Five Feet, a London pizzeria on Bermondsey's Tanner Street, has been named the Best Pizza in the UK at the 2026 National Pizza Awards — despite not yet having opened to the public. The restaurant, scheduled to begin trading from November 11, took the top accolade with its Sausage and Broccoli pizza, a Sicilian/Grandma-style creation featuring vodka sauce, pecorino, oregano, chilli, sausage, fior di latte, provolone, friarelli, pickled chillies, ricotta and Coolea.
The award was announced on November 3 by Dine Out magazine, which hosts the National Pizza Awards. Five Feet beat fierce competition from some of the UK's premier pizza brands and independent pizzerias to claim victory. The competition welcomes chefs from across the restaurant, quick-service, bar, pub, and hotel sectors.
Chef and owner reaction
Jack Ellingham, Five Feet's head chef and owner, also secured an individual honour, being named National Pizza Chef of the Year. He previously worked as a baker at London's Dusty Knuckle.
Ellingham said: "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 added: "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."
Competition and technique
During a live cooking showdown against 16 of the UK's finest pizzaiolos, Five Feet — co-owned with Jay Patel, founder of Michelin Guide restaurant Legare, and backed by the founder of coffee shop brand WatchHouse — beat renowned finalists including Bad Boy Pizza Society, Franco Manca, Pizza Pilgrims and Zizzi.
Explaining why he believes Five Feet's pizzas stand out, Ellingham 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!"
He added: "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."
What customers can expect
Describing what customers can look forward to when Five Feet opens its doors this November, Ellingham said: "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 receive invitations to participate in the National Pizza Awards Champion of Champions cook-off next February, as the competition marks its 10th anniversary by uniting 30 winners from the previous decade.
