It's been a long, long journey. We've gone from the modest to the exceptional, the tasteless to the vivid, the bland descriptive to the excessively poetic. Here goes, my top ten ranked pizza in Toronto.
#10 - King Slice (Bloor) - A--
1598 Bloor Street West
I have some good friends in the Keele/High Park area and multiple visits I've planned an extra fifteen minutes just for King Slice. A few years ago I was taking BP (that's batting practice for you non-baseball folks) at MacGregor Park and afterwards I talked my buddies into King Slice instead of Domino's. Because that's what friends are for.
King is simple in how it provides basic elements to fantastic effect. If you call yourself 'King' Slice you better bring the size and they sure do. Way back I gave Scaddabush trouble for, among many other problems, offering a tiny sized pizza at a seriously inflated price. A slice from King is larger than that entire pizza from Scaddabush (and infinitely tastier, duh).
The pie itself features a herby sauce, heavy mozzarella presence shaking hands with said sauce while the dough foundation is nicely oily and crisp. That crust is a gem, like soft garlic bread (you're doing it wrong if you don't get the garlic oil), with just enough crunch on the outside to lock juicy garlicy heaven on the inside.
Overall, it's a classically huge slice (or hugely classical?) done exceptionally. Their Arrabiata slice (pictured above) is a top Toronto slice offering.
#9 - Buca (King West) - A-
604 King Street West
This entire time I debated even trying Buca. Maybe because of the expense (the priciest pizza on this list and I ordered the cheap one) and an inaccessibility to the common pizza goer. So this is a hard one for me to review.
The first time I ever went to Buca was for a trial shift (another work story!) way back in 2013. I didn't get the job and I'm fairly glad about that. It was really far from my house and deep down I was done being a busboy in super busy, fancy restaurants anyway. Returning a month ago, for this article, was an odd experience: like having a dream about a place and then years later you're actually there, except the details are different. The lighting is darker, the entrance is somewhere else, yet there's enough familiar memory that you recall the moment you were there before.
Anyhow, back to pizza and Buca definitely has that. Thing is, yeah it's really expensive. Also yeah, flavour-wise it's somewhat inaccessible. Even after this pizza madness I don't consider myself a "foodie" (maybe a "pizza-ee" or something). As such this menu is intimidating, the kind of place where if you took a first date you'd be Googling things when she's not looking just to seem like you know what you're talking about.
I kept things simple, going for the Salami Di Buca pizza with mushrooms, house sausage, smoked mozza and savoury. The taste is very intense despite that seeming simplicity, with the powerful oily mushrooms acting as a powerful double act with the strong smokiness of the cheese. The sausage is scattered about here and there but is delicious when it appears, adding an occasional juiciness as an additional layer. Robust tomato sauce is in play and they don't short you on it (they'd better not), and the crust is likewise thin and excellently seasoned. There's more of an exquisite quality to the taste than a delicious one, like a power dinner on the company card to impress a client.
It tastes really good, though it takes time to reveal itself as you go. I probably won't go back as it's a bit too rich for me (both price and flavour) thus this tricky review: it's fantastic but I didn't really like it as much as this ranking suggests. The high quality here cannot be denied, however.
#8 - Blondie's Pizza - A-
1555 Dundas Street East
Blondie's, at least from the time of this photo, wins the award for best box. As a child of the 80s/early 90s I love the delightful kitsch and retroness on display here.
A venture of the Food Dudes catering company (another place I worked at once for about five minutes), Blondie's is a sleek little east end pizza shack surrounded by... nothing. Just homes. Also it's a shack all right: there isn't space inside for even a counter. There are some picnic tables outside, however, and a giant park across the street making them a friendly weather destination perhaps.
Whether the weather is friendly or not, what really matters is the pizza. Well between my chief pizza associate's choice and my own I have to admit, hers was the better pie. A creamy white pizza covered in mozzarella, ricotta and pecorino, accompanied by thin crispy salami and thinner caramelized onions, this was that right balance of intense cheesiness, salty meatiness and sweetness from the onions. Remember, onions and I are not friends but for these ones I negotiated a prosperous truce.
My pizza, meanwhile, was more traditional: tomato sauce with mini chorizo meatballs, dollops of juicy chili and smokey provolone. Not as interesting but damn tasty regardless, with the spice factor being very on point (yet with nice sweetness to make it more complete) and the meatballs being quite firm on the outside but juicy within. Combine that with a lightly buttered crust and I was pleased with my choice. I play softball at that nearby park and I suspect I'll be hitting Blondie's after those games more than once this upcoming summer.
#7 - Pizzeria Libretto (King) - A
545 King Street West
There is no pizza I've had in my life more than this one. Not Pizza Pizza, not Nova, not even 2-4-1 as a kid. It's this one.
I worked at the original Ossington location for about a year and a half, see. There we would get a daily communal staff meal, either before the shift in the morning or after we'd stopped taking new tables at nighttime. The majority of these staff meals would be some pizzas (the easiest and quickest thing for the kitchen to make us) and I was consistently the only one never disappointed when that happened. I'd even take leftovers home if they were interesting enough creations.
It gets better. When I worked I'd usually be helping expedite the pass (the middle point where food comes from the kitchen to server, a liaison between FOH and BOH). I would slice the pies, add a certain oil or salt if required and then deliver it to the table. Well, kitchens make mistakes, especially under the pressure of a busy restaurant known for having lineups on Monday nights, so the occasional pizza would be lightly burnt, have a tiny hole or just be the wrong order. Many of my managers were insistent that I throw these out immediately, primarily because I think they didn't want the servers and other FOH staff chowing down in the back during the middle of a rush. Understandable, sure, but we weren't always chaotically busy every hour of every night. Yet they really pressed it upon me so I threw out a lot of them.... into my secret pizza box hidden behind some plates (heh heh heh). Some nights I'd have three or four stacked atop each other in that one box. Sneaky and greedy, I admit (though I'd try keeping a few around for fellow staff on days those managers weren't breathing down my neck). I've worked in a lot of restaurants now and I just hate throwing out mistake food. It's such a complete waste and at least taking it home, sharing it with friends or utilizing it as a midnight snack is indisputably better than that. People don't fully realize how much food restaurants waste until you work in one and it's a damn shame.
Eventually I left Libretto and hadn't been back until this past November, when this project began. It's difficult to be objective about a place you know so well (and the menu was basically the same!) but this had been six years. A long enough time to allow tastes to change and other delicious meals to come and pass. The question of whether it was as good as I remembered dominated my thoughts as I at last returned. To so fully approach the question I went for one of my personal favs from my past: the Nduja pizza.
It has a lot of things you've probably noticed from this list that I like: soft spicy sausage, garlic, creamy cheese with a mozza/stracciatella combo. After all those years though... did it measure up? Well spoiler... they're this high on the list, the answer is obviously yes. It's thin, soft, the tastes melt together in your mouth on every bite; the tomato sauce has that sweet spot sweetness and the cheese squeaks with buttery texture. It's great. Still great.
As time has passed, Libretto has become more of an established standard than a "must go" destination. When I worked there it was just the one location (Danforth opened up a month before I left). There are four now, as well as occasional pop-ups in food halls/farmer's markets and alike. Their brand is such a presence that perhaps they aren't as exciting to try now as they were back in those earlier days. Thankfully, their product is still excellent and very deserving of all praise.
One last Libretto story for the road. Somebody once ordered their own mad creation with six(!) toppings and we had to make it. I respect the ambition but with a thin, wood fried crust that monstrosity was a veggie cheese soup, not anything resembling a pizza. Surprise, I don't think that person was pleased with the result. This ain't Pizzaville, this is the big leagues rook.
#6 - Pizzeria Oro Di Napoli - A
2312 Lakeshore Boulevard West
I was so close to giving a tie for 6th here with Oro and Libretto. They're so similar in texture, taste, sauce and just overall consistency. Libretto is more available (if you're looking downtown) while Oro has that destination charm thanks to their solitary location in delightfully funky Mimico.
I'm giving Oro the edge though. This pizza I had was just so incredibly vivid in flavour: Nduja sausage again but a more earthy spice than Libretto's greasy "pow"; roasted peppers to add some much needed sweetness and just a faint dash of grano padano for an edge of sharpness. Consider this: I made two Mimico trips and number two was just for Cellar Door. Oro is the fifth Mimico place to make the list, so yeah first trip... four different places, one day, lots of rain... Even a mad pizza man would be worn after eating three other pizzas in the same day. Oro blew that away just by being so impressively excellent. If only they were closer. Their flavours are explosive and worth an hour on the streetcar.
#5 - Pizzeria Via Mercanti (Kensington) - A
188 Augusta Avenue
Mercanti is the poofier cousin of the last two and thicker crust-wise, soft and oilier while really keeping things simpler, though loading the toppings on heavier. My pizza here was another sausage/rapini combo (juicy and bitter) with the rapini getting a nice drizzle of olive oil to soften and enhance that sharp taste. The sausage meanwhile was huge and crumbly, with the right mix of pepper and saltiness to cut through the more intense rapini, while the cheese was the foundation grounding it all together. A great example of simplicity aiming high: executing basic elements at a high, high level to be as enjoyable or more so than any wild combination of toppings.
Speaking of that, my chief associate's pizza (in the corner of the photo) is really what nudges Mercanti into the top 5. A basic Margherita with the cheese and sauce all melty and gooey together, but the crust stuffed with ricotta cheese and spicy soppressata. It's one of those things that sound amazing when you're really hungry but then you go to Pizza Hut or Little Caesar's because it's close to your house, ending in the inevitable self-loathing those pizzas consistently provide.
Well here's how you do it right: high quality salami, a more interesting cheese than generic mozzarella and that pillowy crust solid enough to hold the party inside without oozing everywhere. Baby, does it work, like a mini calzone waiting for you at the end of each slice.
#4 - Pizza e Pazzi - A
1182 St. Clair Avenue West
Roughly translated as "pizza and the crazies", this name sure spoke to a particular writer who'd just spent four months trying seventy-five different pizzas.
Heading to Pazzi was a tight affair: I had about an hour before work and west St. Clair ain't close. Fortunately the St. Clair streetcar was surprisingly kind to this traveler and I was capable of eating this pizza without rushing. Which was great because holy moly this was an insanely delicious pie. Their daily special and pricey (22 dollars) yet fairly simple: a duck pizza with some gorgonzolla atop a tomato sauce base and bufala mozzarella. God damn. The duck was salty and tender, not chewy or dry at any moment (even reheated), a perfect match for the sharp blue cheese melted into the mozzarella. The sauce was very light (a shy base not disrupting the strong other flavours) while the crust was just magically doughy and charred, a perfect firmness to hold the juicy duck and heavy gooey cheese all together. One of the tastiest, most interesting pizzas I've ever had.
The tricky thing now is that, while I'll definitely return sometime that pizza likely won't be available. Will whatever else I get be as good? That is a tower of a task. Stay tuned for the updated pizza rankings in... 2022 maybe? Ha.
#3 - Maker Pizza (Cameron Street) - A
59 Cameron Street
Entering the realm of brilliant creativity again, Maker is a very popular downtown spot tucked away on a side street behind Queen and Spadina. Walking there is a curious time: pass the Cameron House (a great little live music spot), past some newish condos on your left and rundown townhouses on your right. The projects meet the condo developers: classic Toronto standoff.
The inside has a sleek, small cafeteria feel to it with smooth long tables and stools. A smell of dough and fried onions is heavy in the air. On first visit my chief associate and I went for similar styles: white pizzas where hers had pork shoulder sugo (fall apart in your mouth flavour) with a mix of mozzarella, mascarpone and grano padano cheese with basil and garlic to finish the deal. I went cheesy myself, going mozza, goat cheese, parmasean and honey while taking a big chance that their caramelized onions were soft and sweet instead of firm and chunky. I was not disappointed, as this sweet creamy pie was extremely satisfying.
To refresh my memory, I went to Maker recently with the intention of building my own pizza this time. I was between a double shift and spent much of that first half jotting down potential combinations. At last, arriving during my break, I went for a meatball pizza with ricotta cheese, drizzled garlic oil and their 'everything bagel' crust. Fresh out of the oven it came and yikes, it was such a gooey and oily ocean I wasn't sure I could even eat it. Not that it didn't look delicious, just that first few minutes I thought everything would slide off the dough if I picked up a slice. The meatballs were floating!
Once it cooled and the foundation settled, I went in. The wait was worth it: great cheese action with the mozzarella and ricotta running an effective buttery/creamy tag team, with the sauce in all the right places despite a lacking presence. Instead of garlic oil they put honey on by mistake, which gave the pie a runny, sticky texture, but the sweetness of the honey worked with the soft cheeses. Then the 'everything' crust: firm bagel bread but with plenty of give, with poppy seeds and garlic bits caked on adding great crunchiness to the whole deal. Their regular crust is indeed quite good, but the 'everything' crust just takes it another few levels.
Another point: how deceptively filling these pizzas are! You could split a small with a friend and be full, seriously. Maker is comfortably one of the best and (with their topping options/additions) most creative pizza options in the city.
#2 - Pizzeria Defina (Roncesvalles) - A
321 Roncesvalles Avenue
Folks, this is the hardest call of the entire list. I debated it until... I started writing this sentence. Defina's pizza is such a worthy choice for number one. It's wood-fired so not exactly in unique company up here, but it combines all those best previous best aspects. It has Libretto's thinness, Mercanti's heavy load of toppings, Pazzi's decadent soft richness and Oro Di Napoli's collage of flavours. Sheer brilliance.
I've been there twice and ordered the same pizza both times. It's my favourite pizza combo though: wild boar sausage with thin sauteed oily mushrooms and generous chunks of roasted garlic confit cloves. This wild boar isn't overly salty, instead taking on a soft meatball-like texture dissolving in a burst of mouth flavour in your mouth. The garlic and mushrooms add some grounding earthiness to this and are each individually delicious: the mushrooms an occasional delightful sidekick to the sausage and the garlic... well it's roasted garlic done right so what else can be said? To be extra fair I tried my damn good friend's pizza (a vegetarian option with kale, mushrooms, lemon and truffle oil) and it was equally delicious: that same sensation of many tastes combining for a party in your mouth and everyone's invited.
Everything here just has that ideal pizza texture: soft cheese and dough yet with enough char to provide that desired contrast, while the toppings are simply divine. It's number one in my heart, but number one is really...
#1 - Descendant Pizza - A+
1168 Queen Street East
Here it is, the #1 in the Toronto pizza game. An easy choice, lots of other food folks would probably put them at the top. I like Defina so damn much, but a recent visit and re-trying of Descendant sealed it. These two (and the whole top 7) are so close but this is the best.
What stands is their uniqueness. Descendant is probably the only place in Toronto that does a legit Detroit style pie (get lost Little Caesar's). It's a rectangular, pan cooked pizza that comes out with similar thickness to Chicago style deep dish, substituting copious amount of sauce with dough and cheese, then drizzling sauce (tomato or mostly otherwise) atop the cheese and toppings so it soaks in as it cooks.
The result is sublime. Their truffle mushroom pizza is a rich, creamy, cheesey unspeakably rich delight with bits of salty bacon everywhere. Their Electric Avenue jerk chicken pizza brilliantly walks that line of spice (smokey powerful hot sauce on side) with sweetness (red peppers, pineapple and lime cream sauce) and tenderly grilled chicken. A chicken Hawaiian pizza that works. Every topping is on point to perfection.
"No Name" pizza is more traditional: tomato sauce (sweet and excellent) atop pepperoni, cheese (mozzarella plus creamy ricotta) to give a texture of soft and crispy every bite. The outer crust has a kind of fried cheese taste/crunch thing going on, just adding to the unique flavour and texture happening here.
If you've never been... stop reading this article right now (it's almost over anyway!), gather up some friends and try Descendant immediately. It's truly a special gift to us Toronto pizza peoples.
I hope you enjoyed this in-depth(ish) look at the many pizza options in this big city of ours. Some folks suggest I do burgers or tacos next, all good ideas. Pizza is my big one though: I can comment on other food I like, but pizza is what I love.
I'll do another thing though, with help from friends much better than I at these delicious meals. For now... next time you're hungry, wherever you are and unsure what to eat... let this list influence your decision. Pizza... it's really the best.
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