It was no surprise that Nicli Antica Pizzeria in Gastown became the best pizzeria in Vancouver on the day it opened in February, 2011. We were starved for real deal Neapolitan pizza back then, which is hard to imagine these days. Indeed, the “proper pizza” market has become considerably more crowded in the five years since these construction process shots were taken, with a few more certified Vera Pizza Napoletana establishments having joined the fray (eg. Via Tevera, Cotto), not to mention a good many other excellent joints with ovens fired by gas (eg. Pizzeria Farina, Bufala). In our opinion, Nicli is still at or around the top of the heap, which is nice to see through the prism of the beginnings evidenced in these photos…

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