WHILE Naples may claim the coveted title as the birthplace of modern-day pizza (when tomato was added back in the 18th century), it’s Norway that devours more pizza per capita than any other country in the world. But with the global pizza market valued at roughly US$160 billion and more than 30 billion pizzas consumed worldwide per year, it’s no surprise that dozens of countries claim ‘za as their unofficial national dish.

And Shanghai has no shortage of the holy trinity in which dough, sauce and cheese meet and melt in perfect harmony — from bubbled up, charred-edges on Neapolitan pies to New York slices ideal for rolling like a taco.

California Style Pizza – O’Mills & Sub Standard

The Cali-style pizza is all about the unconventional, gourmet garnishes atop a thinner, high-hydration, hand-tossed dough. The Cali pizza is an amalgamation of a New York-style pizza and a Neapolitan pizza.

Generally deemed to be “lighter and healthier,” the crust is made with extra virgin olive oil, while toppings run the gamut from BBQ chicken, goat cheese and sundried tomatoes to smoked salmon, dill and salmon roe.

At O’Mills, they are dishing out pure Cali-style pizzas made with their homemade sourdough starter. Think epicurean flavor profiles: black truffle with bacon and poached egg, and homemade Wagyu beef sausage and asparagus, prosciutto and burrata.

Sub Standard does unpretentious ingredients on a 12”, 38-72 hour aged and cold fermented dough that translates to some pretty standout Cali-style crust.

Address: Sub Standard, 230 Wanhangdu Rd

O’Mills, S1-02&03, 1/F, South Bldg, Jing’an Kerry Center, 1515 Nanjing Rd W.

Calzone – Bottega

Naples doubles down on pizza in all shapes, forms and cooking techniques, of which there are an astounding array on every street corner.

Case in point, the calzone — a folded pizza that first made an appearance in 18th century Naples. Equal parts convenient (for those on the go-go-go), compact and crushable, this envelope of ooey-gooey cheesy joy sees all the customary pizza toppings stuffed inside (or partially atop) it.

Bottega scores another win for Shanghai’s best calzone, available fritto — aka fried — or baked, replete with gobs of melted mozz, tangy San Marzano tomatoes and a choice of meat.

This puffed-up pocket of gluttony arrives tableside roughly the size of a newborn baby in length and weight, stuffed with all the good stuff.

Address: Bottega K.WAH CENTRE, 101B, 1/F, K.WAH CENTRE, 108 Xiangyang Rd N.

Bottega Jing’an, 457 Shaanxi Rd N.

Chicago Deep Dish Style Pizza – Cages

With a history dating back to 1943 at the Chicago institution that is Uno Pizzeria, Chicago-style deep dish is the heftiest pie on the list. Cooked in a deep, circular pan so the buttery crust stacks at least a few finger widths high, the pizza is layered in scrummy stratum — like a lasagna sans the pasta sheets — with tangy tomato sauce, gobs of cheese, and meat and/or veggie toppings. A single pizza can easily feed an entire family as your average eater can’t make it past just one behemoth slice.

Shanghai’s most successful all-in-one live sports bar, Cages, serves up six varieties of Chicago-style deep dish for just one day only every month (the third Sunday of every month), for pre-order reservations.

Regardless of your pizza topping choice (every month there’s cheese, vegetarian, meat lover, chicken parmesan, pepperoni and one bonus monthly flavor), an avalanche of cheese ensues with 300 grams of smoked provolone, 700 grams of mozzarella, and a liberal top-coating of Parmesan for over a kilo of pure cheese heaven.

Address: Cages Jing’an, 3/F, Jing’an Sports Center, 428 Jiangning Rd

Khachapuri – Borsh & Kompot

A leavened and baked Georgian cheese-filled bread, khachapuri, is molded into an oval shape, pinched at the top and bottom, but left open in the center so the cheese, egg, and fillings can brown.

Found in both restaurants and at street stalls, pillowy khachapuri are such a signature dish of the Georgian nation that February 27 has been named National Khachapuri Day by the Gastronomic Association of Georgia, and the “khachapuri index” developed by the International School of Economics at Tbilisi State University is used to measure inflation.

At Russian/Georgian hangout, Borsh & Kompot, the team cooks khachapuri daily, along with other nostalgic Slavic, home-style comfort eats. Using a textbook blend of flour, milk, eggs, butter, and salt, the dough is then proofed for a few hours.

Georgians most routinely combine two types of cheese for the khachapuri topping — a salty imeretian cheese (similar to feta) and a stretchy sulguni cheese (akin to mozzarella) — so Borsh & Kompot emulates those cheese styles via artisan feta and mozzarella, plus a cracked raw egg on top.

The 150 grams of cheese is swirled with the egg a la minute, with the khachapuri’s round shape acting as a bowl. The heat of the melted cheese softly cooks the yolk, causing a gooey molten mass of dairy, the khachapuri crust serving as the ideal scooping vessel.

Address: Borsh & Kompot, 1411 Yuyuan Rd

Detroit Style Pizza – Homeslice

Using steel pans from the United States’ automobile capital, aka Motor City, Detroit-style pizza is identifiable by its signature rectangular shape and crackly corner pieces, influenced by square Sicilian-style pizza.

Homeslice claims the title as the home of Shanghai’s tastiest Detroit pizza, available both in-store and for delivery once a month, by reservation only.

The baking process is a true labor of love, a multi-step cooking method including: a pre-bake tempering of the dough, shaping it in the pan and painting it with extra virgin oil; par-baking it a third of the way through, then adding cheese. (Wisconsin brick cheese is the preferred Detroit choice, but in Shanghai, where niche imports are hard to come by, a blend of mozzarella and cheddar does the trick). Next, there’s baking the cheese-smothered bread for another third of the way through; then, finally adding other toppings for the final third of baking time. Heated sauce is added after baking.

From start to finish, the baking process takes 30 minutes.

Diners can select topping preferences at the time of booking, choosing amongst cheese, pepperoni, spicy sausage, or one rotating monthly flavor like buffalo chicken, or Mexican.

Address: Homeslice, Unit 103, Bldg 3, 358 Kangding Rd

Manoushe/Lahmacun - Eli Falafel & Garlic

Originating in the Middle East (predominantly Turkey, Lebanon, Armenia, and Syria), lahmacun (also known as lahmajun, lahmajo, or lahm bi ajeen) is a flatbread of sorts that falls under the broader category of manakish (or manoushe), known as Lebanese pizza.

Lebanese-owned Eli Falafel is Shanghai’s must-visit destination for all things falafel, shawarma, and kebabs. In addition to fusion style pizzas — a New York crust base with cheese and Middle Eastern toppings such as sujuck (a fermented spicy beef sausage from Middle Eastern and Balkan cuisine) — there’s also traditional “Lebanese pizzas, finished with za’atar (dried thyme, sumac and toasted sesame seeds); lahme bi ajeen (minced meat, diced tomatoes, onions and a proprietary spice blend); falafel and vegetables; chicken or beef shawarma with fries, pickles, arugula, tomatoes, herbs and tahini; and many more Middle Eastern flavor-forward combinations.

And at Garlic, the lahmacun is uber-traditional, a spread of minced beef tenderloin, fatty minced lamb, tomato paste and onion across a half centimeter-thick oval of 30-minute proofed dough. The lahmacun is baked in a domed wood-fire oven for just 2-4 minutes.

Address: Eli Falafel Shanghai Center, Suite 111, 1/F, 1376 Nanjing Rd W.

Garlic, 698 Yongjia Rd

New York Style Pizza – Homeslice

One of the world’s most distinguished and popular pizza styles, the New York pizza is America’s descendent version of the OG Neapolitan margherita. Created by Italian immigrants in New York in the early 1900s, Lombardi’s is recognized as the birthplace of the famous New York slice.

Typically a thin crust, foldable triangular slice topped with tomato sauce, melted mozz, and any variety of add-ons under the sun — from pepperoni to sausage, from mushroom and spinach to pineapple and Canadian bacon — the original “secret ingredient” is actually New York’s mineral-rich water that imbues the dough with a unique texture found only within New York city limits.

Homeslice also claims the title as Shanghai’s top-ordered New York-style pizza, with a special dough. It uses a natural starter, as well as small amounts of yeast, and ferments the dough for a minimum of 48 hours at low temperature. Using a hydration level slightly higher than the average New York pizza, coupled with a shorter bake time of 6-7 minutes, Homeslice gets its signature “New York-style crust” still, but one that is more aerated.

Address: Homeslice, Unit 103, Bldg 3, 358 Kangding Rd

Naples – Bottega

The definition of Naples-style pizza is protected and regulated by the Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana. Considered more than food — Neapolitan pizza represents a lifestyle and a tradition, as is evidenced by the fact that it’s deemed one of the nine foods on UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage List.

Neapolitan pizzas are also usually personal pizzas, foldable, with minimal add-ons so that the dough, cheese, and sauce shine.

Asia’s most awarded pizzeria, Bottega holds the title of Top Pizzeria Asia Pacific, and 14th Best Pizzeria from 50 Top Pizza.

Address: Bottega K.WAH CENTRE, 101B, 1/F, K.WAH CENTRE, 108 Xiangyang Rd N. 

Bottega Jing’an, 457 Shaanxi Rd N.

Pide – Garlic

An oblong-shaped Turkish flatbread, pide comes with a diversified array of toppings: cheese, spiced sausage, minced meat and spinach.

Pide can be found anywhere from upscale restaurants — where fermented dough rivals even the best artisan Italian pizza — to neon-lit, late-night takeaway kebab shops — where one would devour this gut-busting, grease-dripping snack concealed by the dark of night.

The wheat-based dough pide is most often open-faced, yet sealed versions can be found, and is normally cooked in wood-fire or stone ovens across Turkey, Armenia and the Middle East.

At Turkish mainstay Garlic, one of the top-ordered dishes since opening back in 2012 is the aformentioned pide, available in cheese, beef, mushroom, spinach, mixed (beef tenderloin, mushrooms, spinach, and an imported white Turkish soft cheese similar to mozzarella called kasar peyniri), and even lahmacun (see above).

Pressed to about one-centimeter thick, the pide sides are folded over, hand-crimped along the edges, and painted with an egg and water mixture to ensure a glossy finish. Baked for just 10 minutes, the resulting crust is more flatbread-esque, chewy and dense to compliment the toppings of diners’ choosing.

Pide can also be found at Efes and Pasha.

Address: Garlic, 698 Yongjia Rd

Roman Pizza al Taglio – Bambino

Similar to Florentine schiacciata, Roman pizza al taglio boasts a thinner, focaccia-like crumb made with potato for added fluff, malt powder and a daub of honey that caramelizes for a shatteringly crisp crust. The higher hydration dough and extended fermentation time means each slice is at least two fingers thick (should be spelled with a double “c”), yet airy, topped with assorted accoutrement.

While anyone can do pizza, no one in Shanghai is doing it quite like Chef Lucky Lasagna at Bambino. It’s like a Detroit pizza meets an upside Sicilian in carb heaven, and they decide to move to Rome.

Chef Lucky’s base is pizza bianca bread, as it’s called in Rome, with four options for lunch, or delivery all day — transported in a humidity-resistant box. Like any good Roman pizza al taglio shop, flavors rotate, keeping it fresh, seasonal and enticing.

Address: Bambino, 600 Shaanxi Rd N.