Gung Ho! Retains Pizza Cup Title for 2015
The fabulous Gung Ho crew has once again taken the crown of Best Pizza in Beijing by outpolling Annie's in the final match of the 2015 Pizza Cup.
The Gungsters were nearly toppled this year by a resurgent Annie's, who was knocked out in earlier rounds in 2014. The final tally was 53 percent for Gung Ho and 44 percent for Annie's (with three percent reporting that they hadn't tried them both).
Click "Read more" below to see our full coverage of this year's Pizza Cup
On its way to a second consecutive Pizza Cup crown, the reigning champs faced an amazing array of pizzas that has us spoiled for choice here in Beijing.
Gung Ho, who started as the top seed in the Pizza Specialists division, made their way through the bracket with victories over some of the city's best: Pizza Buona, Bottega, Pizza Plus, Tube Station, Great Leap Brewing #45, and finally, Annie's.
As testimony to the strength of this year's competition, many head-to-head contests were settled by a mere handful of votes.
Gung Ho's victory in the popular vote was mirrored by their frequent mentions in our Pizza My Mind series, where over 40 percent of respondents cited it as one of their favorites.
"Their pizza is different from a traditional Italian one, but it's good, ingredients are first-choice and the delivery guys always have a smile on their faces," said Italian architect Chiara Maria Sassu, who lives in Sanlitun. "I love the attention they put into small details, like their brand image and the graphics."
Shagi Defoe, a decade-long resident of Beijing, echoed Sassu's sentiment. "I love GHP on multiple levels, and for the simple fact that it is cool, healthy and fun," he said. "Great friendly service too."
Gung Ho also got love from voters for their value-based promotions.
"They constantly have pizza specials, changing it up every month or so," notes New Yorker Nick Di Dolci, a three-year resident of Beijing. "And did I mention buy-one-get-one Tuesdays? Perfect for date night if your wallet is light. I took a friend there once, and we had such a good time that I still enjoy going back.”
The Hutong's Executive Director Jeremiah Jenne had similar praise. "Their RMB 59 lunch all-you-can eat lunch special is one of my favorite budget lunch spots," he said.
While many voters praised the creativity of Gung Ho's pizzas and the quality of their first-class service, a surprising number also cited some of the home-grown chain's subtler charms, such as its date-night atmosphere and the fact that it is the only Beijing pizzeria to offer gluten-free crusts.
"Their Lido branch was recently redecorated and provides the perfect glitzy setting to share during a date with your significant other," noted local resident Jerry Wei, "To round off the experience, the service is perfect."
"Their gluten-free whole wheat base honestly tastes just as good as the gluten version, and their range of flavors means anyone's satisfied," said Lido resident Oliver Fenwick-Ross, whose significant other doesn't go for gluten.
Of course for all of Gung Ho's charms, we'd be missing a lot if we didn't point out the literally dozens of other spots around town that serve a mean pie.
That includes this year's runner-up Annie's, which got lots of love for its unparalleled delivery service, its family-friendly atmosphere, and its moderate pricing. Others cited it as the perfect place to go for when you want other dishes in addition to pizza.
Gung Ho Marketing Manager Rich Akers fresh from battle
We started this epic journey a month ago, when we hosted over 7,000 hungry Beijingers at our Pizza Cup Launch Party. The following week we gave the masses another week to sample their hearts out while we tapped an expert panel to select which 64 of Beijing's 160 active pizza brands in the city would make the 2015 bracket.
We then opened the voting, round by round, using a proprietary, multifaceted vote verification system that prevented the contest from descending into a free-for-all ballot-stuffing affair.
The field of 64 has so many standouts that it's impossible to note them all here. Let our Pizza My Mind series be a start, or eat your way through the top-ranked pizzas using our final rankings below.
Meanwhile, we found out quite a bit about our pizza-loving readers in the process of the month-long Pizza Cup.
On average, you've sampled seven different brands of pizza in Beijing – which means you've got a lot more sampling to do in the coming months.
Also, on average you are dining on pizza five times per month, which means it would take most of you an entire year to eat your way through the field of 64 (consider it a challenge to undertake before the 2016 Pizza Cup next year).
Meanwhile, the entire affair has had a significant impact on our readers' dining habits, preferences and knowledge of the pizza scene here in Beijing. Respondents say:
95 percent learned about new pizza places they had not heard of before
82 percent tried new pizza places they had not tried before
77 percent ate more pizza than usual over the past month
52 percent changed their opinion on their favorite pizza in Beijing
51 percent of you drank more beer than usual while sampling all that pizza
We end with our final rankings of the Best Pizza in Beijing for 2015. There's been significant change in this year's rankings, with one in five spots either new to town or previously unranked. Four of the Top 25 – Great Leap #45, Haven Bottega and Bocca Della Verita are all brand new to Beijing and would be a great place for someone looking to expand their pizza horizons to start. So check it out, disagree with it if you see fit,
2015 Pizza Cup Top 20 Final Rankings
1. Gung Ho!
2. Annie's
3. Great Leap #45 (New)
4. Sureño
5. Pizza Plus
6. Ramo
7. Tavola
8. Eatalia
9. La Pizza
10. Tube Station
11. Mao Mao Chong
12. Vineyard Café
13. Loft Eatalicious
14. Haven (New)
15. Mio, Four Seasons Hotel
16. Prego, Westin Financial Street
17. Pizza Express
18. Hutong Pizza
19. The Tree
20. Bottega (New)
For those of you following at home, here is the final bracket: