignon mushrooms, four kinds of cheese and truffle oil on the Tartufo (B390). What separates Scoozi’s pizzas from greatnessis that the dough tends to be slightly too thick and upsets the delicate crust-sauce-cheese balance. They’re still excellent, however, and without question among the best in town, thanks to tangy sauce, quality cheese (especially the “special recommended” pizzas that are topped with mozzarella di bufula—at a premium, of course), premium toppings,and a blistered, smoky crust. It’s not easy to make up your mind when there are so many choices, so we appreciate that they’ll let you choose two sets of toppings for one pizza. On our last visit we opted for half Salsicca (homemade sausage) and half Scoozi (speck and gorgonzola cheese), which was terrific—plus, instead of charging you for the more expensive pizza, they calculate the price of each separately. Very, very fair—if only the banks here made as much sense. Speaking of which, Scoozi only charges 5 percent for service, so do the right thing and leave a bit more for the staff. They’re worth it. Corkage: B200.