Pizzeria Toto in Thiruvananthapuram serves pizzas inspired from different parts of the world

The Hindu

18-07-2025

It is easy to miss Pizzeria Toto at Ulloor, in Thiruvananthapuram, while driving if not for the sign of an illuminated cartoon pizza slice topped with pepperoni standing next to it. Fairy lights dangle down the eatery's face, leading up to a rustic porch, with wall lamps casting shadows on a textured white wall. A few wooden chairs and tables are set up outdoors for dining.
Inside the pizzeria, on the customers' side is a glass shelf, stocked with beverages, a sliced cheesecake and coffee creme brulee ramekins. On the other side of the shelf , a busy crew with hair nets and floury fingers, led by Mymoona KS, is stretching the dough. Cheese, meat and veggies rest on the stretched pillowy dough before it is baked in a brick oven for precisely two minutes at 800 degrees Fahrenheit. Soon, the room is filled with the fragrance of freshly baked pizza, sliced and served hot.
'I used to bake artisanal bread while I was living in Thiruvannamalai in Tamil Nadu a few years ago. My son Yann's friend and his mother were from Spain and it was she who got me into baking bread. Soon I started reading books about it too,' says Mymoona, who returned to Thiruvananthapuram in 2021. 'But when I made sourdough bread with a starter at home, my family asked me why was the bread sour?' jokes Mymoona, who soon noticed a space in the city for pizzas focusing on the crust.
In May 2022, Mymoona started a cloud kitchen on the top floor of her home at Chavadimukku. In January 2023, she began Pizzeria Toto, named after her son, affectionately called Toto.
The eatery showcases a versatile menu with an equal emphasis on vegetarian and non-vegetarian pizzas, made for the Indian palate at an affordable budget.
One of their signature dishes, Buffalo chicken pizza, is perfectly sauced with an in-house ranch sauce made with a blend of mayonnaise, yoghurt and selected herbs. The name Buffalo is inspired from a sauce originally from the Buffalo city in New York. It is topped with chunks of cooked chicken marinated in hot sauce and butter, along with red onions. The pizza is not overly cheesy and is lightly sprinkled with a mix of oregano seasoning. Small dollops of sriracha (a type of hot sauce) give the pizza heat and tang, harmonising with the creamy cheese. The thin crust is evenly stretched and rolled, resulting in a soft texture.
The nine-inch pizzas are baked in a brick oven made by Chandigarh-based oven maker Marco Cappioti, who has also created the brick oven at Pizzeria da Susy in Gurugram, considered to be one of the best pizzerias in the country. 'Since I wanted to make a pizza highlighting the bread, we did not compromise on the oven. So we reached out to him and Marco sent it assembled. We had to use a crane to install it in the kitchen,' says Mymoona.
The Mediterranean love pizza is a vegetarian pizza topped with feta cheese, tomatoes and red onions. It has a rich flavour from the tomato sauce and chunks of fresh tomato. The pizza is not overpowering for the palate. The likes of feta, tomatoes and onion complement the olive 'salt bombs', generously spread on the pizza.
The other pizza varieties include pepperoni, BBQ beef, Kungpao chicken, marinara and so on starting from ₹285.
Sweet endings
Pizzeria Toto's dessert menu has a burnt basque cheesecake and coffee caramel creme brulee. These two extremely revered European desserts leave very little room for error. The burnt basque cheesecake is light, airy and smooth. This crustless cheesecake version is perfect for dessert lovers and people who like their sweets a little less sweet.
The coffee caramel creme brulee is another not-so-sweet dessert. The sugary, hard coffee caramel shell on the top shatters at the touch of a spoon, revealing a silky, golden custard inside. The dessert is a sophisticated version of a steaming glass of coffee with subtle bitter notes.
They serve an array of hot and cold beverages such as hot chocolate, mojito and milkshakes.
Mymoona hopes to expand the space of her pizzeria and the dessert menu, adding dishes like brioche doughnuts with fillings and tiramisu. 'I also want to offer pre-ordered brioche and sourdough bread,' she says. 'And I want to employ more homemakers.'
Cost for two ₹800. Open from 2.30pm to 10pm, except on Mondays.