Bottega on Why 2nd Best Pizza in Asia Top 50 Is an Absolute Win
Bottega, one of Beijing’s few purveyors of Neapolitan style pizza, was recently awarded the title of Best Pizza in the Chinese mainland and 2nd best in the Asia-Pacific region by the 50 Top Pizza list (link in QR code below), along with a few other honors. While it might seem like a step down from their 1st place Asia region win last year, for the team this year’s placing means even more.
“Asia wasn’t all in the same category last year: it was split between Greater Asia, which included East Asia, South Asia and Southeast Asia, while Japan and Australasia were their own separate categories” explains David Connolly during a recent interview with the Bottega co-founder and the restaurant’s general manager Daniele Salvo.
Bottega was also named Best Pizza in the Chinese mainland
“This year they decided to group everything into one category, and when we heard that we thought ‘oh this is gonna be interesting!’” But in the end it was a well-earned, if not reaffirming, 2nd place win considering who Bottega was facing up against, especially the likes of Japan and Australia.
Bottega prides itself in it's classic Neapolitan pies, like the Diavola
“Japan has the highest concentration of Neapolitan pizzerias in the world outside of Naples” Connolly continues. “It’s crazy, there’s something like 70 legit Neapolitan pizzerias.” And it’s not just people trying to make Neapolitan pizza, but people actually accredited by the Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana – the Naples-based organization that says what is, and what isn’t, true Neapolitan pizza around the world.
As for Australia, Salvo tells me, it’s because of the big Italian community there. That and Australia’s solid F&B scene, adds Connolly.
Along with the two wins, they also took home the prize for Best Fried Food, a big thing in the world of Neapolitan pizza
Along with taking second in the Asia-Pacific, Bottega also was named Best in China, the first year the Top 50 Pizza has included the honor; and Best Fried Food award, which Connolly tells me is quite important. “Apart from pizza, the second most important thing in Naples is fried food.”
Bottega took the prize for their fried calzone, arancini, and frittatini, something that Salvo had been adamant about including on the menu from the very beginning. “I was pushing them,” laughs Salvo “saying ‘we must have this, we must have this!’”
All thanks to the inclusion of items like arancini and frittatina (pictured)
These awards can be added to a long list of accolades for the pizzeria. Bottega also boasts three pizza slices from Gambero Rosso, which Connolly tells me is essentially the Michelin Guide of Italy, as well as accreditation from the Associazione Verace Pizza Neapolitana. Their fame isn’t a secret to Beijing either, having won our Pizza Cup in 2016 and again in 2020.
Plus, they’ve shown no signs of slowing down following the new awards, with Salvo set to attend an event with the top 15 winners of the list in the Palace of Naples this September, which will essentially be an official awards ceremony and an opportunity to eat pizza every day, Salvo jokes. Bottega is also set to open their first branch outside of the capital, with a Shanghai location currently under construction and slated for a grand opening later this year.
Bottega's GM Daniele Salvo will head to Naples later this year to take part in the Top 50 Pizza's Top 15 event
This victory seems to have given Salvo, Connolly and the team behind Bottega a new sense of vigor. “It almost feels better than it was last year,” says Connolly “I was a bit concerned going up against Australia and Japan, but the result is a huge honor, regardless of what it looks like compared to number one.”
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