Gung Ho Sneaks Past Annie's by a Slice to Retain Pizza Cup Title for 2015

The fabulous Gung Ho crew has once again taken the crown of Best Pizza in Beijing by outpolling Annie's in the final match of the 2015 Pizza Cup.

The Gungsters were nearly toppled this year by a resurgent Annie's, who was knocked out in earlier rounds in 2014. The final tally was 53 percent for Gung Ho and 44 percent for Annie's (with three percent reporting that they hadn't tried them both).

On its way to a second consecutive Pizza Cup crown, the reigning champs faced an amazing array of pizzas that has us spoiled for choice here in Beijing.

Gung Ho, who started as the top seed in the Pizza Specialists division, made their way through the bracket with victories over some of the city's best: Pizza Buona, Bottega, Pizza Plus, Tube Station, Great Leap Brewing #45, and finally, Annie's.

As testimony to the strength of this year's competition, many head-to-head contests were settled by a mere handful of votes.

Gung Ho's victory in the popular vote was mirrored by their frequent mentions in our Pizza My Mind series, where over 40 percent of respondents cited it as one of their favorites.

"Their pizza is different from a traditional Italian one, but it's good, ingredients are first-choice and the delivery guys always have a smile on their faces," said Italian architect Chiara Maria Sassu, who lives in Sanlitun. "I love the attention they put into small details, like their brand image and the graphics." 

Shagi Defoe, a decade-long resident of Beijing, echoed Sassu's sentiment. "I love GHP on multiple levels, and for the simple fact that it is cool, healthy and fun," he said. "Great friendly service too."

Gung Ho also got love from voters for their value-based promotions.

"They constantly have pizza specials, changing it up every month or so," notes New Yorker Nick Di Dolci, a three-year resident of Beijing. "And did I mention buy-one-get-one Tuesdays? Perfect for date night if your wallet is light. I took a friend there once, and we had such a good time that I still enjoy going back.”

The Hutong's Executive Director Jeremiah Jenne had similar praise. "Their RMB 59 lunch all-you-can eat lunch special is one of my favorite budget lunch spots," he said.

While many voters praised the creativity of Gung Ho's pizzas and the quality of their first-class service, a surprising number also cited some of the home-grown chain's subtler charms, such as its date-night atmosphere and the fact that it is the only Beijing pizzeria to offer gluten-free crusts. 

"Their Lido branch was recently redecorated and provides the perfect glitzy setting to share during a date with your significant other," noted local resident Jerry Wei, "To round off the experience, the service is perfect."

"Their gluten-free whole wheat base honestly tastes just as good as the gluten version, and their range of flavors means anyone's satisfied," said Lido resident Oliver Fenwick-Ross, whose significant other doesn't go for gluten.

Of course for all of Gung Ho's charms, we'd be missing a lot if we didn't point out the literally dozens of other spots around town that serve a mean pie.

That includes this year's runner-up Annie's, which got lots of love for its unparalleled delivery service, its family-friendly atmosphere, and its moderate pricing. Others cited it as the perfect place to go for when you want other dishes in addition to pizza.

We started this epic journey a month ago, when we hosted over 7,000 hungry Beijingers at our Pizza Cup Launch Party. The following week we gave the masses another week to sample their hearts out while we tapped an expert panel to select which 64 of Beijing's 160 active pizza brands in the city would make the 2015 bracket.

We then opened the voting, round by round, using a proprietary, multifaceted vote verification system that prevented the contest from descending into a free-for-all ballot-stuffing affair.

The field of 64 has so many standouts that it's impossible to note them all here. Let our Pizza My Mind series be a start, or eat your way through the top-ranked pizzas using our final rankings below.

Meanwhile, we found out quite a bit about our pizza-loving readers in the process of the month-long Pizza Cup.

On average, you've sampled seven different brands of pizza in Beijing – which means you've got a lot more sampling to do in the coming months.

Also, on average you are dining on pizza five times per month, which means it would take most of you an entire year to eat your way through the field of 64 (consider it a challenge to undertake before the 2016 Pizza Cup next year).

Meanwhile, the entire affair has had a significant impact on our readers' dining habits, preferences and knowledge of the pizza scene here in Beijing. Respondents say:

• 95 percent learned about new pizza places they had not heard of before
• 82 percent tried new pizza places they had not tried before
• 77 percent ate more pizza than usual over the past month
• 52 percent changed their opinion on their favorite pizza in Beijing
• 51 percent of you drank more beer than usual while sampling all that pizza

We end with our final rankings of the Best Pizza in Beijing for 2015. There's been significant change in this year's rankings, with one in five spots either new to town or previously unranked. Four of the Top 25 -- Great Leap #45, Haven Bottega and Bocca Della Verita are all brand new to Beijing and would be a great place for someone looking to expand their pizza horizons to start. So check it out, disagree with it if you see fit,

2015 Pizza Cup Final Rankings

1. Gung Ho!
2. Annie's
3. Great Leap #45 (New)
4. Sureño
5. Pizza Plus
6. Ramo
7. Tavola
8. Eatalia
9. La Pizza
10. Tube Station
11. Mao Mao Chong
12. Vineyard Café
13. Loft Eatalicious
14. Haven (New)
15. Mio, Four Seasons Hotel
16. Prego, Westin Financial Street
17. Pizza Express
18. Hutong Pizza
19. The Tree
20. Bottega (New)
21. Bocca Della Verita (New)
22. Sugar Shack
23. Q Mex (Previously Unranked)
24. Luga's Villa (Previously Unranked)
25. The Rug
26. Assaggi (Previously Unranked)
27. Scott's Family Ristorante Italiano
28. Grandma's Kitchen
29. iFresh Pizza (New)
30. Alio Olio
31. Via Roma, Kempinski Hotel
32. Park 17 (New)
33. Kro's Nest
34. Pie Squared
35. Xian Bar
36. The Den
37. Whale's Pizza
38. Pizza by LMPlus
39. Isola
40. Stuff'd
41. Jazz-Ya (Previously Unranked)
42. Pizza View by Opera Bombana (New)
43. Peter Pan
44. Kitchen Igosso
45. Flypizza & Hoodadak Chicken
46. The Local Bar and Grill
47. Lily's American Diner
48. Yummy Box
49. Pizza Buona
50. Nasca Cafe
51. The Irish Volunteer
52. Fratelli Fresh
53. Elisa's
54. The Veggie Table
55. Tiago Home Kitchen (New)
56. Bene
57. Mrs Shanen's / Green Cow Cafe
58. FA Cafe
59. Charlie's
60. Passby Bar
61. Mixs Italian Grill (Previously Unranked)
62. Casalingo (New)
63. Agrilandia
64. Michael’s Place (Previously Unranked)
65. Papa John's Pizza
66. Pizza Hut
67. Mr. Pizza
68. New York Style Pizza
69. 1st Floor
70. Red House
71. Domino's
72. Ricci Café
73. Lakers
74. Eudora Station Bar and Restaurant
75. Pizza Now
76. Windy City
77. Peter's Tex-Mex
78. Hercules
79. Frost
80. Time Cafe
81. PBD Pizza Bar
82. Miss Pizza
83. Mr. Fabbro
84. Alba
85. Pizza Maru
86. Nanjie
87. Parkside Bar & Grill
88. Abella
89. Cafe del Mar
90. Yonmeike
91. The West Pizza Pub
92. Monkey Mountain Club
93. Skyline Café
94. Fuel
95. Old Town Roses
96. Bella Vista
97. Yi Lai Er Qu

For those of you following at home, here is the final bracket:

Images: the Beijinger