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Earlier this year, a beloved family-run pizzeria in Sydney’s Inner West was ranked No. 3 in the Asia-Pacific at the 50 Top Pizza Asia-Pacific awards, making it the highest-ranked pizzeria in Australia. Now, Darling Street darling Gigi’s has scored another major accolade, ranking No. 16 in the world at the 50 Top Pizza World 2026 awards. And that’s not the only reason the team has been celebrating – Gigi’s founder and pizzaiolo Daniel Semrani was also crowned Pizza Maker of the Year 2026 – World at the ceremony in Naples.
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If you’ve dined at Gigi’s and watched Semrani in action, you’ll understand the magic. For more than 15 years, the Sydney-based pizzaiolo (yep, the actual name for top-tier pizza chefs) has been developing his own style of pizza at Gigi’s, experimenting with fermentation, hydration and baking. He calls the resulting style ‘Crunchy Contemporary Neapolitan’, which takes the foundations of Neapolitan pizza and gives them a modern spin, with a crisp exterior and light, sort-of melting centre.
Gigi’s describes its approach as ‘Freedom of Expression’, giving Semrani and his team plenty of room to experiment with techniques and flavours while staying rooted in the traditions of Italian pizza. For Semrani, being recognised in Naples is particularly significant.
“To come to Naples, the home of pizza, and have Gigi’s ranked No. 16 in the world, and then be recognised as Pizza Maker of the Year on the world stage, is something I’ll never forget,” he said.
“We’ve shown that Australia can respect where pizza comes from while still creating something completely our own.”
Gigi’s was one of only two Australian pizzerias to crack the top 50, with Melbourne’s Shop225 landing in 42nd place.
You can check out the full 50 Top Pizza guide here.
The world’s 20 best pizzerias in 2026:
- Napoli on the Road, London, England
- Una Pizza Napoletana, New York, USA
- Confine, Milan, Italy
- I Masanielli, Caserta, Italy
- Seu Pizza Illuminati, Rome, Italy
- Pizzeria Sei, Los Angeles, USA
- Tony's Pizza Napoletana, San Francisco, USA
- Leggera Pizza Napoletana, São Paulo, Brazil
- RistoPizza by Napoli sta ca, Tokyo, Japan
- Baldoria, Madrid, Spain
- Allería, Providencia, Chile
- Palazzo Petrucci Pizzeria, Naples, Italy
- I Tigli, San Bonifacio, Italy
- 50 Kalò, Naples, Italy
- Avenida Calò, Rome, Italy
- Gigi’s, Sydney, Australia
- Pizzardi Artigianale, Bogotá, Colombia
- Fiata, Hong Kong, China
- QT Pizza Bar, São Paulo, Brazil
- Dry Milano, Milan, Italy