Review: Come to Puffy Bois Pizzas for the pizza, stay for the cocktails

Puffy Bois Pizzas first came up on my radar when I was having a casual drink with some friends. There was zero mention of pizzas, but said friend suddenly asked if I’d been to Puffy Bois, adding that it was a severely-underrated spot. 

Underrated, for sure; I hadn’t heard of it to date. 

But somehow the name cropped up again in another conversation with a different friend within the same week, who also suggested that I try it. 

I took it as the universe giving me a sign and headed down to this seemingly hidden pizza and cocktails spot at Bali Lane.

The backstory 

Before Puffy Bois Pizzas opened at Bali Lane in May 2023, it existed in the form of pop-ups at bars such as Caffe Fernet, Junior the Pocket Bar, Pocket Rocket Bar, from 2022 to 2023.

The people running the show are business partners Samuel Ng and Zul Zaba, both of whom had worked in the alcohol industry before they decided to start tossing flour alongside cocktails.

Some might recognise Sam, who’s been the brand ambassador for notable liquor labels Four Pillars and Monkey Shoulder, as well as the general manager of Black Pearl Bar in Melbourne. 

While its second-floor location along the busy Bali Lane keeps it hidden from plain sight, it is most certainly not an unknown spot, judging from the constant stream of regulars when we were there on a Monday night. 

Our verdict 

If you’re gunning for a chill night with some good nosh and drinks in hand, Puffy Bois Pizza is just the spot to be at.

Its pizzas are inexpensive, starting from just S$6 for a margherita slice, and its cocktails go from S$20 — a price almost unheard of nowadays, if we’re talking about quality drinks.

Sam and Zul are also affable from the get-go, so much so that you feel like you’ve just entered a friend’s place. The simple, bare-bones interior and dim lighting also lends itself to an overall relaxed vibe. 

But if you’re a traditional pizza lover and teetotaller, the small pizza menu and the dive bar vibes may not quite be your cup of tea. 

What it’s good for 

Seeing whole pizzas dished out one after another, my dining companion and I were tempted to order a full one to share.

But the beauty of Puffy Bois’ slice-or-whole menu was that we could opt for variety. And this being my first visit there, I wanted to get my hands on every available flavour (well, almost). 

We ordered a grand total of four slices — everything but the pepperoni. The team noticed that we were going to share (from our back and forths about what to order) and proactively sliced each regular slice into two mini slices before serving it to us. 

I started with the Parma-roni (S$7.50 for a slice, S$28 for a whole pizza). Sam likens this to a Hawaiian pizza, where you get the savouriness of the ham, but also the sweetness of the pineapple, through the pickled chillies. 

While I don’t have particularly strong feelings about whether pineapples should be on pizzas or not, this take was refreshing — the sweet and spicy of the pickled chillies helped cut through the typical saltiness you’d expect of parma ham. 

The flavours I liked, but what I loved more was its sourdough crust. It’s thin enough that it doesn’t get too cloying, but still retains a light crunch. In fact, the crust was so good that when I had finished the toppings part of the slice, I mopped up the rest of the crust with its special Lao Gan Ma-style chilli that sits on the bartop in a large porcelain jar. 

The vegan-friendly spiced Arti (S$6.50 for a slice, S$24 for a whole pizza) also caught my eye. I’m not usually one for artichokes on pizza, but the Puffy Bois team had something else up its sleeves — butter chicken seasoning on the base — which made it feel like I was having a butter chicken pizza, sans the meat, of course. 

It also comes with braised onions, caramelised with apple cider vinegar and sugar, which gives additional sweetness to the slice, and once again prevents that all-too-jelak feeling you might get from the butter chicken flavour — I’m picking up a trend here with the flavour combinations. 

The margherita (S$6 for a slice, S$22 for a whole pizza) was decidedly simple, as all margherita pizzas should be. But I liked that its tomato base wasn’t too sour or tangy, which also meant that if my stomach capacity wasn’t an issue, it’ll be the perfect neutral accompaniment for cocktails all night long. 

Last but not least there was the black clams (S$7 for a slice, S$26 for a whole pizza) — plenty briny, filled with thick, juicy clams, over a garlicky squid-ink base. 

Maybe it was the order of savoury-and-sweet slices I had just prior but I found the savouriness of this just a touch much. It was a delicious slice, nonetheless, and nothing that its stiff cocktails couldn’t wash down.

Speaking of stiff cocktails, its Solaris (S$22), a Puffy Bois-style negroni, was the star of the evening for me and my dining companion. 

The Puffy Bois twist was a double-bitters blend, followed by a touch of sourdough jus, the amount of which Sam says is negligible but just enough to round the overall taste out — I couldn’t agree more. 

In fact, we enjoyed this well-balanced cocktail so much, we went for seconds. 

If this cocktail is anything to go by, you best bet I’ll be back to make my way through the rest of the drinks menu.

But I only have the next month or so. The team tells us that given that the place has been in operation for 10 months now, a menu change across the cocktails and pizzas are on the cards.

What it could improve on 

Honestly there was little to fault about our whole experience there. We went in there expecting a chill evening and that’s what we got.

If anything, the fact that there’s a pizza oven, housed in the small space, means that some smoke might inevitably waft its way to you. 

My dining companion’s eyes stung slightly from the smoke so we requested to move to a seat further from the ovens, which the team gladly obliged. They also offered to crank open an extra window if we still felt bothered by it.

Our quick takes

Is it conducive to conversation? Yes. The hip-hop music can get a bit loud, but you’ll still be able to have a decent conversation, as well as chat with the owners. 

Is a reservation necessary? No, just walk right in. Even if there isn’t space, they’ll find a way to accommodate you into its cosy spot. 

How to get there? Puffy Bois Pizzas is a short seven-minute or 450m walk from Bugis MRT station’s Exit B. 

HungryGoWhere paid for its meal at this restaurant for this review. 

Looking for more pizza or cocktail options? Explore our list of the top pizza spots in Singapore, or visit Nutmeg and Clove, a decade-old local bar that’s making waves in the local and international cocktail scene. 

Do explore the new GrabFood Dine-in service for awesome deals. 

You can also book a ride to Puffy Bois Pizzas at Bali Lane.