London restaurant crowned best pizza in the UK – but there’s a big catch

The National Pizza Awards have officially crowned the best pizza in the UK for 2026, and the winning ‘za is right here in London — but there’s one surprising catch.

Finding the perfect pizza in a country as large and culinarily expansive as the UK is always a challenge, with oodles of top contenders vying for the prestigious honour. There are mouthwatering slices of ‘za found in every nook and cranny of the UK, making the competition a truly tense nail-biter.

On November 3, the National Pizza Awards hosted by Dine Out magazine crowned the winner of the Best Pizza in the UK, but there was one massive catch — the pizzeria hadn’t even opened its doors to the public yet.

In a surprising yet well-deserved win, a London pizzeria in Bermondsey’s Tanner Street, which is due to officially start trading from November 11, took home the top prize for the Best Pizza in the UK for its Sausage and Broccoli pizza — a Sicilian/Grandma-style pie featuring vodka sauce, pecorino, oregano, chilli, sausage, fior di latte, provolone, friarelli, pickled chillies, ricotta and Coolea.

Five Feet beat out tough competition from some of the UK’s leading pizza brands and independent pizzerias to come out on top. The National Pizza Awards are open to chefs from across the restaurant, quick-service, bar, pub, and hotel industries, and Five Feet came out as the best of the best.

MyLondon spoke exclusively to Five Feet’s head chef and owner, Jack Ellingham, to get his thoughts on the notable win. The talented Jack, who previously worked as a baker at north London’s Dusty Knuckle, also took home a solo win as he was crowned the National Pizza Chef of the Year.

Jack tells MyLondon: “It was a massive surprise to me. It was my first time competing at the Pizza Awards, and I did not know what to expect, to be honest. Winning the competition was absolutely huge and means more than I can express. Five Feet has been a couple of years in the making, and I’ve been developing the pizza we will be serving for three years.”

He adds: “The opening delays mean I haven’t been able to serve any customers yet. So, being able to cook a Five Feet pizza for the judges and take home the top prize felt monumental and made me even more excited to open the doors and start serving guests.”

The National Pizza Chef of the Year says it helps to “know how to make a banging pizza when you run a pizzeria”, and the proof is (quite literally) in the pie for this National Pizza Award-winning establishment.

In a live cooking showdown against 16 of the UK’s finest pizzaiolos, Jack Ellingham’s Five Feet — co-owned with Jay Patel, founder of Michelin Guide restaurant Legare and backed by the founder of coffee shop brand WatchHouse — beat stiff competition from renowned finalists including Bad Boy Pizza Society, Franco Manca, Pizza Pilgrims and Zizzi.

Speaking about why he believes Five Feet’s pizzas have an edge over the competition, Jack said: “Five Feet brings something a little different to the table. You’ve got this super light, delicate dough proofed in generously oiled black iron pans for around six hours. As it bakes, the result is almost focaccia-esque, the bottom lightly fries in the extra virgin olive oil making it crisp while the interior stays soft and airy.

“We also stone mill the flour for the dough using Grains grown about 30 miles from the pizzeria. The wholegrains and freshly milled flour add something pretty special to the mix, if you can find me another pizzeria stone milling its own flour let me know!”

Jack believes there’s one important reason Five Feet stands apart: “At the moment, the London pizza scene is filled with a lot of great thin and crispy pizza, so I think the pan pizza at Five Feet is a welcome addition to the market and stands in its own lane.”

So then, all that’s left is for the National Pizza Chef of the Year to answer the most burning question of ‘em all — what can patrons expect from Five Feet when it does finally open its doors to the public this November?

“Crispy, crunchy, fluffy, light pan pizza made from in-house milled flour, topped with outrageously good quality ingredients from incredible UK-based farmers, growers and producers (except the insanely good olive oil and tomatoes from further afield). All served up in a beautiful spot with warm hospitality, good music, good drinks — just a place where you want to hang out, eat pizza and be happy.”

All 2026 winners will now be invited to compete in the National Pizza Awards Champion of Champions cook-off in February next year, as the competition celebrates 10 years by bringing together 30 winners from the past decade.