Flipping out: Time Out ranks 20 Beijing pizzas

January 31, 2011 - Uncategorized - 16 comments

Time Out magazine takes on a topic this month about which most people I know have strong opinions: What is the best pizza in Beijing? I’ve seen people flip out every time The Tree wins for “best pizza” at The Beijinger awards; heated debate about whether the pies at La Pizza (or Kro’s Nest or Hutong Pizza or wherever) are good or not, and inspired discussions about crusts, sauces, and toppings. Here is how Time Out ranked twenty pizzas:

  1. La Pizza
  2. Hutong Pizza
  3. Sureno
  4. The Tree
  5. Mao Mao Chong
  6. Gung Ho!
  7. Meeting Point
  8. Vineyard Café
  9. Kro’s Nest
  10. Tavola
  11. Annie’s
  12. O Sole Mio
  13. The Den
  14. Abella
  15. Pyro Pizza
  16. Danger Doyle’s
  17. Bang! Bang! Pizza
  18. Tube Station Pizza
  19. All-Star Sports Bar
  20. Pizza Buona

By and large, I can see the rationale behind these rankings, particularly those in the top ten. But they do inspire a few thoughts…

  • Time Out should have included Origus in its survey. Just so they could rank it number 50 out of 20.
  • The magazine is going to get complaints from fans of other pizza places, from Passby Bar to Nasca to L’Isola: one acquaintance swears by the pizza at the latter.
  • They missed half the point about The Den. Yes, it provides late night pizza but it also has a daily half-price pizza deal. Where else can you get a decent four cheese pizza for RMB30.
  • The thing about Pizza Buona is that I know chefs who love it. In fact, the chef at the former Louisiana restaurant in the Hilton first introduced it to me and I know other chefs who order it. I’m not saying that alone means it is the best, but last place? Though to be honest, I only like the pepperoni pizza from this place.
  • If you get the lunch special at Sureno, you can include the pizza. That turns a pricey pie into a good deal.
  • Does Nearby the Tree have a pizza oven? I did not know that…

About the author

I write about the Beijing nightlife scene. I also have a blog about China's wine scene: http://www.grapewallofchina.com