A £12 marinara pizza served at a pub in London’s East End has been named the best in the UK.
The 14-inch offering from Short Road Pizza, which operates out of Colts Tavern in Bethnal Green and William The Fourth in Leyton, picked up the accolade at the National Pizza Awards this week.
The win may alarm traditionalists and Italians, as the pizza, which is a hybrid between Chicago deep dish and Romana styles, is served with chimichurri – an Argentinian sauce typically used on steak.
Featuring a tomato sauce and garlic puree base, it’s finished with stracciatella and Cantabrian anchovies.
Following a live cooking showdown, Chef Riccardo Demuru beat 15 other restaurants to win the top accolade, including chains Zizzi, Pizza Pilgrims and Rudy’s.
Pizzas were judged on several factors, including base, flavour profile, presentation, texture, quality, consistency and ingredients, with first place going to the chef whose signature pizza ‘wowed’ the expert judges.
Short Road, whose pizzas have an American twist, also bagged a second gong after winning the Alternative Slice Award, for which Chef Demuru whipped up a creative plant-based recipe made from a range of free-from products.
The best pizza in the nation: Short Road Pizza’s modified Mariana which consists of tomato sauce, garlic puree, and chimichurri, stracciatella, anchovies and oregano
Pictured L-R: Chef Riccardo Demuru, Short Road Pizza founder Ugo Galelli and Tamsyn Halm, Editor of OOH Magazine
His Caramelle Piccanti pizza included peppers, dried porcini mushrooms, vegan parmesan, slow-cooked tomato sauce, vegan stracciatella, Calabrian chilli hot honey, vegan basil pesto and nuts.
Born out of the Covid-19 lockdown in 2020, the idea for Short Road Pizza started when founders Ugo Galelli and Kate Prior moved to the London.
In a bid to connect with community, Ugo invited locals to try his dough recipe, donating all the money to their local food bank, Eat or Heat.
Four years later, the duo took over the kitchen at The Three Colts Tavern in East London and opened a second location at William the Fourth in Leyton this year.
The Romana and Chicago blend seen at Short Road means the dough is made using flour, yeast, water, salt and olive oil, which is added to stretch it out.
This is their secret to creating the Chicago thin crust, as they can roll the batter out further, creating a crispy base.
The recipe is inspired by Ugo’s Nonno Gigi, as he states that he has ‘perfected his signature “a bocca o forno” [dough], meaning on the edge of the oven’.
Speaking about winning the top gong, Ugo said: ‘It has been a journey. I feel really proud and honoured to be here, so proud of the team and Riccardo.
Short Road Pizza also won the Alternative Slice Award, in which Chef Demuru whipped up a creative plant-based recipe made from a range of free-from products (pictured)
National Pizza Chef of the Year went to Antonio Raspone at Mamma Dough. Above: The pizza he created that was judged in the contest
The Bloggers’ Choice Award was awarded to ACE Pizza, based in Victoria Park, also based in east London. Above: The pizza they entered with
‘I can’t quite believe it. We worked very hard to open in bricks and mortar, and it has only been a year since we’ve been active. It feels amazing.’
Along with selling fusion pies, Short Road is known for mixing NYC-inspired dishes with Italian-inspired plates.
Among their other offerings are crispy Sicilian potatoes with lemon zest and pecorino, cheesy arancini and mozzarella sticks, a typical American bar snack.
This year’s National Pizza Awards saw all London-based businesses bag the prizes.
Other awards given out included National Pizza Chef of the Year, which went to Antonio Raspone at Mamma Dough, which has four restaurants south of the River Thames.
The Bloggers’ Choice Award was awarded to ACE Pizza in Victoria Park, also based in East London.
Other finalists named included London’s Base Face Pizza and Yard Sale, alongside chains Zizzi, Franco Manca and Rudy’s.
