On World Pizza Day, we wanted to ask ourselves this question: if Barcelona were a pizza, what would it be? It's not just about talking about toppings or formats, but about identity. Whether there is room for botifarra and anchovies, for escalivada and oily fish, for Pyrenean truffle and Collserola herbs, for a sofrito that recalls home kitchens or for a long fermentation that dialogues with the contemporary rhythm of urban bakeries. The city is a market, it is a port, it is nearby agriculture, it is restless creativity and it is an increasingly diverse pizza scene, with professionals who look both to Naples and to Maresme.
Hence the challenge, and it is not a small one. To talk to different chefs and pizzaioli, to listen to how they interpret the territory, to ask them what they would put on their ideally Barcelonian pizza and, from there, to try to draw a choral portrait. A pizza impossible to sign with a single hand, made of many perspectives, many obsessions and many ways of understanding what it means to cook today.
The Neapolitan becomes Barcelonian: escalivada and anchovy from l'Escala at GROSSO
"Our Barcelona pizza would start with a very light red base and a very Neapolitan logic: few ingredients and well-treated," explains Fabrizio Polacco, Chief Product R&D Officer of GROSSO. "The idea would be a thin escalivada of eggplant and red pepper, well-drained so they don't add weight, with fior di latte, and finish it out of the oven with anchovy from l'Escala." Polacco adds that it works because it maintains the lightness and simplicity of a classic Neapolitan, but with a very recognizable local product. The escalivada provides sweetness and a smoky touch that withstands the strong oven well, and the anchovy adds saltiness and umami, as a traditional Italian ingredient would. "The result is a very clean, very Mediterranean pizza, clearly Neapolitan in technique, but with an unmistakable city character."The project, founded in 2017 by Hugo Rodríguez de Prada and Jorge Blas, will also celebrate World Pizza Day this Monday. Starting at 8 PM, all locations will give away 50 Margherita pizzas to the first 50 people who come. With more than eight million pizzas served and recognized as the Best Artisan Pizza Chain in Spain according to 50 Top Pizza, GROSSO continues to defend the culture of authentic Neapolitan pizza. And Polacco's discourse, as technical as it is creative, confirms it.
From ganxet bean to esqueixada: three pizzas from Sartoria Panatieri
Sartoria Panatieri is one of the most surprising, creative, and gastronomic pizzerias in the city. The project by chefs Rafa Panatieri and Jorge Sastre was born in 2018, after meeting in the kitchen of the Roca Moo restaurant, and since then they have turned pizza into a canvas on which to build signature recipes. It is not surprising, therefore, that when asked what a city pizza would be like, they do not choose one, but three.Panatieri himself proposes, first, "a combination of ganxet bean and botifarra"; then, "one with hanging tomato, garlic, anchovies and olive oil"; and finishes with "a third inspired by cod esqueixada". The common thread is clear: pantry and market ingredients that tell of territory and memory. The bean provides creaminess and body, the botifarra adds character; the hanging tomato and olive oil are base and identity, with the anchovy as a hit of umami; and the esqueixada brings a fresh and saline idea to the oven, one of those that work because they are direct and taste like truth.
Confit tomato and parsley and lemongrass pesto at Parking Pizza
Parking Pizza has just turned ten years old, faithful to its essence: dough with 100% natural ingredients, long fermentation, and artisanal cooking in a wood-fired oven. The project conceived by Berta Bernat and Marcos Armenteras was born in 2015 in old garages on Londres street and, since that first oven was lit, it has grown to a total of nine locations between Barcelona and Madrid.From their workshop, they propose a "Barcelona pizza" with tomatoes candied with aromatic herbs and parsley and lemongrass pesto, which they define as cosmopolitan and seductive. "We would put sweet, juicy and intensely aromatic Sicilian tomatoes, cooked at low temperature with a good variety of fresh herbs," they explain. Basil and oregano, thyme and rosemary are added, and a touch of fennel that provides the aniseed note. The finish is signed by a parsley and lemongrass pesto and extra virgin olive oil. To top it off, they would accompany it with "a small tapa of 00 anchovies of the best quality, bathed in oil and a touch of Maldon salt." A pizza that sounds like a trip and a city at the same time.
Pizzeria MAMA's Barcelona surf and turf
Michele Martino, owner and pizzaiolo of Pizzeria MAMA, proposes imagining the city's pizza through the character of the city itself. "For me, Barcelona's character is a fighter, generous and noble, but at the same time fun, with a very intelligent sense of humor," he explains, adding that the city and its people have made them feel like they are in their native Naples. "If I had to imagine the perfect pizza, it would have mozzarella, butifarra, calçots and squid, with a light bean sauce and dots of alioli. Sea and mountain. This is Barcelona."A proposal that fits with the spirit of the house, built from the imagination and family memories of Michele and Francesco Schiavone, the two owners, who since 2016 have been baking one of the most celebrated Neapolitan pizzas in the city, with products from the Campania region. Its distinctive feature is the dough: they work it with 100% Italian wheat flour, take care of every step to make it light and digestible, and let it ferment for a minimum of 36 hours. In addition, they also champion the portafoglio format, a convenient way to eat it on the street, folded and wrapped in paper, without the need for cutlery.
Calçots and romesco at CAN PIZZA
Not all pizzerias have to make an exercise of imagination. There are some that already have a proposal on their menu that could represent the city. This is the case of CAN PIZZA, a project born in 2014 in El Prat de Llobregat that has not stopped growing thanks to a philosophy based on creative combinations and a dough fermented for 72 hours. In addition, it maintains a social aspect and, as they themselves say, "contribute their grain of flour" through different collaborations.
"A Barcelona pizza has to speak of territory and season," they defend from the establishment, which has several locations in Barcelona. And that's why they give as an example a special edition that can be tasted right now in their restaurants -although only until February 22- and that champions the tradition of calçots. "It has mozzarella, scamorza, calçots, romesco sauce, toasted hazelnuts and pepper," they point out, and add: "It's a pizza that connects Catalan tradition with the contemporary language of pizza."
Butifarra, artichoke and Blau de Jutglar at Corso Iluzione
Although Corso Iluzione, in La Roca Village, is not strictly a pizzeria, the restaurant has an extensive menu and a dozen contemporary circular proposals ranging from the most classic to more daring combinations, with pairings like za'atar and tahini or honey and pistachios. They even dare to interpret landscapes like those of Mallorca or Calabria in pizza format. And precisely for this reason, we asked its co-founder, Max Zigart, how he imagines a city pizza."I see, without a doubt, a white base," he points out, as a way of letting the product speak for itself without noise. "On top I would add Cal Rovira sausage, El Prat artichoke jam, and Jutglar Blue cheese." The choice explains itself. The sausage provides a meaty and toasted note that connects with tradition; the artichoke, in jam format, introduces sweetness; and the blue cheese finishes with saltiness and depth. The result is a brave but balanced combination, with well-measured contrasts.
And this is where the ball is in your court: which of these pizzas would you order if you had the chance? Because perhaps, if you demand them enough, some of these ideas will stop being a theoretical exercise and will end up coming off paper to truly reach the oven.