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An east London pizzeria has won top prize in this year’s National Pizza Awards, bafflingly seeing off the likes of Zizzi and Franco Manca. Short Road Pizza was — like many London shops — born out of lockdown and now operates out of the Three Colts Tavern in Bethnal Green and William The Fourth in Leyton. The story of Short Road is a happy one: husband and wife founders Ugo Galelli and Kate Prior moved into the neighbourhood and started baking pizza in 2020 to connect with their community. Proceeds back then went to the local foodbank Eat or Heat. Now a fully fledged business, Galelli and Prior describe their pies as “crispy thin crust,” or “Romana classic meets NYC-style flair”. The style is a growing one in London, with Crisp W6 probably being the most famous example. Short Road was named Britain’s best at an awards ceremony on November 4 after a panel of unnamed industry judges assessed a group of 16 finalists. The finalists included a mix of pizza styles, from the New York-inspired to Chicago deep dish, and neo-Neapolitan to grandma pies. Well known London names such as ACE, Base Face, and Yard Sale were on the final list while restaurants in the likes of Stockport (Forbici) and Glasgow (Pizza Punks) were also named. Oddly, the finalists also included the likes of Zizzi, infrequently cited as one of London’s best pizzerias, and Franco Manca, which helped propel Neapolitan pizza into mainstream culture but now lags behind. At the contest, competitors took part in a technical challenge and were tasked with crafting the ultimate pizza from a selection of sponsored ingredients, an announcement said. As for Short Road’s winning pie, it was a heady riff on a traditional marinara, with tomato sauce, confit garlic purée, chimichurri, stracciatella, Cantabrian anchovies and oregano. The champion pizza was cooked by chef Riccardo Demuru. “It has been a journey,” said Galelli. “I feel really proud and honoured to be here, so proud of the team and Riccardo. 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.” For more information, visit nationalpizzaawards.co.uk
