TOKYO is one of the world’s top pizza cities!? The best pizza in Asia gathers in Tokyo! Asia’s Top 50 Pizza Award Ceremony held for the first time in Japan | Event Report

Hello! I’m Hayashi from Social Relations Division 1, a first-year employee who joined SUNNY SIDE UP as a new graduate in April 2023.

Now that COVID-19 has been reclassified to Category 5 and the number of foreign tourists visiting Japan is rapidly increasing.

An event celebrating top pizzas with pizza chefs gathering from various countries and regions across Asia Pacific was held for the first time in Tokyo on May 30! As the 50 Top Pizza PR team, we conducted public relations activities to raise awareness of the awards by communicating the initiatives and appeal of “50 Top Pizza” through the media.

This report covers the “Award Ceremony 50 Top Pizza Asia Pacific”! A must-read for anyone wanting to discover delicious pizza restaurants both in Japan and abroad!

◾️ What is 50 Top Pizza

50 Top Pizza is a specialized pizzeria guide that honors pizza chefs with outstanding technique, expertise, and artistry. Since 2017, they have been hosting awards to recognize top pizzas, and as one of the largest platforms with high recognition within the industry, it is beloved by pizza chefs worldwide.

The awards are judged by 1,000 anonymous judges consisting of food journalists, gourmets, and passionate pizza fans.

This year’s award ceremony honoring the top 50 pizzas in the Asia-Pacific region was held at the Italian Cultural Institute in Tokyo, with the after-party taking place at the Italian Embassy.

◾️Ceremony Day Highlights

On the day of the award ceremony, chefs selected for the Asia-Pacific region’s top 50 came to Japan from overseas to the Italian Cultural Institute. Upon entering the venue, surrounded by chefs from various countries, the atmosphere was lively as if being abroad. When the ceremony began, chefs’ names were called in order from 50th place, with each announcement met with applause and cheers. The sight of chefs embracing nearby colleagues with smiles when their names were called was particularly memorable.

In addition to the top 50, special awards were also announced, including “Best Service 2023 – Goeldlin Award,” “Best Beer & Drink Service,” and “Pizza of the Year 2023 – Latteria Sorrentina Award.”

Award ceremony scene

And finally, the announcement of the top 3.

The first place winner was “Pizza Bar on 38th” at Mandarin Oriental Tokyo.

A Japanese restaurant reached the top for the first time!

“Pizzabar on 38th” at Mandarin Oriental Tokyo, which won first place

Having won third place at last year’s event held in Bangkok, Thailand, they climbed the rankings this year to claim a well-deserved first place!

Second place went to “Bottega” in Beijing, China, and third place was awarded to “Pizzeria Peppe – Napoli sta’ ca,” a restaurant in Tokyo. The chefs take the stage.

Top 3 chefs on stage. From left: 1st place “Pizza Bar on 38th” (Tokyo), 2nd place “Bottega” (China), 3rd place “Pizzeria Peppe – Napoli sta’ ca” (Tokyo)

What’s also surprising is that Japan received the most awards in this year’s ranking, with 14 restaurants making the list. This announcement proved that Tokyo is the center of excellence for pizza in the Asia-Pacific region. Following Japan, Australia had 10 restaurants, Thailand had 4, and India, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, and Israel all ranked in the top 50 for the first time this year.

The top 15 restaurants selected from the Asia-Pacific region will participate in the world competition “100 Best Pizzerias in the World” to be held at Palazzo Reale in Naples on September 13. With the possibility of a Japanese restaurant becoming the world’s best, the wait for the results is exciting…!

At the end of the award ceremony, all the chefs selected for the top 50 took a commemorative photo together. The award ceremony, held for the first time in Japan, came to a successful close.

Group photo of chefs selected for the top 50 and related parties

◾️After-Party Highlights

After the award ceremony, an after-party was held at the Italian Embassy, attended by the winning pizza chefs and related parties.

The Italian Embassy has a beautiful Japanese garden, and at night you can view the illuminated Tokyo Tower from the garden, offering a different kind of charm. At the after-party, pizzas baked by the winners were served along with Italian wine. It was the perfect place for top chefs from the Asia-Pacific region and related parties to network!

Japanese garden on the Italian Embassy grounds

Pizza made by winners and Italian wine

Official Website and Social Media

・Website: https://www.50toppizza.it/
・Instagram: @50toppizza
・Twitter: @50TopPizza

With 14 award-winning restaurants in Japan, please use this ranking as a reference when going out or sightseeing!