Welcome to April’s FBC Restaurant Roundup! This month we’re talking about the favourite pizza picks of our crew of Canadian restaurant bloggers. Pizza is one of those classics that can trigger a lot of heated "discussions". Deep dish? Thin crust? Classic tomato and cheese or inventive chicken tikka? Eat it with your hands or a knife and fork? (I lived in the UK for a while - everyone eats it with a fork!).
No matter what your preference, we're pretty sure these picks for Canada's favourite pizza parlors are gonna be worth trying out!
Our Favourite Choices for Canadian Pizza Restaurants
Let's start out on the East Coast this month...
Halifax's Favourite Pizza Restaurant
Kathy Jollimore at Eat Halifax went with Morris East as her favourite pizza pick in Halifax
Yes, I said it. I'm declaring the best pizza in the city. Don't get be wrong, there's a load of pizza options in the HRM and certain occasions call for certain pizza pies. But the one pie that will always satisfy any craving is undoubtedly Morris East's wood fired pizza. Sure there's other delicious wood fired pizza in the city but Morris East's creative use of local ingredients will always put them in my number one spot. Add to that awesome atmosphere, inventive cocktails, and a killer staff and you have one winning combo.
Montreal's Favourite Pizza Restaurants
We're moving on to Montreal with two picks. First up is Jason at Shut Up And Eat and his choice of Il Piato Pieno for his favourite pizza place.
There is something to be said about the crust. I normally like my pizza crust thick and chewy, glorious and full of gluten. That’s not what you get here; thin and crispy, rustic and traditional. The pizza making process is actually on display right when you walk through the door. Stationed at a stone-ined fire-heated pizza oven, the pizza chef slinging flour and tossing toppings performs a choreographed mating dance of his people that would turn on the likes of any pizza pervert like me.
Read Jason's full review of Il Piato Pieno!
Next up we have one of two new members of the Restaurant Roundup Crew this month - The Montreal Food Divas! The Divas wanted you all to know about Bevo Bar & Pizzeria as their choice for a night out with pizza.
Bevo Bar & Pizzeria (@BevoPizza) encompasses wonderful food and style, à la Divas. Where else can you get a pizza with black truffle shavings, wild mushrooms, pancetta, arugula and a very generous amount of burrata? Bevo has it all; a wood burning oven, a great atmosphere and exceptional service. It’s a guaranteed great night out!
Check out the Diva's full review on Bevo Pizzeria.
Toronto's Favourite Pizza Restaurant
Toronto's Stella at Food Junkie Chronicles went with this delicious looking choice at Pizzeria Libretto.
Offering Real Neapolitan Pizza certified by the VPN, Pizzeria Libretto is my favourite pizza joint. Thanks to their custom made, 900-degree wood fired oven, Libretto's pies all have a deliciously charred, blistered crust. Its classic Margherita D.O.P with bufala mozzarella, tomatoes, basil and grana padano is possibly the best Margherita pizza in the city. With a three course, $15 prix fixe lunch available Monday through Friday, Libretto serves up top-notch quality pizza coupled with amazing value.
Be sure to read Stella's full review of Pizzeria Libretto.
Ottawa's Favourite Pizza Restaurant
The gang at FoodiePrints doesn't disappoint with their pick of House of Georgie's in Ottawa.
In the nation's capital, there are few options for late night munchies, especially after an evening of "imbibery." Anyone who schooled at the downtown campus of the University of Ottawa, however, likely has hazy but fond memories of House of Georgie's (aka: Sorento's) "P&G," pizza and gravy. The combination, which features aspects of thicker-crusted North American-style pizza and Quebecois poutine, came about when a former Montrealer suggested adding gravy to his regular order. Now, pizza and gravy is an institution.
The velvety gravy is gently spiced, just thick enough to enrobe a slice. Like the pizza, which is made with Five Roses flours and American brick cheese, the gravy is made from scratch, fresh everyday. Slices of pizza vary from $3 for pepperoni to $3.50 for combination. They can be gravy-fied for an extra 50 cents. People ordering entire pizzas for deliver can also add a container of gravy.
Unorthodox? Yes. Healthy? No. Try it and gravy-less pizza start to seem naked. Many locals never look back.
You can see the full FoodiePrints review of House of Georgie.
Winnipeg's Favourite Pizza Restaurant
Kathryne at Food Musings is so in love with Pizza 21st Century in Winnipeg that she sums it up in four words!
Love-that is all.
Kathryne's full review of Pizza 21st Century
Calgary's Favourite Pizza Restaurants
Let's head on west to Calgary to check out Stephanie at Global Dish. She loves pizza so much she could only narrow it down to three choices (my kinda girl!).
It’s hard to narrow down the best pizza place in Calgary; it’s a food the city does well, and there’s a pizza joint with something for everyone. I’ve got three favourites: Pulcinella, Without Papers, and Una Pizza + Wine. You just can’t go wrong with any of them.
Vancouver's Favourite Pizza Restaurants
We have two stops in Vancouver - first up is Sean at Sean's Adventures in Flavourtown and in true Eat St. reporter style, he chose a food truck - PazzaRella Auto Pizzeria Napoletana
Vancouver is blessed with a great pizza scene, you can get everything from 2am pizza by the slice to authentic Neapolitan pizza and everything in between. My choice for the best pizza in town is a food truck that was the 1st in Canada to have a self contained wood fired pizza oven in it, the PazzaRella Auto Pizzeria Napoletana truck is serving it up right. With classics like the Margherita to Prosciutto and Arugula every pizza is made to order and has no more than 4 toppings and cost under $10 each. You can find them this summer at Hastings and Cambie Street at Victory Square very close to historic Gastown
Dee from Gastrofork came back with her favourite pick in Vancouver - Via Tevere Pizzeria Napoletana (Vancouver wins the prize for the longest pizza parlor names!)
Via Tevere Pizzeria Napoletana (@viateverepizza) is my pick for best pizza joint in the city - if you're a fan of Neapolitan style pizza, you must eat here! My favourites are the Salsiccia e Rapini and the Quattro Formaggi. With an hour wait no matter what time of the evening you show up and a formidable amount of people willing to wait this long, you know that it has to be good.
You'll want to read Dee's full review of Via Tevere Pizzeria Napoletana.
Vancouver Island's Favourite Pizza Restaurant
Usually Vancouver is our westernmost stop on Restaurant Roundup but this month we're thrilled to be adding a new stop on the tour - BC's scenic Vancouver Island with Gwen from Devour & Conquer. She's going to cover the whole island for us! Her first choice is Parksville's Lefty's Pizza Fresh.
Lefty's Pizza Fresh understands their ingredients and how to combine them, creating signature pies with fresh-made sauces and artisan crusts. With a convenient downtown Parksville location, walking distance from a sunset picnic at the famous Parksville Beach, Lefty’s Pizza Fresh is a great choice for an authentic Vancouver Island pie that delivers on flavour and quality
Don't agree with our choices? Well... tell us yours in the comments! We'd love to hear them!
Big thanks to our entire Restaurant Roundup Crew for sharing their favourite pizza spots. They’ll all be back next month just in time for Mother's Day with their top choices for brunch spots across Canada! Check it out if you're looking for a great place to treat Mom!
Don’t see your city listed here? Do you review restaurants on your blog and are you and FBC Member? Then let us know! We’re still looking for folks in Victoria, Kelowna, Edmonton, Saskatoon, Regina, Fredericton, St. John’s and Charlottetown. You can reach out to us through our Contact page.
***all images are courtesy of our Restaurant Roundup Crew.
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Magpie in Montreal is great, and they have wonderful oysters! Double win!
…and because the country’s east coast does doesn’t actually start at Halifax…a favorite (and accredited) Neapolitan style wood fired pizza in St. John’s, Newfoundland is Piatto Pizzeria + Enoteca. Order the Stephanie as at least one of your selections to share and save room for the lemon tart.
Barry we would LOVE a Newfoundland Restaurant Roundup crewmember but nobody has ever come forward when we’ve done call outs. If you’re interested in helping us out shoot me an email at melissa@foodbloggersofcanada.com!
Hi Melissa,
I must have missed those because I certainly would have contributed. I’m in the final editing and design stages with Breakwater Books for my first cookbook this fall, so it isn’t surprising, there’s not enough hours in the day lately. I’ll drop you an email.
Barry.
[…] these, our first being Canada’s Favourite Pizza joint, posted on April 9, 2013, to see it click HERE. Different bloggers from major Canadian cities proclaimed their love for different pizza joints, […]