The Deep Dish: Pyro's Classic Pizza Combinations That Deliver

In the lead up to our September 16-17 Pizza Fest in Wangjing Soho, The Deep Dish will be previewing a few of the restaurants that you can expect to see slinging their thick, gooey, and tomatoey slabs of doughy goodness. Now that you're hot and dribbling, let's go!

Innovation can help us walk great lengths, true, but how will anyone recognize the novelty without high-quality classics as a benchmark. While Italians curse and cry over the wrong pizza toppings and China's restaurants put ungodly things on the world-renowned pie, Pyro has been steadily gathering the crowds of Wudaokou around wooden tables in their halls.

Their current biggest hits are pizzas (duh) and subs. Their pizza selection includes all the most beloved renditions, from pepperoni (RMB   55-155), BBQ chicken (RMB 80-210) and some exciting twists like chicken satay (RMB 65-180) or the Mediterranean lamb (RMB 80-210). As the rules of the student hive dictate, happy hour (8-10pm) never stops giving and their weekly deals (half-price wings and salads or buy-one-get-one subs) deserve some applause for feeding the overworked brain.

Wudaokou is now buzzing with a fresh batch of students and when those kids finish their first day of university, they will most likely head down to the pizza-flavored basement of Pyro. They have been serving classic American-style pizza for over 10 years, attracting the nearby university's newbies for a whole new kind of orientation – to the place they will likely line their stomachs with grease before a night of heavy drinking for the rest of their stay.  The Pyro team will be teaching students basic survival skills, from WeChat set-up to fake alcohol identification, and taking them out for pub quizzes, KTV nights and great food deals.

But let's set aside their altruistic deeds and get back to their pizza, which is what you will be digging into at the upcoming Pizza Fest in less than two weeks. They are bringing a few of their favorites to Wangjing: Spicy Beef (RMB 65-180), that's sprinkled with a Sichuan spice mix, Nacho Beef (RMB 80-210) and a few flavors of baked and fried wings to hold in your other hand.

Pyro has been proudly serving classic New York-style pizza with few peculiarities all these years. The crunchy underside and soft top of their thin crust pizzas are generously layered with toppings and cheese and served in three sizes, the largest taking up the whole table. However, Pyro product manager Josh said they are making serious changes to the menu next week, so you may be stepping into an all-new Pyro on your next visit. 

Even with slightly mysterious changes in the near future (without revealing too much, let's just say they are cleaning up their menu so they can focus on quality over quantity and deliver a better product), Pyro remains a solid soldier of classics without being snobbish toward novelty. That being said, they are bringing durian pizza into the game with their new menu, but said it will come with a side note – that the toppings are tailored to the local crowd (and I don't think they mean exchange students).

On top of their selection of cocktails, Pyro now offers Qingdao on tap, but Josh mentioned they are looking to add more craft beers, so you can elevate your classic slice with a fancy IPA. 

If all else fails and lets you down, Pyro will save the day and calm your rumbling stomach. Although we're sure your stomach won't be rumbling amid the gathering of vendors at the approaching pizza carnival (and if it is rumbling, you're doing pizza fest wrong).

Look for Pyro slices to comfort homesick Americans (or anyone homesick, really) during the Pizza Fest on September 16-17 at Wangjing Soho.

Images by the author.

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