There’s a new spot for Neapolitan pizza in Shanghai you need to know about, and it’s called Uncle Beam & His Daughter’s Huge Pizza. It’s totally a mouthful, something that sounds like it got lost in translation, but it’s actually the origin story built into the name.
About Uncle Beam’s Pizza
I’d heard about the original Minhang shop for a while, which opened in February 2024 with rave reviews boasting ‘the best Neapolitan pizzeria’ in the suburbs of Shanghai.
Shanghainese founder Uncle Beam started making pizzas for his daughter, deciding upon fermented doughs as a healthier option and to alleviate bloating. In his own words: “if you wouldn’t serve this pizza to your kids, don’t serve it to anyone else.” (Quoted from an interview with Minhang’s district media center 闵行区融媒体中心.)
I’ll admit, I wasn’t motivated enough to make the trek. So when Uncle Beam opened its first downtown location in Huangpu, I got my chance. Color me impressed — I see what the fuss was about.
The Pizzas
The pizzas are indeed made with hand-formed fermented doughs, cooked in a proper pizza oven. Ingredients are good quality, and imported where it matters — the flour and cheese.
What made an impression was the dedication to quality control, which was borderline OCD. I had to stop mid-bite to watch. Each pizza is inspected before it leaves the kitchen: leopard spots that look overly charred get buzzed off with a small electric sander, and the top crust brushed clean of any excess flour or oven dust.
Uncle Beam does 10-inch pizzas, similar to the personal-pan sizes you’d find in Europe. The crust is airy and light, not doughy, not over-puffed, and with a good crunch. It also holds up properly, and isn’t floppy. A solid base.
The Margherita is just ¥55, six slices, noticeably cheaper than most spots in Shanghai (though also smaller). The tomatoes were actually sweet, and it had a good cheese-to-sauce ratio.
Uncle Beam’s most well-known pizza is the Black Truffle and Porcini Mushrooms (¥88), both mushrooms of Yunnan origin, fragrant and fresh, topped with parma ham and mozzarella. This is the one I’d order regularly.
Another one was the Signature Beef Napoli (¥78) with beef, tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese, onions, and mushrooms. The most expensive pizza is one with black truffle and a whole ball of burrata (¥128).
Locations
The Huangpu location is on a quiet, residential stretch of Jumen Lu. This shop is more for a casual meal or grab-and-go, mostly servicing deliveries. The Minhang original has a bigger space and menu, more suited toward a proper sit-down meal.
Whether you’re in Minhang or Huangpu, Uncle Beam’s is a shoo-in for good pizza!
Uncle Beam & His Daughter’s Huge Pizza
View the Huangpu listing here.
