In Pizza We Crust: Legend Beer Delights the Late-Night Gongti Crowd With Pizza and Beer

Patrick Flanary | Oct 11, 2018 2:30 pm | Add a comment | 2051 reads

Ahead of the 2018 Beijing Pizza Festival this weekend, Oct 13-14, 11am-8pm, In Pizza We Crust will detail several of the vendors who will attend this year's event and what makes their pies special in the capital.

Tucked away from the Workers' Stadium hubbub sits something of a legendary Gongti fixture.

For almost three years, Legend Beer has offered expat foodies a top-notch Western smorgasbord: piping-hot prawn fajitas, succulent cheeseburgers, handmade German sausages, and elaborate seafood platters fit for a party of five. Sample a bit of each, and you’ve barely begun your journey into this delightful menu – to say nothing of the robust half-dozen craft beers brewed behind the bar.

But let’s cut right to the pizza, one of the most inventive you’ll taste in Beijing. Loaded with smoked salmon, scallops, shrimp, and sauteed calamari, Legend’s seafood pizza (RMB 168) is worth the investment. A rich tomato sauce balances the semi-salty burst of the sea, and the crust is doughy without tasting thick or mealy. The seafood pie is impossible to polish off yourself (I tried), so go halfsies or split it three ways. Too fishy for you? Try a more economically priced meat or veggie option.

“We have everything,” says manager Adam Huang, who roams the floor interacting with customers while clad in a suit and tie. “Pizza here normally is what foreigners buy, but the Chinese are now coming with their kids to eat pizza.”

Legend’s clientele is divided equally among locals and expats, and caters to Sanlitun’s embassy workers and young professionals. An American designed the decor, giving Legend a rustic, beer-hall vibe crossed with a secretive, speakeasy soul (the music is of the Justin Bieber and J Balvin variety). The outside terrace makes for supreme sports viewing, while the pool table by the bar grants easy access to any one of Legend’s 200 craft cocktails until 4am.

Beer flights arrive on a revolving, six-snifter carousel, featuring the house stout (not overly heavy), lager, wheat, and two (not overly hoppy) IPAs. If you’re experiencing brewery fatigue, Legend makes for a welcome spot to pair a homebrew with an excellent pizza.

Click here for all of 2018 Beijing Pizza Fest coverage.

Tickets are now on sale and early bird ticket buyers will receive a complimentary vintage bandana, while group ticket buyers (three tickets and up) will receive a free picnic blanket. Tickets are RMB 20 for early birds or RMB 30 on the door and can be purchased by scanning the QR below via WeChat: