How Bangkok got its only Chicago deep dish

Bangkok in early 2020 was a different place. Borders were closing, the streets were emptying out, and a city that never really slows down had gone quiet almost overnight. Ken had arrived for a short visit. He didn't leave for a long time.

Stuck in a city he hadn't planned to stay in, Ken did what made sense — he got involved. A local restaurant needed support during the lockdowns, and he showed up for it. In the process he found himself with time, a kitchen, and a question he'd been sitting on for years: could he make a proper Chicago deep dish in Bangkok?

The recipe he started with was a family one. Not a rough outline — an actual recipe, the kind that had been made the same way for a long time. He followed it, tested it, adjusted for what was available in Bangkok, and tested it again. The goal wasn't to make something that was pretty good for Thailand. The goal was to make something that held up against the real thing.

The first real test came at a Super Bowl party. He made a batch, put it out, and watched it disappear. Then came the requests — when are you making more, can we order, are you going to do this properly. The answer turned out to be yes.

Capone's Pizza opened in Sukhumvit not long after. The recipe hasn't changed since that Super Bowl. The crust is still pressed thick into the pan by hand, the cheese still goes in first, the tomato sauce is still slow-cooked and chunky and goes on top. Every pizza is still built the same way it was built in that first batch.

There are now three locations — Sukhumvit Soi 23 in Asoke, Sukhumvit 101/1 near True Digital Park, and a third location in Hua Hin that opened in 2026. The menu has grown. The deep dish recipe hasn't moved an inch.

Bangkok has a lot of restaurants with a good story. Capone's has one pizza that started all of this, made the way it was always supposed to be made, in a city that didn't have it until now.