It’s official, the best pizza in the world is in London

It’s official, the best pizza in the world can be found in London. The award comes by way of the well-renowned 50 Top Pizza guide which is announced each year to honour the people across Europe who are doing some seriously good things with dough.

While the awards discount Italian pizzerias (because frankly, they’d wipe the floor with anyone), they do take into account reams of other European hotspots, which the organisers class as ‘old Continent’ countries. Across these countries the judges weigh up the merits of various restaurants to come up with their ultimate list of the top 50 places. This year the awards were steamed live – rather than presented in person – to a crowd of over 75000 pizza fans.

For the second year in a row the top spot went to our very own capital city, with the UK racking up the accolade of also having the most pizzerias to feature on the list. The winner - 50 Kalò di Ciro Salvo Pizzeria - also scooped other honours at the prize giving, including the prize for best service and the best pizza chef for the owner himself. This hidden gem restaurant is no stranger to awards, having been featured on the Michelin guide as well as being voted one of the best pizzas by The New York Times in the past. The owner – Ciro Salvo – is the third generation in a line of master pizza makers who hail from Napoli and value the slow food movement credentials. The secret to the restaurants success is found in the dough recipe, which uses an unusually large percentage of water to fully hydrate the wheat, resulting in a light easily digestible base and crust.

Serves on the winning menu are fairly simple, with the utmost attention to detail being given to carefully selected ingredients. There are classics like the infamous Margheritas and Marinaras, as well as some more unusual combinations in creations like the Nerano pizza which is topped with creamed courgettes, fior di latte cheese, diced courgettes, shaved cheese, extra virgin olive oil and fresh mint.

Elsewhere London’s pizza joints of L'Antica Pizzeria, Oi Vita Pizzeria, 'O Ver St. James’s, Vicoli di Napoli and Sodo Pizza also featured on the list.

The best pizza in the world: UK hotspots

Here’s the full list of UK winners from 50 Top Pizza guide.

Other winners on the list included places in Vienna, Amsterdam, Copenhagen and Brussels, while France took a big piece of the pie themselves, hosting five of the best pizza places in the world in its capital city of Paris. Aside from London’s eateries, two other British pizzerias were lauded, where winners included Double Zero Neapolitan Pizza in Manchester and Paesano Pizza in Glasgow.

If you love fast food you might like our guide to the best fried chicken in London.