If you’re a pastry devotee in this city, you know all about Tenacious Bakehouse. The Oxford Street hole-in-the-wall has a ripper collection of treats that draw on Korean and broader Asian flavours. Baker-owner Yeongjin Park’s sweet injeolmi croissants join onigiri hybrids and fruit-topped danishes. But there’s one creation from ex-Lode Pies and Pastries chef to rule them all: the deep-dish Portuguese tart – which takes four days to make. A slab of vanilla custard is encased in a laminated, dark-gold shell, slick caramel-miso spooned on top. It’s exceptional. But now Park is turning his attention to pizza.

Meet Tenacious Pizza – or Hank’s x Tenacious, the team isn’t quite sure yet – a collab with Bitter Phew, the dark and moody beer bar 120 metres up the road.

“Two brands coexist in one space,” Park tells Broadsheet. “Bitter Phew serves alcohol, Tenacious serves food. [It’ll be] a casual feel, where anyone can come and enjoy it comfortably. We’ll bake pizza with a chewy, light texture using a grill.”

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This cross-pollination came about casually: Bitter Phew owner Aaron Edwards had been thinking of ways to invigorate the area – “Oxford Street’s had its ups and downs over the last couple of years,” he says – and what to do with the now-closed Hank’s space. A beer-inspired pastry event was planned, postponed, then ditched for something permanent.

“Downstairs was always meant to be a bit of an alternative offering to [Bitter Phew] upstairs – a bit more of a wine focus, more cocktails, with a simple beer menu. Whereas upstairs is hard and fast: the hero is the beer,” Edwards says. “We’ve done a pizza pop-up previously, and that was pretty successful. Obviously with [Tenacious] having a bakery, dough and dough seem to go pretty much hand in hand.”

At the "super soft launch", on Friday March 15 and Saturday March 16, Tenacious Pizza will roll out a smaller menu than what’s to come. One pie features nori, honey, fried garlic and cream, while another riffs on pajeon, a scallion-laden Korean pancake. Spring onions, cream, garlic chive and chilli coat the base, with squid and prawns atop. “I wanted to use Asian elements for pizza, as in Tenacious Bakehouse,” Park says. “I am very satisfied when I try new things, so I would like to try a variety of pizzas [not found on] traditional menus. I am making the menu with 90 per cent Italian and 10 per cent Asian [flavours].”

While our city is flush with spectacular pizzas, Park’s track record leads us to think we’re in for another knockout.

“I have never made pizza from an oven before, as was the case with my croissants. It’s not always easy to try something new, but the joy of doing it gives me more motivation.”

Hank’s x Tenacious is slated to open in April 2024.

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