How You Will Decide Beijing's Best Pizza for 2019

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It's officially the big weekend! 2019 Beijing Pizza Festival at Galaxy Soho is here and runs Saturday and Sunday, Oct 19-20 from 11am-8pm.

It's been a year of big change since we last brought you the Pizza Cup in the fall of last year: 18 percent of last year's 100 contenders have closed or gone AWOL, and an additional 5 percent have stopped serving pizza altogether. Don't fret though as, despite the losses, a dozen venues have since added pizza to their menus, continuing the fine Italian tradition of pizza-making.

Before we get into the nitty-gritty of how you'll cast your vote, let's take a closer look at those who fell and who we gained in the lead-up to the big 2019 showdown. Those we lost include Lido family favorite Ramo, Wudaoying-adjacent sausage kings Stuff'd, Gongti sports mecca VSports, and long-time expat hangout Tim's Texas BBQ. Elsewhere, La Villa, Buddy's Pizza Bar, Uno Bar & Grill, Elisa's Italian Restaraunt, Prego, Westin Financial Street, Loft Eatalicious, and Miss Pizza also closed.

However, the gap in the market has also allowed several newbies to rise, including impressive Guomao brewery and restaurant Oh Yeah! Brewing, Groupe Flo's global canteen entry MIAM MIAM in Sanyuanqiao, authentic meat and bread haven Turkish Feast in Xinyuanli, a special pizza menu from Shuangjing old-timers Plan B, and new supermarket-bound pizza bites from Baozza. There's also EATA, La Mezzaluna, Unico, Eagle Town, Ummm Kitchen, Georgia's Feast, and Cafe Ruhe.

Going into this year's competition, the top seeds among the 107 hopefuls stand as last year's winners Gung Ho!, followed by Bottega, The Local, and Annie's.

Now that we're all caught up, it's once again time for you, dear reader, to choose the best in our annual knock-down, drag-out Pizza Cup. And the amazing thing is: you can try many of them at this weekend's Pizza Fest.

Eat Before You Vote

First, we urge you to eat before you vote – so that when it comes time for you to select the best, you are an informed voter. The fun begins this weekend at our annual Pizza Fest at Galaxy Soho where you will have more choices than you can possibly fit in that stomach of yours. Come both days to try as many as you can.

This is a contest we do not take lightly. We do everything in our power to ensure the ultimate outcome of this exercise – an authoritative list of Beijing's Best Pizza – is both fair and reflective of the wonderful selection we have on hand. So you too should cast your ballot with responsibility.

What we hope to do is inspire you to visit as many new places as possible – you may think you know Beijing's best pizza, but how can you be sure if you haven't tried them all?

How Voting Will Work

After you have had plenty of time to sample pizza, it's time to put them to a vote. The initial ballot features Beijing's Top 107 contestants spread into four brackets (scroll down to see that), and you will choose which ones deserve a spot in the next round.

There is a week's worth of meals between now and closing of the first round of voting, so it would not be a stretch to think a reasonable foodie could expand their pizza horizons by sampling at least 12 new choices without growing too weary (or unable to fit into one's normal trousers).

When You'll Vote

On Oct 25, the top eight contestants from each bracket will go on to be seeded into a 32-contestant World Cup-style sudden death competition bracket. This bracket will be put up for another round of voting – and also gives you a chance to “fill out your dance card” so to speak and try the remaining 32 before casting a ballot.

In each successive round, the number of contestants is cut by half. We'll keep doing that until only one remains: Your pizza champion for 2019. The schedule for voting will be as follows:

• Opening round ballot: Saturday, October 19, 11am

• Round of 32: Friday, October 25, 3pm

• Sweet 16: Tuesday, October 29, 3pm

• Elite Eight: Friday, November 1, 3pm

• Final Four: Tuesday, November 5, 3pm

• Championship Round: Friday, Nov 8, 3pm

• Beijing's Best Pizza crowned: Tuesday, Nov 12, 4pm

2019's Pizza Cup Hopefuls

Here is the complete list of this year's Pizza Cup hopefuls:

Bracket A

• Gung Ho! 叫板! 比萨 (#1)

• Annie's 安妮意大利餐厅 (#5)

• Great Leap Brewing 大跃啤酒 (#9)

• Pyro Pizza 火鬼比萨 (#13)

• Pizza Marzano 比萨玛尚诺 (#18)

• Domino's Pizza 达美乐比萨 (#22)

• Lily's American Diner (#27)

• Legend Beer 老牌啤酒 (#31)

• Eudora Station 亿多瑞站西餐酒吧 (#37)

• Bocca Della Verita 箴言之口 (#43)

• MIO, Four Seasons Hotel 四季酒店·MIO (#47)

• Joe's Bar & Kitchen 后厨 (#51)

• BUONA BOCCA Italian Bistro (#55)

• PBD Pizza Bar (#60)

• Peiping Machine 北平机器 (#65)

• Red Rose 红玫瑰 (#70)

• Leos Pizza 炉石披萨（小营店） (#76)

• Agrilandia 意大利农场餐厅 (#82)

• Pinvita 意大利美食集市 (#88)

• Atta BJ  (#93)

• Baozza 包萨 (Previously unranked)

• Casa Gusto (Previously unranked)

• Fiume 福弥意大利餐厅 (Previously unranked)

• Merci (Previously unranked)

• PIZZA FUOCO 岩火比萨 (Previously unranked)

• Ricci 睿奇餐厅 (Previously unranked)

• The Mozza 魔石披萨 (Previously unranked)

• Unico (Previously unranked)

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Bracket B

• La Pizza 那匹萨 (#2)

• Pie Squared (#6)

• Pizza Saporita 意块披萨 (#10)

• Papa John's 棒约翰比萨 (#14)

• Tavola Italian Dining (#19)

• Lievito Gourmet Pizza and Bar 酵头披萨 (#24)

• Laker's 湖人俱乐部 (#28)

• NBeer Pub 牛啤堂 (#32)

• The Rug  (#38)

• Nasca Cafe 纳斯卡比萨·咖啡简餐 (#44)

• 1st Floor 壹楼餐吧 (#48)

• QS (#52)

• Flypizza & Hoodadak Chicken (#56)

• Fratelli Fresh 北京富力万丽酒店意大利餐厅 (#61)

• Pizza Now 比萨到 (#66)

• Charlie's 查理小馆 (#71)

• Jazz-Ya 爵士屋 (#78)

• Hisewel Brew-pub 海森威精酿啤酒餐吧 (#83)

• Whale's Pizza 小鲸匹萨 (#89)

• Pomona 波莫娜 (#96)

• Big Pizza 比格比萨 (Previously unranked)

• CUP ONE (Previously unranked)

• Georgia's Feast 格鲁·秀色 (Previously unranked)

• MIAM MIAM 咪吖 咪吖 (Previously unranked)

• Plan B (Previously unranked)

• Saizeriya 萨莉亚 (Previously unranked)

• Tomcado (Previously unranked)

Bracket C

• Bottega 意库 (#3)

• Eatalia Eatalia意大利餐厅 (#7)

• Kro's Nest 乌巢 (#11)

• Yummy Box 美盒披萨 (#16)

• Xian at East, Beijing 东隅酒店·XIAN酒吧 (#20)

• TIAGO (#25)

• Tribe Tribe有机餐厅 (#29)

• Pizza Factory 披萨工廠 (#33)

• Fella's (#39)

• Green Cow City Cafe 单太太绿牛咖啡 (#45)

• Scott's Family Ristorante Italiano  意大利家庭料理 (#49)

• Mr Pizza 米斯特披萨 (#53)

• Peter Pan Peter Pan意大利餐厅 (#57)

• Via Roma, Kempinski Hotel  花样罗马意大利餐厅 (#62)

• Bene Bene意大利餐厅 (#67)

• Mixs Italian Grill Mixs美肴烧意式特色餐厅 (#73)

• Casalingo 北京粤财JW万豪酒店Casalingo意大利餐厅 (#80)

• PIZZAgram 披萨馆 (#84)

• Byone 百万庄园 (#91)

• Dongli Brewery 东里手工啤酒 (#97)

• BLT (Previously unranked)

• Eagle Town 鹰镇美式餐吧 (Previously unranked)

• La Cucina 后厨|意餐 (Previously unranked)

• MustGuette 红邮筒餐厅 (Previously unranked)

• Playking 玩者火焰薄饼 (Previously unranked)

• Stuff'd  塞 (Previously unranked)

• Turkish Feast 西庭·秀色 (Previously unranked)

Bracket D

• The Local (#4)

• Q MEX Bar & Grill 库迈墨西哥餐吧 (#8)

• Tube Station 站点比萨 (#12)

• Paddy O'Shea's (#17)

• Mao Mao Chong 毛毛虫酒吧与比萨 (#21)

• The Veggie Table 吃素的西餐 (#26)

• Pizza Hut 必胜客 (#30)

• Luga's 卢卡斯 (#36)

• Grandma's Kitchen 祖母的厨房 (#40)

• Pizza by LMPlus (#46)

• 3 Little Pigs by Andy's Craft Sausages 三只小猪 (#50)

• Assaggi 尝试意大利餐厅 (#54)

• Nine Road Pizzeria 速度披萨 (#58)

• RADICI 根壚·意大利厨房 (#64)

• Passby Bar 过客（南锣鼓巷店） (#69)

• Four Aces (#74)

• Kitchen Igosso (#81)

• Yunbrew Restaurant & Craftbeer Bar 蕴酿精酿啤酒餐吧 (#86)

• Jushi Pizza 巨时披萨 (#92)

• Cafe Ruhe 如何餐厅 (Previously unranked)

• EATA EATA西餐厅（国展店） (Previously unranked)

• La Mezzaluna 伴月意大利餐厅（天竺店） (Previously unranked)

• Oh Yeah! Brewing 熬夜酒厂 (Previously unranked)

• Ponte (Previously unranked)

• The Cheesecake Factory (Previously unranked)

• Ummm Kitchen 最意·厨房 (Previously unranked)

So what are you waiting for? Go out and gorge!

Advance tickets for the Oct 19-20 Beijing Pizza Festival at Galaxy Soho are now sold out. To attend, simply show up and buy a RMB 25 at the door. See you between 11am-8pm on Saturday and Sunday!

Images: the Beijinger, Uni You

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