DUKE Street's Il Forno has won the country’s best pizza award after defeating hundreds of Italian restaurants across England, including
The Liverpool restaurant, with it's gaping wood fired oven, took the crown in the 'Best Pizza' category in the 2015 English Italian Awards.
Campbell Square favourite Amalia was beaten into second place, with teams from both victorious camps declaring "Liverpool leads the way for a pizza revolution".
Read: The ten best pizzas in Liverpool
The honours were handed down by celebrity chef Aldo Zilli at a gala event in Manchester's Palace Hotel.
The team at AmaliaA panel of chefs had judged several categories in the industry awards, described as England’s biggest celebration of Italian cuisine.
The panel praised Il Forno's authentic pizza-making methods (the restaurant has one of the largest wood fire ovens in the North West), its specialty ingredients sourced from Italy and the all-round flavour of its more than 30 pizza varieties.
Salvatore Pagano, manager of Il Forno, said: “We are absolutely humbled to receive this wonderful recognition. It truly demonstrates the passion everyone at Il Forno – from our hard-working pizza chefs to our wonderful staff serving it to the people of Liverpool every day – has for great Italian cuisine."
Manzo Grill House, Il Forno's sister restaurant in Liverpool One, was a finalist in the Best Pasta category.
The winning Il Forno gang
