Best Pizza in Asia Gathers in Tokyo, the world’s leading pizza capital! Asia’s Top 50 Pizza Awards Ceremony held for the first time in Japan

Hello! I am Hayashi, a new graduate who joined SUNNY SIDE UP Social Relations Division 1 in April 2023.

Recently COVID-19 infection has moved to Class 5 and the number of foreign tourists visiting Japan has increased rapidly.

Pizza chefs from various Asia-Pacific countries and regions gathered in Tokyo on May 30th for the first time to award the top pizzas! As part of the “50 Top Pizza” PR team, we conducted public relations activities to raise awareness of the awards by communicating the initiatives and attractions of “50 Top Pizza” through the media.

Here is a report on the “Award Ceremony 50 Top Pizza Asia Pacific!” If you want to know about the best pizza restaurants in Japan and abroad, you must keep reading!

◼️What is 50 Top Pizza

50 Top Pizza is a guide dedicated to pizzerias that celebrates pizza chefs for their superior skill, expertise, and artistry. It has hosted the Top Pizza Award since 2017 and is well-known within the industry as one of the largest platforms for pizza chefs worldwide.

The award is judged by a panel of 1,000 anonymous judges made up of food journalists, foodies, and passionate pizza fans.

This year, the award ceremony to honor the Top 50 Pizzas in the Asia-Pacific region was held at the Italian Cultural Institute in Tokyo, followed by an after-party at the Italian Embassy in Tokyo.

◼️The day of the ceremony

On the day of the award ceremony, the chefs selected for the Asia-Pacific Top 50 gathered at the Italian Cultural Institute. When I entered the venue, I was surrounded by chefs from all over the world and it made me feel as if I were abroad. As the ceremony began, the names of the chefs were called out in order from the 50th place, and each announcement was met with applause and cheers. It was very impressive to see the chefs smiling and hugging each other when their names were called.

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

The Award Ceremony

Finally, the top three pizzas were to be announced!

The 1st place winner this year was “Pizza Bar on 38th” at Mandarin Hotel Tokyo.

For the first time, a Japanese restaurant took the top spot!

“Pizza Bar on 38th” at Mandarin Hotel Tokyo won 1st place!

The team won third place at the same event held in Bangkok, Thailand last year. This year, they have improved their ranking even more to first place!

“Bottega” in China (Beijing) was called for second place, followed by “Pizzeria Peppe – Napoli sta’ ca,” a restaurant in Tokyo, for third place.

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

Japan received the most awards in this year’s ranking, with 14 restaurants on the list. Tokyo has proven to be the pizza capital of excellence in the Asia-Pacific region. After Japan, Australia with 10 restaurants, and then Thailand with 4 restaurants. India, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, and Israel all made the top 50 for the first time this year.

The top 15 restaurants in the Asia-Pacific region will participate in the “100 Best Pizzerias in the World” competition to be held on September 13 at the Royal Palace of Naples. I can’t wait for the outcome of the world competition, as there is a possibility that a Japanese restaurant will be crowned the world’s best…!

At the end of the awards ceremony, a commemorative photo was taken with all the Top 50 chefs. The awards ceremony, held for the first time in Japan, came to a successful conclusion.

Group photo of the Top 50 chefs and officials

◼️The after-party

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

The Italian Embassy has a very beautiful Japanese garden, and at night you can enjoy a different view of Tokyo Tower lit up from the garden. At the after-party, pizzas baked by the winners were served with Italian wine. It was a perfect place for the top chefs from the Asia-Pacific region to meet and socialize with other parties!

Japanese Garden of the Italian Embassy

Pizzas made by the winners and Italian wine

Official Site・Social Media

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

There are also 14 award-winning restaurants in Japan, so please refer to this ranking when you go out and visit!