Hutong Pizza Celebrates 13 Years of Dishing Up Square Pizza to Houhai's Hungry Masses on Aug 21

Located in Houhai and opened all the way back in 2003, Hutong Pizza is to soon celebrate 13 years of business, quite the feat in today's fast-paced Beijing food scene. Their square-cooked pizzas made it to round 32 in 2015 Pizza Cup, and now with this milestone on the way we thought we'd check in to see how this modest restaurant was doing.

Pushing through the sea of tourists in Houhai is enough to get anyone hangry, but anxiety quickly turns to calm upon entering Hutong Pizza's cozy space near Yinding Qiao. In fact, the yard is so quiet that you'd never have guessed you were perched on the step of tourist hell, perhaps owing to the fact that it is the site of “former 600-year-old Guanyin Temple,” according to their staff.

That vibe is very much kept alive within their yard, which includes a small garden and pond with several multi-colored carp swimming around, hoping for some pizza bait. There are four tables outside, as well as several tables on the first and second floors, the latter made particularly homely by its open wood beams and fading paintings.

We enjoyed both the crispy jacket potato skins with garlic dip (RMB 35), and the house salad, both made to homestyle standards.

The real draw is the pizza though, with more than 20 square varieties served. From the lot we went for half smoked sausage, half anchovy and olive. The latter included sliced red and green bell peppers, anchovies, and olives spread evenly across a thin cornmeal-dusted crust. The smoked sausage side came with onions, green pepper, and broccoli, though the sausages were a little over cooked. Nine pastas feature on the menu.

Beers include local Buzz honey wheat beer as well as Belgian beers and the usual Tsingtao and Yanjing one-two bland punch.

The ambiance was certainly quieter than the owners would probably like at lunch time but if you happen to be showing your friends and family around the nearby area, this might just be one of the best places to rest up and refuel away from the thrum of the crowds.

The team has told us that they're currently preparing a series of events to help celebrate their thirteenth year. Watch this space for more details.

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Email: tracywang@thebeijinger.com
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Photos: Tracy Wang