Pizza Cup '21 Recap: Beijing's 16 Best Pizzas
As the flour settles on another hard-fought Pizza Cup, it’s time to take a look back at who clinched Beijing’s Best Pizza for 2021.
This year’s Pizza Cup was one for the ages. Despite COVID-19 again dampening our ability to host a proper Pizza Fest, we took a note from the success of last year’s Taste-Off Final and hosted not one, not two, but four Taste-Offs which took us from the Sweet 16 down to the Grand Finale.
Throughout the fight, it's you, our readers, who made the calls.
Our initial candidate list of Beijing pizza shops started at 100, and your online votes narrowed the list to the 16 best. From there, it was to be decided solely by the taste buds of pizza fans around the city who attended our series of taste-offs.
Each of these events leveled the playing field, so to speak: No longer did an establishment with multiple locations have an edge over a standalone shop, nor did far-from-central locations disadvantage any competitors – all pizzas were consumed in a neutral venue. Voters casting ballots also could not do so without knowledge of all the competitors – every voter tasted all the pizzas in each round before selecting their favorite.
And so we move on to our countdown list. In our humble pizza opinions, the numbers here are not that important – in fact, we think all 16 on this list are worth a try. So why not make a New Year’s Resolution of it: Do not let 2022 slip by without trying all 16!
As the only international brand that
found its way into our Sweet 16 Taste-Off this year, Papa John’s
surprised many by making it this far. The chain is well-known in the US –
its country of origin – for making consistent American-style pizza that
doesn’t break the bank, so perhaps it’s this formula that propelled
them forward in Beijing. Papa John’s entered our Bracket B Taste-Off
with their PAPA Supreme, essentially a run-of-the-mill supreme pizza
topped with all kinds of fixings. Try it yourself to see if you can
crack the code to this unlikely hero's success.
Our original Pizza Cup winner (2011) is
still soaring along with their no-nonsense American-style pizzas.
Considered the best back in the day, the pie – as well as the
customer-favorite sides and appetizers – still contend with the best of
'em. Kro’s pie to try is the classic pepperoni (RMB 99).
One of the newer pizza shops in the
capital, The Pizza Show plies its trade at the trendy Parkview Green
Mall and features pies that come out of the oven as fast as they’re
assembled – an Italian-style of pizza cooking that, while it doesn’t
translate as well to waimai and takeout, is perfect for dining in-house.
Try the meat lovers (RMB 88) which comes topped with ham, pepperoni,
meatballs, basil, and pesto.
These stalwarts based up in Liangmaqiao –
with a newer location in Chaowai SOHO – are a force to be reckoned
with, and even though their longtime chef Giuseppe De Stefano returned
to Italy after battling a severe illness, the place is still going
strong (as is De Stefano himself, thankfully). Come here not just for
the Neapolitan-style pizza but for the little bites like arancini – deep
fried balls of saffron-cooked rice (RMB 48) – fried seafood, and baci –
which means "kiss" in Italian – a sort of mini pizza roll stuffed with a
variety of fixings, such as ham (baci Sorrento, RMB 88) or bacon and
mushrooms (baci Ischia, RMB 88).
What can we say that hasn’t already been
said about this homegrown Beijing institution? Dependable pizza,
unfathomably fast delivery, and classic Italian tastes add up to pizza
that hits all the right notes. Annie's also has a touch of community,
comfort, and common happiness to boot. Try their four cheese pizza (RMB
58 for 9-inch; RMB 68 for 12-inch) or, if you’re looking for something
out of the ordinary, go for their calzone (RMB 50 for 9-inch; RMB 60 for
12-inch) – a folded pizza loaded with fresh chopped tomatoes, ricotta
cheese, salami, and ham with marinara on the side for dipping or
drizzling.
These pizza makers from New Zealand have
been turning heads since they first opened in 2010 thanks to their
striking black, pink, and white logo and boxes, as well as their
inventive and quality pies. This is perhaps what allowed them to take
home the Pizza Cup title a total of three times – 2014, 2015, and 2018 –
and keeps them going strong today. Try their Lord of the Lambs pizza
(RMB 49 for 7-inch; RMB 109 for 11-inch), featuring the typical red
sauce and cheese combo dialed up with pieces of lamb, arugula, and dabs
of punchy Greek-style sauce.
Originally going by the moniker of Pizza
Plus, Pizza Saporita was doing Roman-style by-the-slice pizza – aka pizza al taglio – before it was cool, while also offering normal round
pies for sharing as well. They showed up to this year's Bracket B
Taste-Off armed with their Forest Pizza (RMB 108 for a 12-inch pizza;
RMB 24 for a slice), which comes topped with mushrooms, walnuts,
sausage, cheese, and a drizzle of truffle oil.
This capital favorite for beers and
burgers also slings good pizza that’s of a decidedly New York variety.
Big with a thin crunchy crust, Great Leap’s use of a sourdough base
really shines through, lending a crispy sour hit with each bite. Go for
the Little Nunzio (RMB 135) which wowed crowds at our Bracket D
Taste-Off: toasty cheese gets topped with house-made sausage, pickled
peppers, basil, and red chili flakes, all of which mingle lovingly with
the tang of their crust.
The winners of Pizza Cup 2020 are
favorites among the Italian community here in Beijing, and the reason is
clear – Bottega serves up what can be described as the best
Neapolitan-style pizza in the capital. While the Margherita (RMB 78) is a
classic of this genre of pie, the one to try from Bottega in our
opinion is the Romana (RMB 88), which sees pizza sauce and mozzarella
topped with savory anchovies, black kalamata olives, and fresh basil,
making for a truly eye-opening pie.
When these brewmeisters put pizza on the
menu at their Longfusi Taproom back in 2019, it certainly got people’s
attention, especially for the bold choice to use sourdough for their
pies. Left to sit overnight before cooking, the sour flavor of the dough
cuts through thanks to the long fermentation time, lending Jing-A’s
pizzas a nice crunchy consistency.
12-inch pies to try are their
Pizza Cup entry the Yunnan Wild Mushroom (RMB 100) and their
one-of-a-kind Happy Clam Pizza (RMB 110), a white sauce pie topped with
parmesan and mozzarella cheese, garlic, crispy bacon bits, and apple
cider-steamed clams – reminiscent of pizza toppings commonly found in
New Haven, Connecticut.
This Sanlitun-based watering hole might
not seem like the place to go for pizza, but the pies here are pretty
damn remarkable. Voters were so impressed, in fact, that The Local was
neck and neck with Q MEX in our Bracket C Taste-Off right to the very
end – a proper testament to their pizza if there ever was one. They came
through with the Yunnan Grilled Chicken Pizza (RMB 55-100), grilled
chicken atop melted cheese with onions, and lemongrass for a truly
Chinese twist with the province south of the clouds at its heart.
Tube Station is a juggernaut. Another
homegrown Beijing brand, their pizza visionaries have never been one to
rest on their laurels, always expanding and reinventing themselves,
pushing the boundaries by not only fostering a great in-store experience
but also offering solid delivery as well as being a fixture at events
like the Pizza Fest, the China Open, and the Strawberry Music Festival.
Their
latest move has been to hire American chef Jeff Powell to revamp their
menu, and he’s already created hits like the Cheeseburger Pizza (RMB 65
for 10-inch; RMB 155 for 19-inch; RMB 215 for 24-inch), loaded with all
the fixings of a cheeseburger – ground beef, pickles, tomatoes, onions
and a drizzle of thousand island dressing.
We got all kinds of skeptics when news
broke that Q MEX had taken home the title in our Bracket C Taste-Off,
cementing their spot in the Ultimate Final, but the voters had spoken:
This Mexican joint makes solid pizza – and in fact has done well in
every Pizza Cup they've entered. Definitely try their two Pizza Cup
entrants, the Chipotle Chicken Pizza (RMB 80) – roast chipotle salsa,
grilled chicken, corn, beans, and more – and the Mexican Supreme (RMB
85) – a classic American-style supreme pizza with the addition of
chorizo sausage.
This longtime Wudaokou stalwart, who took
home the top prize in a surprise twist at our Bracket D Final
Taste-Off, has been slinging pies since way back for crowds of Haidian
college students – many of them now turned loyal customers and
unofficial spokespeople.
While Pyro offers up solid variations of
American pizza classics – their cheese and pepperoni pies come to mind –
two you should definitely try are the Nacho Beef Pizza (RMB 90-115) and
the Spicy Beef Pizza (RMB 115-215). The former, which won Pyro the
Bracket D Final, is like a build-your-own-burrito in pizza form: ground
beef topped with olives, jalapenos, and onions with the addition of
fresh cilantro, diced tomato, and sour cream drizzle. The latter is
Italian with a spicy bent, seeing beef and cheese over arrabiata-style
sauce and a chili oil brushed dough base.
The runner up this year – and the
winner of our Bracket B Final Taste-Off – is rustic pizza done the Roman
way by the folks at Forno – an Italian restaurant with more of a
Rome-centric focus opened by the team behind Bottega in 2019. While
they, like Pizza Saporita, serve up pizza al taglio, they stole the show
this year with a new pie, La Regina (RMB 128), which consists of a more
rounded and crunchy focaccia base topped with mozzarella, spicy
arugula, and cured ham.
These guys are Beijing's top pie for the
second time – their first title being in 2017 – for a reason: They make
solid American pies with a Detroit twist. But what, you ask, is
Detroit-style pizza? Not exactly thin New York-style and not exactly
Chicago deep dish, Detroit pizza is kind of an in between. Essentially
an offshoot of Sfinciuni – a thick, focaccia-based square pizza-like
dish from Sicily with cheese on the bottom and sauce on top – it’s thick
and square with a characteristic burned underside and edges, a hefty
helping of cheese and, sometimes, sauce added over the cheese. The pizza
apparently got its shape from being cooked in industrial auto part
trays in the 1940s.
Their pie to try is the Motown Meatball, a
square pizza with an airy base topped with tomato sauce, melted
mozzarella, slightly sweet caramelized red onions and Italian-style beef
and pork meatballs. Get it on two squares for RMB 35 or six for RMB 65.
Bonus: if you ask for the Chi-town in shop you can get a layer of sauce
and sprinkling of cheese added on, which may be a nod to Chicago but in
our eyes is perfect homage to Sfinciuni.
Images: daily detroit, courtesy of the venues
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