Hidden gem in Costa Mesa! Be sure to come earlier to make sure they don't sell out. I've tried the thomas salscicia, dream never end, and blue monday. They clearly use fresh ingredients, and their garlic confit is strong but unlike any other. Food comes out fairly quickly so make sure to stay close by when they call your name. The anti mall has plenty of outdoor seating so grab a seat outside to enjoy your pizza. I've already been here twice, and I can't wait to finish going through the rest of the menu. read more

This hole-in-the-wall Neapolitan style pizza stall at the Lab is worth every penny. You order at the counter and sit anywhere outside. We order the nacho and the Julio. My personal favorite was the nacho pizza. The delicious hot honey was oozing out of the pizza. The sausage, sauce, and melty mozzarella were all perfect. The main ingredient on the Julio was mashed potato. I can see how it's an interesting concept, but just wasn't really my style. It was still perfectly executed tho. The workers were really nice and brought the pizzas and condiments we asked for to where we were sitting. read more

Kuro Artisanal Pizza - Nacho Pizza and Julio pizza - Pizza Near Me - Costa Mesa, California

Crust is VERY thin, $17 for Thomas pizza and it was greasy/small. Very overpriced!!!!!!!!!!!!! Not worth it and would not recommend, even Del taco or TK burgers would be better worth it than this place. read more

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We were at Bootleggers brewery and ordered from this place. They arrived pretty fast with hot pizza. Great service only issue was the pizza toppings slid off the crust. $18 for a single size pizza but pretty good. read more

Kuro Artisanal Pizza - Sausage Pizza - Pizza Near Me - Costa Mesa, California

We were craving some pizza and luckily bumped into to this place: Kuro Artisanal Pizza is a popular pizza spot in Costa Mesa, known for its high-quality, handcrafted pizzas with unique flavor combinations. Located here at the Lab. It's a week day and we experienced no lines yay!!!! Our order was ready in less than 20min. Omg soooooo good. Service was good read more

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Decided to stop by after an early shift and super glad I did! It's a little shop with no seating inside but plenty shared outdoor seating. Parking is not the greatest because it's shared, but for a Friday afternoon, it fortunately wasn't too bad. The staff were so sweet and friendly, and service was quick (was told that it was a 15-20 minutes wait for the pizzas but they came out quicker than that). Got the Thomas pizza. The dough is phenomenal, light and crispy but also still soft and doughy (which I love!). It's pretty filling in my opinion. The two slices were enough to satisfy me (and it's cut into quarters), but it depends on appetite (this was lunch for me). The only cons I had were that it can be a bit salty because their red sauce might have fish sauce or something that makes it saltier than the typical pizza sauce and that it can feel too oily overtime from the toppings. Overall, it's a solid pizza spot with a variety of pizzas and nice twist on a classic! I'd recommend a try if you're in the mood for pizza and to try something new! read more

Kuro Artisanal Pizza - Thomas Pizza - Pizza Near Me - Costa Mesa, California

Close your eyes and you're basically in Naples, just with a subtle Japanese twist. Kuro Artisanal Pizza at The Lab in Costa Mesa seriously delivers. My wife has been wanting to bring me here for a while, and I'm really glad she did. I ordered the Thomas Salsiccia meat pizza, and it was a great intro to what they're doing. It's their take on a classic, and honestly it holds its own with legit Italian pies. The pizza is a 12" and a perfect portion for one person. The crust is light and airy with a nice chew and some great blistering, clearly they know what they're doing. Just a heads up: eat it properly and fold it in half, or your toppings are ending up on the pizza box. Ingredients sound simple but everything works: tomato sauce, Italian roasted sausage, fresh mozzarella, dry oregano, Parmigiano, and koji garlic confit. That garlic adds a subtle umami kick without overpowering anything. Price is spot on for the quality, and you actually get a good amount of pizza for what you're paying. It's not trying to be trendy or overcomplicated, just really well executed pizza with a unique touch. Definitely looking forward to coming back and trying more of their pies. read more

Kuro Artisanal Pizza - Pizza Near Me - Costa Mesa, California

Pizza was amazing! We ordered to go and they were right on time. Ordered five or six pizzas, each more delicious than the next. Fun ingredients and great individual take on pizza creation read more

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This place is a hidden gem. The pizzas have unique ingredients, and all are well balanced and delicious. I should say it is the best pizza in OC. read more

Thomas pizza was amazing, the sauce was perfect. The Ohkami was really good too, I just prefered the Thomas one more. I love the pizza box design and the employee who brought out our order was so sweet!! read more

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Delicious pizza with a Japanese, artisanal twist. Packed with flavors you won't find anywhere else is OC. Priced right with dark look to the interior. Both gentlemen that worked there were very kind. You can sense the amount of passion they have for their craft. read more

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After having the best pizza of our lives from a small kitchen in Kyoto, I was looking forward to trying Kuro Pizza. The texture is quite similar to the best, but the taste is not quite there. Pizzas only come in one size and are considered either a big personal pizza or enough for two people who aren't super hungry. The dough is thin but crispy and the sauce and toppings are super fresh. Be aware that the pizza comes out piping hot. I had my pizza a few minutes after receiving it and burned my tongue pretty bad. I wish they would've given me a heads up on how hot it was! Aside from that, the pizza is not bad. There was plenty of seating in the Anti-Lab area and we brought our own drinks since it didn't seem like they had any water available. read more

Absolutely delicious!! Excited to find this cool gem that blew away us picky pizza people! Cannot wait to come back soon. read more

Kuro Artisanal Pizza - Pizza Near Me - Costa Mesa, California

I remember when I used to study at the Lab, I would always smell the scent of pizza coming from this place and it would always make me so hungry. A couple of years later, I finally got to try it! Before we ordered we sat down at a table in the main area and two women told us that the pizza here was delicious, so that was a good sign. I'm not usually a huge fan of pizza, but this pizza was very tasty. We ordered the Thomas pizza. The sauce was uniquely delicious as its mixed with dashi, and although it didn't necessarily blow me away, I still thought it was very interesting and I really want to come back to try the other flavors. The size isn't too big (good for 1-2 people) and it's cut into 4 slices. I'm glad to finally be able to say I tried this iconic pizza spot! read more

Kuro Artisanal Pizza - thomas pizza - Pizza Near Me - Costa Mesa, California

Small Pizza shop in the middle of The Lab Anti-Mall. This place offers artisanal personal sized pizzas. Pizza was made fresh and was pretty quick! Dough was airy and was delicious. I got the Ohkami limited flavor which has a tomato sauce with squid ink. Flavor was very interesting and yummy. Excited to come back and try all the other flavors! Definitely one of the best artisanal pizzas in the area! read more

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Couldn't get a take out pizza from the place across the street. So I decided to go here. It's a cute little place and the pizza was hot and good. read more

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really solid pizza! i think the margarita pizza was really good and the garlic flavors made it super rich. its a thin pizza, and the crust is good as well. it reminds me of the pizzeria sei ones from LA. read more

Kuro Artisanal Pizza - Pizza Near Me - Costa Mesa, California

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As we're walking towards Kuro Pizza we passed a couple who we heard in passing say, "that's a great pizza place"! That was the prelude to our visit. Great pizza and a owner/Chef! read more

Kuro Artisanal Pizza is serving up uniquely crafted pizzas with a Japanese flare. This spot is located at The Lab right next to Buffalo Exchange and across from Nook Coffee. They do not have any seating inside the shop but there are a lot of communal tables for seating outside. For their menu, they have a nice selection of specialty crafted pizzas with detailed descriptions of what they consist of. Wifey and I stopped by for dinner and opted to try the Thomas and Nico pizzas. The pizzas took about 15 minutes to come out after we ordered and they did not disappoint! Every bite was filled with amazing textures and flavors. Overall, we are glad we got the chance to finally try the pizzas here. All of the staff are very friendly and welcoming. Japanese style pizzas are on the rise and this spot is the perfect example of it! read more

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Located at the lab anti-mall, this pizza shop is take out only but there are quite a few communal tables outside. We ordered the nacho and the Thomas and really enjoyed both. The nacho had more complex flavors and a pretty good kick of spice. The pizzas definitely more closely resemble napoli style pizzas with thin, saucy centers and chewy crusts. We came right when they opened on Saturday at 12 and it took about 15 - 20 mins for our pizzas to be ready. read more

Kuro Artisanal Pizza - THOMAS (SALSICCIA) & NACHO (HONEY AND JALAPEO) - Pizza Near Me - Costa Mesa, California

This place has solid pizza love the simplicity and quality of ingredients. Kuro pizza is located inside the camp. There is no seating inside but there is outdoor seating inside the camp. We got the margarita and Cindy pizza ($16 each). Pizza took around 15 min and the server brings them out. The margarita pizza was a little acidic but still had the classic flavor. Cindy was better it was very garlicky and had hint of rosemary, it was quite greasy so I couldn't finish the crust. Both pizza had whole wheat crust a unique twist to Japanese style Neapolitan pizza. Would love to try the other pizzas my next visit. read more

Kuro Artisanal Pizza - Pizza CINDY (OLIVE OIL AND MOZZARELLA) - Pizza Near Me - Costa Mesa, California

I stopped by for lunch the other day with some friends and we were in the mood for some pizza after shopping around at the Lab. The staff working were friendly and welcoming and it is worth noting that this spot is takeout only but there is plenty of seating available outside in the Lab. Our pizzas took around 15 - 20 minutes before they were ready to be picked up. We ordered the nacho, thomas, and margherita pizzas. We noticed that all three were on the saltier side especially on the margherita since there weren't other toppings to balance out the saltiness coming from the sauce. All three had excellent crusts and were cooked perfectly. The cheese on all three were of high quality and had good flavor. The nacho was definitely the favorite of the three. The heat and spice of the jalapenos on the nacho pizza were well balanced with the sausage and cheese. The Thomas was the nacho minus the spice but was also excellent. The margherita was good but our least favorite due to how overly salty it was. Overall, this is a good spot for pizza and the service is excellent and their small menu allows them to keep their quality in check. I do think that our margherita pizza was overly salty due to the sauce they had made for that day so hopefully it's not an everyday occurrence otherwise everything overall was delicious. read more

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4.5 stars!! 0.5 taken off because there's only outside seating! unfortunately, no inside seating and pretty small. staff are incredibly warm and inviting! all pizza is fresh and made to order and super flavorful! crust is thin but retains some fluffy and airiness when you get to the crust! will definitely return back to try their other flavors! read more

Kuro Artisanal Pizza - Pizza Near Me - Costa Mesa, California

Friendly staff, amazing pizza. Crust is amazing and they have some creative topping options...highly recommend!

Pizza made to order from a Japanese man who looks like he can paint and sculpt , or make swords . The Anti Mall seating area goes well with the handmade pizza name sake . Sunday evening in midsummer is cool and not too crowded at the Lab. Good date ambiance where even a married couple of thirty years can feel like high schoolers again ... read more

Kuro Artisanal Pizza - Pizza Near Me - Costa Mesa, California

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I was craving pizza last week so I stopped by The Lab to try some pizza with friends. I didn't realize this place was just a stall and hole in the wall rather than a sit down restaurant. I wasn't sure if they had just opened but I was pretty disappointed when I found out that they had no plates and no water to offer their customers however they do have metal forks and knives? The staff are very friendly though which slightly made up for it. In terms of the pizza, we got the Nacho and the Nico, one red sauce and one white sauce. The pizza was thin and slightly floppy and the crust was pretty good and tasty however both pizzas were definitely on the sweeter side with all the honey. The nacho was definitely better since the savory balanced it out better but the Gorgonzola on the Nico was way too overpowering and was not to our liking. Probably would not come here again unfortunately read more

Kuro Artisanal Pizza - 10.2024 Nacho and Nico pizza - Pizza Near Me - Costa Mesa, California

Stopped here on a whim and was very impressed! I want to preface this review by saying I almost never eat pizza and I'm not pizzas biggest fan, but I was very pleased by what I ate here. We ordered a margherita pizza at the counter which was made fresh and came out in about 15 minutes. The tomato sauce on the pizza was SO SO good and flavorful, kinda having a bit of a sun dried tomato flavor. Definitely a standout for me among the margherita pizzas I've had before. Each bite was so delicious. I think they use whole wheat flour, which I quite enjoy the taste of. I found the size and price to be very reasonable too. They're the only place playing music, so they kind of curate the vibe of the lab. Luckily, I quite liked their music. read more

This little pizza store is located at the Camp in Costa Mesa. They have a limited but great menu of artisanal style pizzas. I asked for their most popular or recommended which was their Thomas Pizza which is their Sausage pizza. It's Japanese owned and they have a gothic, punk rock style theme to the place. Kuro meaning Black in Japanese explains the theme. There's no seating inside but there is lots of common area to be seated there. The pizza was very tasty specially the bread. It was extremely flakey and soft, nearly perfect. The flavor from the sauce and the spice of the sausage went great with it. Highly recommend it if you're having a pizza craving in the area. Service was very nice and friendly as well since it's a little family business. read more

Kuro Artisanal Pizza - THOMAS (SALSICCIA) PIZZA - Pizza Near Me - Costa Mesa, California

what we ordered | thomas salsiccia | quatro formaggi with honey taste | my favorite was the white pizza. i enjoyed the gorgonzola bits with the honey and garlic flavor. the pizzas are 12 in so about 4 slices per pizza box. their menu has about 6 pizza flavor options! this place is a good spot if you're craving pizza. service | workers were nice! parking | Lab mall parking notes | you can order online and pick it up. they do sell out towards the end of the day so recommend to go early. read more

Kuro Artisanal Pizza - Left | THOMAS (SALSICCIA) Right | NICO (QUATIRO FORMACCI WITH HONEY) - Pizza Near Me - Costa Mesa, California

This place has been on my radar for quite some time, but everytime I'm in Costa Mesa it's earlier in the day and usually end up not staying long enough for Kuro's opening time. Today I finally got the chance to try them out and ordered the Thomas Pizza. They did have others that I wanted to try, but since it was my first time, I thought I'd go with something straightforward. I originally thought this place was a sit down restaurant, but it's more of a togo kind of spot where you order at the counter and pick up after 15 to 20 minutes. The pizza was ready before 15 minutes, and I took it to my car to eat it since I was hungry. Upon initial observation I saw some oils pooling at the top and thought it looked greasy, but once I took the first bit I was taken by surprise. The tomato sauce has so much umami flavor, and the crust is so thin yet it doesn't immediately soak up the moisture from the toppings so the bottom is perfectly crispy. The crust also had an extremely nice texture, and I usually never finish all the crust since it gets filling, but for this one I did! The meat was moist and juicy also packed with flavor. Honestly I'm so glad I gave this place a try. The price for the quality is extremely reasonable in my opinion. Can't wait to try the other pizzas they have for my next visit! read more

Food Artisanal pizza accurately reflects the pizza served here. We tried red and white pizzas and both were delicious with layers of flavor and texture. Service Amazing! Ordering for the first time was a bit overwhelming with the choices but they helped pick out pizzas based on our tastes. My wife accidentally left her cup on the counter while ordering. We called the and the woman said she tried to run after her but we left so quickly . We showed up to get the cup and they were so kind to wash the cup before giving it back to her. Ambience The space itself is dark with a rocker vibe. There's no place to sit inside as it's mainly a food counter but there are several tables outside and they will bring the order to you. read more

I waited a bit to write this review until after I ate here a few times. As a New Yorker, pizza is held to the highest regard along with bagels and having a diamond guy. It's important to make it clear- this is not "New York Pizzq", it's artisanal and they can fly by their own rules. Now the first time I had Kuro, I was blown away. Truly phenomenal pizza with chewy crust with the perfect level of crisp, perfect topping to cheese ratio and the flavor- good lord the flavor. I immediately sent a message in the family group chat with pictures and when I said, "this is the best pizza I've ever had...", immediately I was disowned by my family. There's no way that California could be on par, nay, possibly better than New York for pizza. Eventually I was able to bring my Dad out and he tried it and well he wouldn't quite say it was the best he did say it was damn good but it wasn't "true NY pizza", which it isn't. I dare say it's better. I understand these are bold claims but I stand by them, Kuro is the best pizza I've had in my life and that includes NY and Italy. read more

Kuro Artisanal Pizza - OG NYC pizza expert gives his approval. - Pizza Near Me - Costa Mesa, California

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Kuro is one of my favorite spots for a light lunch away from the office. Located at The LAB Anti-Mall, this pizza fuses Neapolitan dimensions and topping portions with a Japanese touch. Kuro offers a small, simple menu and closes when it runs out of dough. Kuro (Japanese for "black") is exactly that - a storefront painted in all black featuring dark images of a hooded ghost and a wolf. But don't be afraid, the service couldn't be more welcoming. Chef Tak will immediately greet you and make you feel welcome. I love the Nacho (red sauce, sausage, fresh mozzarella, Parmigiano-Reggiano, jalapeño, honey, garlic) and the Cindy (fresh mozzarella, Parmigiano-Reggiano, rosemary, garlic, sea salt). The pizza is very thin, but full of wonderful flavor. Crust is crunchy on the outside, soft in the middle. You will devour this modest 12-inch pizza and enjoy every bite. read more

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Hidden in The Lab, Kuro Artisanal Pizza lives up to its name...its pizza is definitely artisanal and quite unique! We were in the area and wanted a Neapolitan style pizza. Their pizza is far from that. The shop is takeout only and the gentlemen working there were very nice and welcoming. We tried their Nacho and Nico. Although the flavors were good, the pizza was salty and soggy. I had to roll my pizza to include the crust to balance out some of the saltiness. I loved the "multigrain"-like texture of the crust but it was very chewy. The only meat topping they had was sausage so if you're looking for a good ol'pepperoni pizza, you won't get it here. I think we both agreed that this pizza was not for us. I can see why others would like it but we wouldn't go out of our way... read more

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The service and food here are phenomenal. I placed an order for a Margherita pizza before waiting in line to visit the booth by bryant pop up. Well, it ended up being a 2 hour wait for the Photo Booth and the chef from Kuro Artisanal Pizza came to check in with me multiple times while I was in line to gauge when to start making the pizza - that type of service is above and beyond and exceptional! He said he wants to make sure the pizza is fresh when I eat it. Wow!!! The pizza was absolutely delicious. I loved the melted mozzarella, and the presentation was beautiful, as you can see in the picture. Please support this amazing pizza shop, I can tell they use high quality ingredients and care very much about the food! read more

Kuro Artisanal Pizza - Margherita pizza - Pizza Near Me - Costa Mesa, California

Super yummy and I love the crispy crust! The toppings tasted very fresh. I will say though that the bottom crust was so thin that the toppings made it soggy and hard to hold up and eat. A little inconvenient:( read more

Kuro Artisanal Pizza - THOMAS (SALSICCIA) - Pizza Near Me - Costa Mesa, California

If you have the budget I think it's worth checking out! It's located in the Lab with no seating inside, but if you're lucky like I was, you might be able to snag a table outside. It took around 15 minutes and had a unique taste for a pizza. I got the nico, and it was my first time having honey with pizza and I was pleasantly surprised! My friend got the other white sauce pizza - cindy - and didn't enjoy it as much. If the weather is good and you're looking for a spot to eat, I would give this place a chance! read more

This pizza spot located in the Lab was so good. It hit the spot perfectly. The ambiance of the place was good as usual as it is located in the Lab. The service was outstanding as while we were in a small booth across from the pizza store waiting for our food, I believe the owner brought the finished pizza to us. Super amazing gesture. The pizza itself was super yummy. The portion size was perfect enough for one to finish. The pizza had an amazing undercarriage and was super thin. The crust was also super nice and perfect. The ingredients were good as I was able to taste each ingredient. Overall a super good pizza read more

Kuro Artisanal Pizza - MARGHERITA - Pizza Near Me - Costa Mesa, California

My husband and I love Kuro Japanese Pizza at The LAB. It's honestly the best pizza we've had in Orange County--thin, crispy crust, super flavorful, not too much cheese, just perfect. I don't know why it's not busy on weekdays because this place deserves more customers. I hope they never close--I would miss this pizza so much. Highly recommend everyone try it! read more

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Love this place. Pizza is exceptional. I had pizza when I was in Japan. This so reminded me of that. I had a brief conversation with the staff, they were very kind. I keep coming back here when I'm craving pizza. Located at The Lab, please give them a try. read more