He became a pizza world champion in Las Vegas. Now Philadelphians can finally taste the winning Roman-style pies

Davide Lubrano Lavadera has been living a double life, at least when it comes to pizza. Philadelphians know him well as the co-owner of Pizzata, the busy six-year-old pizzeria near Fitler Square, with a sibling in South Philly, best known for thin-crusted New York-style round pies made from sourdough.

On the competition stage in Las Vegas, however, Lubrano Lavadera specializes in the very different Roman al taglio style, a rectangular pan pie with crispy edges and high-hydration crusts that rise with a well-structured puff. The Naples-born pizzaiolo is so good that he won first place in the Roman pan division at the 2025 World Pizza Championship at the International Pizza Expo in Las Vegas out of a field of about 70 contestants. He followed that recently with a second place finish at the 2026 edition of the Pizza Expo in March, serving-up a luxurious shaved baby potato pizza with Meyer lemon ricotta, gilded with edible gold leaf and golden ossetra caviar.

“I’m not sure we could ever run it (on Pizzata’s menu) because the price would be wild,” he said.

Lubrano Lavadera is probably correct that there isn’t a steady market for a pizza that would likely cost more than $200. But how about any kind of Roman-style pie? I’ve long been miffed that Pizzata, whose co-owner Vincent Gallagher was also a Pizza Expo champ for his Neapolitan pies in 2019, has never sold the kind of pizzas these two partners are nationally known for.

Yeah, I know: What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas...But come on, they weren’t talking about pizza!

Good news arrived in February when Pizzata finally launched al taglio pizzas at its Fitler Square location after building out a dedicated dough facility off-site to slow-ferment the dough for both the Roman-style pies and rolls for Pizzata’s intriguing new line-up of cheesesteaks and chicken sandwiches. Their entry into the growing cadre of local pizzerias baking their own rolls for sandwiches is that are worth seeking. I highly recommend the ribeye cheesesteak with creamy cacio e pepe sauce. But to me, the introduction of the new pizza style options here is the biggest draw.

“Roman al taglio is what I’ve been most recognized for, and what I truly love, but it’s also one of the hardest styles to execute consistently at a high level,” he said. “Especially in a small high-volume kitchen like ours.”

I recently put one of new taglio pies on Pizzata’s standard menu to the test and loved it, savoring the texture of its crackly, pan-crisped sides, as well as a well-fermented crust that had depth of flavor and a springy umph to make the simple toppings of sausage, onion and a bright, naturally sweet Italian tomato sauce pop.

I’ve always enjoyed their round pies well enough. But these well-crafted taglio rectangles are the kind of offering that elevates Pizzata to a higher tier in Philly’s pizza conversation.

It is hardly the first example of al taglio locally. Chef Eli Kulp was among the first to offer them at the original High Street on Market. Alice Pizza serves their classic renditions cut and sold by weight (as did the sadly now-closed Rione). But Pizzata’s al taglio pies, now the only slice option at Fitler Square, have an extra depth of flavor and well-developed texture.

The slow ride of Pizzata’s taglio journey to this point is a testament to the partners’ commitment to taking their time to do things right. They still don’t have enough room to execute them regularly at the East Passyunk location, so taglio will remain only an occasional special for at least the next month.

But it also illustrates the sometimes stark divide between the worlds of food competitions and the grind of running a brick-and-mortar restaurant. Just as some of the best barbecue in the world only exists on the weekend competition circuit, many of the most precious pizzas on display Vegas will never land on your local pizzeria menus. That includes Pizzata’s winning entry last year, which included tweezer-placed mushrooms, prosciutto, stracciatella, and truffle caviar pearls.

Lubrano Lavadera and Gallagher have managed to be active in both fields and enjoy their distinct virtues of each while slowly figuring out a way to bridge them both.

“Competition versus restaurant life? They’re completely different,” says Lubrano Lavadera. “Competition pizza is pure expression. You’re chasing perfection, balance, details most people won’t even notice. Everything comes down to one moment. It’s quiet, you have to block out the chaos, people watching, talking… and you can’t make a single mistake cause you got one shot, one pizza."

The sheer effort that goes into training, prep and the logistics of getting your team to a competition halfway across the country from your home kitchen is akin to taking a rock band on tour. Gallagher, Lubrano Lavadera and his brother Ciro Lubrano Lavadera, who won the Expo’s Internatonal Italian Sandwich Challenge, shipped 44 pounds of flour ahead of their arrival. They then packed five large pieces of luggage including a counter top mixer, proofer box, 100 grams of their magic starter, and pretty much every tool they needed, from knives to cutting boards, tongs, and their 8-by-24-inch blue steel pans. Gallagher’s carry-on backpack stuffed with over four pounds of dark rye and Caputo 00 flour was suspicious enough it triggered a visit from the bomb squad at Philadelphia International Airport before they were cleared.

“I’m glad they do that,” says Gallagher, “but that delayed us about 40 minutes.”

Cooking pizzas in a busy restaurant that serves up to 200 pies a day, Lubrano Lavadera says, has different challenges.

“It’s chaos, volume, a symphony. You’re making sure every single person that walks in gets something real, something worth their time and money. And what wins in Vegas or Italy doesn’t always make sense on a Friday night in Philly. Cost, speed, expectations. You have to execute over and over, with consistency. You’re constantly putting yourself in someone else’s shoes and try to make as many people as possible happy.”

Indeed, Lubrano Lavadera made a replica of his winning pie this week at Pizzata’s Fitler Square location as a gift for friends visiting from Naples, as well as some lucky customers who happened by at the right time. It was exquisitely delicate, but also quite subtle, showing off the stretchy hole structure and spring of that dough as much, if not more, than the caviar and roasted rounds of shaved potato. That same crust topped with the bold brightness of naturally sweet tomato sauce and crispy cup-and-char pepperoni rounds is far more likely to please the masses.

Lubrano Lavadera values the challenge of making an everyday food like pizza special. But there’s an undeniable thrill in the moment of competition, “that forces me to grow...You get humbled, inspired, you learn fast.”

Most importantly, he values the camaraderie and community of participating in pizza competitions. In fact, that’s where he and Gallagher first met, on the competition stage at the 2019 Pizza & Pasta Expo in Atlantic City. They admired each other’s work, their dough-mance began, and Pizzata was born one year later.

Who knows what new friends Lubrano Lavadera will meet when he flies to Naples in June for Pizzaiolo World Cup, and then on to Rome and Sweden for more competitions in September. Some more trophies would be nice. Some tasty new additions to Pizzata’s menus back Philly would be even better.