Zrou x La Pizza: Hearty Italian Cooking From the Old Country, With a Vegan Twist

Much to the delight of vegans everywhere, gone are the days when telling someone you have a plant-based diet is met with everything from snide remarks about rabbit food to sheer incredulity and disbelief. Likewise, no longer are vegans and vegetarians relegated to a few items on any given menu, eating at the same restaurants day after day, or having to cook every meal at home. Nay, over the past few years the plant-based revolution has taken the world by storm, and here in China, that revolution is being led by Shanghai-based company Zrou.

Zrou uses locally sourced natural ingredients like non-genetically modified soybeans, konjac, coconut oil, and shiitake mushrooms to create a truly inspired meat alternative that’s as versatile as it is capable of fooling even the most ardent carnivore. Likewise, the company has a deep and abiding passion for guiltless, healthy eating that’s nothing short of infectious, evidenced by the fact that, as of late, they’ve been striking up partnerships with Beijing restaurants one after another.

The latest to join the Zrou family is La Pizza, an authentic slice of Italy right here in Beijing. Stepping into La Pizza is like stepping into a kitchen in the old country. Owner and head chef Giuseppe de Stefano has been making pizza since he was about 10-years-old in his native Naples, dutifully perfecting his craft and secret family recipes under the watchful eye of his grandmother. De Stefano first opened La Pizza in 2009, at a time when most Chinese folks’ conception of pizza didn’t extend far beyond Pizza Hut. In fact, during those early days, de Stefano got a fair share of complaints from locals who couldn’t wrap their minds – or tastebuds – around his semi-blackened wood-fired crusts. Nevertheless, it wasn’t long before the recipes that so captivated de Stefano as a child won over the hearts of local Beijingers as well, and La Pizza began to grow its famously devout following.

Now, in much the same way that local diners learned to both love and appreciate an authentic pie, tastes are changing once again, with more and more folks seeking plant-based options from the restaurants they know and love. In fact, according to de Stefano, about 60 percent of the people who come into La Pizza asking for vegan options are local Chinese, while roughly 40 percent are expats. As such, beginning Saturday, May 1, La Pizza will be introducing three brand new Zrou-inspired dishes to their menu: lasagna, pizza, and a burger. All in all, it’s a hearty, homestyle trifecta that, although vegan, still finds its essence and personality in de Stefano’s grandmother’s classic, timeless recipes. What’s more, the dishes will be 100 percent plant-based, with the cheese coming from a shop in Greece.

The lasagna is a simple dish consisting of homemade pasta sheets, Zrou, red sauce, and vegan cheese. Meanwhile, the pizza is an unpretentious classic made with Zrou meatball, red sauce, and vegan cheese, and the burger is a Zrou patty topped with tomato and cucumber. No frills, no fuss, just damn fine cooking. Of course, if you’d like to add extra toppings to the pizza or the lasagna, de Stefano and his team are more than happy to oblige. But honestly, sometimes less is more, and a bit of humble, authentic lasagna and pizza sounds perfect to us. Perhaps more exciting is the fact that de Stefano will be rotating some of his dishes with the seasons, and we even got word that Zrou minestrone might hit the menu come fall.

Although the menu will officially launch at La Pizza’s Soho Shangdu location on Saturday, May 1 – alongside the opening of their new terrace, no less – the folks over at Vegans of Beijing will be hosting an event to celebrate the new dishes on Saturday, May 8.

READ: Zrou x Bloomberg: How a German-Inspired Brewpub Embraced the Plant-Based Revolution

Images courtesy of Zrou, Vegans of Beijing