By Florenda Corpuz
TOKYO – In a room filled with some of the region’s most celebrated pizza makers, the Philippines quietly but firmly held its ground.
Two Manila-based pizzerias earned spots in this year’s 50 Top Pizza Asia-Pacific list, signaling not just consistency but a growing confidence in bringing Filipino flavors to a global stage.
The awards ceremony, held March 9 at the Istituto Italiano di Cultura Tokyo, gathered top chefs and restaurateurs from across Asia and the Pacific. Among them were the teams behind Crosta and a mano, carrying not just their brands but the Philippine flag.
Crosta once again emerged as the country’s highest-ranked pizzeria, holding steady at No. 5. Known for its inventive approach, the restaurant has built a reputation for weaving Filipino ingredients into its pizzas without losing sight of tradition.
“For us, it’s not just about Crosta. It’s about carrying the Philippine flag,” co-owner Ingga Cabangon-Chua told the Filipino-Japanese Journal. “We hope it inspires other restaurants in the country to strive to be the best, because it is possible.”
But behind the recognition is a more constant pressure, one that exists beyond rankings.
“I think that’s a good gauge of whether what you’re doing is going in the right direction or not,” she said. “Honestly, the pressure we put on ourselves is there whether the awards are here or not.”
For executive chef Yuichi Ito, the competition is not external.
“At the end of the day, we compete within ourselves,” he said. “We try to keep pushing all the time, and that’s the real pressure.”
A few places down the list, a mano secured the No. 9 spot this year, slipping from No. 7 in 2025 but remaining firmly in the top tier of the region’s best.
Amado Forés (left) of a mano is seen at the 50 Top Pizza Asia-Pacific awards ceremony in Tokyo on March 9 after the restaurant placed No. 9. | Photo by Din Eugenio
For Amado Forés, a key figure behind the restaurant and son of the late chef Margarita Forés, the milestone is less about movement in rankings and more about representation.
“It’s so nice to have two restaurants representing the Philippines across Asia-Pacific in the best pizza category,” Forés told the Filipino-Japanese Journal.
What matters more, he said, is how Filipino identity is finding its way into global conversations, even in something as traditionally Italian as pizza.
“It’s nice that we incorporate Filipino ingredients into our pizzas,” he said. “It makes me happy that we’re part of the discussion on the best pizzas in the world.”
That conversation is only getting bigger. Both Crosta and a mano, along with the other pizzerias in the top 15, are now in contention for the 100 Best Pizzerias in the World, to be announced Sept. 15 in Naples.
For the chefs and restaurateurs behind them, the journey is far from over. But for now, it is a moment that feels distinctly Filipino.
(Article cover photo: Ingga Cabangon-Chua (left) and Yuichi Ito (right) of Crosta pose during the 50 Top Pizza Asia-Pacific awards ceremony in Tokyo on March 9, where the restaurant ranked No. 5. | Photo by Din Eugenio)
