It occurs to me, having reviewed 105+ Toronto pizza places since 2018... I should share my actual rankings of said places. So yeah! Here it is... with some quick revisionist notes where necessary. Keep in mind this is a ranking I made in early 2020, so plenty of excellent pies that have been birthed here in T.O since then will sadly miss representation... although I will comment on a few at the end.
(For further detail, you of course can read my extended thoughts on each of these places from 2018 here: 75-56, 55-41, 40-21, 20-11, 10-1... and a 2020 addition or two).
Also... for context's sake: anything top 50 is quite good. Anything top 30 is first date worthy... top 5 is simply a spiritual experience. Here's what I got:
105. Regina Pizza and Trattoria
782 College Street
Super rubbery and made my stomach turn. Also expensive. Blech into the trash.
104. Scaddabush Italian Kitchen
200 Front Street
Like a 20 dollar frozen pizza, painfully salty.
103. Cora Pizza
656-A Spadina Avenue
102. The Fill Station
2282 Queen Street East
Closed down in 2021, potentially moving to a new location and all the best to them.
101. Bocconcini
96 Gerrard Street East
100. Queen City Pizza
1056 Queen Street East
Queen City closed and became Samaira's Kitchen, which I have not tried. The prices are likewise unwelcoming.
99. Pizza Gigi
189 Harbord Street
98. Calabrese Pizza
3019 Lakeshore Blvd West
97. Bravo Pizza
901 Millwood Road
96. Jessy's Pizza Toronto
2200 Dundas West Street
95. Papa Ceo
654 Spadina Avenue
94. Birky's Bar
1592 Queen Street West
Closed at some point after my 2019 review. Still unique in that this pie cost me one dollar(!) because I bought a pint of Amsterdam Big Wheel. Super sourdough, but legit okay. The best single dollar pizza of all time.
93. Rocco's Pizza and Pasta
972 The Queensway
92. Buddha Pie Pizzeria
514 Annette Street
91. Casa Di Giorgio
1646 Queen Street East
Not exceptional, but their cheap walk-in specials are a low key Beaches gem
90. Romi's Pizzeria
3062 Bloor Street West
89. Classico Louie's Pizzeria
2547 Yonge Street
88. Regino's Pizza Danforth
3331 Danforth Avenue
87. The Green Dragon Pub
1032 Kingston Road
86. Salty Dog Bar and Grill
1980 Queen Street East
85. Olympic 76 Pizza Cafe
8 Gloucester Street
This longtime Bloor/Yonge pizza spot closed shortly after I reviewed it in 2018, the old building eliminated for (surprise) condos. Glad I at least had a chance to try it before in the nick of time
84. Sicily Pizza
2434 St. Clair Avenue West
Maybe the best bang for your buck pie in the T.O. Efficiently satisfying
83. Golden Pizza
1201 Broadview Avenue
82. Pizza Nova
This position would be so much lower if not for that glorious garlic pizza hack (pictured above). A meh pizza elevated into pure tastiness (seriously try it once)
81. Za Pizza Bistro
288 Adelaide Street West
80. Famoso Neapolitan Pizzeria - Annex (Deep Dish)
386 Bloor Street West
79. Amico's Pizza
1648 Queen Street West
78. Bitondo's Pizzeria
11 Clinton Street
I've never understood the extreme love. It's tasty and fine... it's charming how old school it is (and their panzos are damn good)... the deeper package though is too bland, the outer edges lacking oomph, to jump higher on this list.
77. Castro's Lounge
2116 Queen Street East
76. Jz's Pizza
232 Wellington Street West
75. Tosto
800 Bay Street
True story: the afternoon I tried Tosto is the hour the Raptors traded JV (plus CJ Miles and Delon Wright) for Marc Gasol. I'd just had a job interview that was disappointing and this news certainly changed my mood. Big Val forever... but damn... what Gasol had left was breathtaking.
74. North of Brooklyn Pizzeria
650 Queen Street West
(this might seem low for some but I've had nothing but disappointing experiences at NoB)
73. Brass Taps Pizza Pub Danforth
493 Danforth Avenue
The Danforth location closed during the early days of the pandemic.
72. Stratengers
1130 Queen Street East
You are missed. Many good times.
71. Da Venezia
1568 Avenue Road
70. Express Pizza
447 Church Street
69. Pi Co
176 University Avenue
68. Il Fornello
214 King Street West
67. Fresca Pizza and Pasta
302 College Street
66. Danforth Pizza House
920 Danforth Avenue
Worth another try. Feel like I picked the wrong option in the wrong situation. Still impressed.
65. Slate Restaurant and Bar
2237 Queen Street East
64. Dino's Wood Burning Pizza
820 The Queensway West
63. Bar Poet
1090 Queen Street West
62. Blaze Pizza
150 John Street
61. La Grotta Pizzeria
951 Pape Avenue
60. Zini Pizza
795 St. Clair West
59. Famoso Neapolitan Pizzeria - Annex (wood fired)
386 Bloor Street West
58. Buzz Buzz Pizza
822 Wilson Avenue
57.
3010 Dundas Street West
Shoutout to my baseball fella Tyson, who I suspect will think this is far too low a ranking heh. Vesuvio closed in 2020 after 60+ years in the pizza biz. A few of the folks who worked there went off and opened Junior's near Dundas West station, which I have yet to try.
56. Pizza Shab
113 Bond Street
55. Trecce
1792 Danforth Avenue
54. Big Slice - Dufferin and St. Clair
1154 St. Clair Avenue West
53. Superpoint
184 Ossington Avenue
52. ViVietha Bistro
2485 Queen Street East
51. Terroni
720 Queen Street West
50. Pizza Pide
949 Gerrard Street East
49. Mottorino (Citta)
466 Adelaide Street East
48. Il Paesano Pizzeria and Restaurant
396 Browns Line
47. Frank's Pizza House
1352 St. Clair Avenue West
46. Nodo - Leslieville
1192 Queen Street East
45. Apiecalypse Now!
735 Bloor Street West
Another RIP. Their dipping sauce still lingers in my mind.
44. Local 1794
1794 Danforth Avenue
43. Yeah Yeahs Pizza
1210 Yonge Street
Sadly this east coast import didn't last long. Shame, they had a SNES free to play back in those Beforetimes.
42. Leslie Jones
1182 Queen Street East
41. Chito's Pizza and Food
1308 Bloor Street West
It's all about the shawarma and drizzled sauce. As a pizza it's extremely meh... but with the combination? Truly delightful. This placement in the rankings has a huge asterisk but man... jump in at your own risk...
40. Ristorante Rosina
740-A King Street West
39. Goodfellas Wood Oven Pizza - Bloor West
1 Old Mill Drive
38.
330 Bay Street
I have no opinion on the Mercatto chains either way, but this lost one made a damn fine cheap Negroni.
37. Lambretta Pizzeria
89 Roncesvalles Avenue
A very solid wood fire pizza joint that has been through hell and back through the pandemic. Won't blow your mind but it's reliably good.
36. The Parlour
642 King Street West
It's quite good but just too damn expensive 30+ bucks for a pizza... in Beforetimes... not cool.
35. General Assembly
333 Adelaide Street West
34. 850 Degrees Pizzeria
3455 Lakeshore Blvd West
(I actually went to the short-lived Dundas/Bloor location for my 2018 review, haven't checked out the Mimico one)
33. Victory Cafe
440 Bloor Street West
It will surprise you how good it is. At least, assuming the level of quality has been maintained since winter 2018.
32. Indie Alehouse
2876 Dundas Street West
31. True True Diner
169 King Street East
A brand that has since failed at multiple locations since my December 2018 review. I'm surprised I have it ranked this high but it must've made some kind of impression clearly.
30. DEEPIZZ Pizza
384 College Street
29. Gusto 101
101 Portland Street
28. Frankie's Italian
892 Queen Street East
27. Mattachioni
1617 Dupont Street
26. Big House Pizza
962 Danforth Avenue
Another "glad I tried it just in time" entry. Big House closed back in early 2019 and I kick myself for my days living in the area and haunting the next door Only Cafe (where you can bring in your own food) without checking out Big House. Coulda had great craft beer with great pizza... ah well. Appreciate what you have, always.
25. Village Pizza
759 Dovercourt Road
24.
235 Spadina Avenue
My heart skipped a beat upon seeing their Spadina location was permanently closed according to Google. They're supposedly reopening on Geary Avenue in Spring 2022 and here's hoping it's a long lasting success. Really interesting pizza here.
23. Double D's
1020 Gerrard Street
They were damn good, a respectable tribute to Chicago's deep dish finest. Shame it didn't last.
22. Bellissimo Pizzeria and Ristorante
164 The Esplanade
My hidden gem. It's heavy with the cheese and if you pick the right toppings to compliment that... you're in for a special treat.
21. Positano Restaurant
633 Mount Pleasant Road
20. FBI Pizza
2336 Lakeshore Blvd West
A few folks I know from Etobicoke insist it's overrated. I agree, considering the superior options still to be announced on this list. Meanwhile, this is still a darn good flavourful pizza.
19. Queen Margherita Pizza - Leslieville
1402 Queen Street East
18. Salt and Tobacco
521 Parliament Street
Pineapple on pizza, when done with spicy excellence like this... pineapple haters don't know what they're missing.
17. Conspiracy Pizza
858 Eglinton Avenue East
Please don't associate them with that Adamson shitheel (they certainly don't). Conspiracy is legit good pie.
16. The Good Son Pizza - Assembly Chef Hall
111 Richmond Street West
15. Cellar Door Restaurant
3003 Lakeshore Blvd West
14. King Slice - Bloor
1598 Bloor Street West
This particular position bugs me because despite their previous excellence, the past few times (like once every eight months) I've been to King Slice... the quality and service has noticeably decreased... not to mention multiple complaints from friends that echo my sentiments. Alas... this ranking is based on my 2019 perspective, but now I'd probably place them in the 40s.
13. Buca - King West
604 King Street West
Damn good. Damn too expensive.
12. The Fourth Man In The Fire Pizzeria
832 Dundas Street West
11. Blondies Pizza - Leslieville
1555 Dundas Street East
10. Viva Napoli
679 Mount Pleasant Road
According to Google they're done for good. Damn shame. This was a truly excellent pizza spot now perhaps forever lost to the whim of time.
9. Piano Piano Restaurant
88 Harbord Street
Not gonna lie, I was incredibly drunk when I tried this (and in-between a double shift at a former job I didn't like) but clearly my affinity is not so isolated: they've opened a second spot more devoted to pizza since I tried my clumsy taste in 2019.
8. Pizzeria Libretto - King West
545 King Street West
I'm biased of course. I used to work there a century ago. Still though... they know what they're doing and they do it right.
7. Pizzeria Oro Di Napoli
2312 Lakeshore Blvd West
Layers, Jerry. Layers.
6. Via Mercanti - Kensington
188 Augusta Avenue
5. Napoli Centrale
964 Bathurst Street
I've been there twice. First time to sample their truly exceptional pizza... second time to retrieve my knapsack I'd forgotten behind. The scent of the place was even more marvelous that second time.
4. Pizza e Pazzi
1182 St. Clair West
You've never tasted duck on a pizza until you've had this. All other attempts are inferior. The rest of it is pretty damn good too.
3. Maker Pizza
59 Cameron Street
Haven't tried them since 2019, so entirely possible expansion has lessened their quality. Nevertheless, at the time I'd never had anything like it... and I mean that in the best way possible.
2. Pizzeria Defina
321 Roncesvalles Avenue
Simply transcendent.
1. Descendant Detroit Style Pizza
1168 Queen Street East
Perhaps not as unique in these parts now that spots like Gianna's and 8 Mile have followed the lead (admittedly I have not tried either of those)... but regardless of unicorn-ness Descendant is just some damn incredible pizza. Creativity, layers of flavour... delectable texture... whatever you want they got it.
All these surmisations (it's a word now damnit) are out of date... you can definitely argue this as a definitive Toronto pizza ranking. Hey, that's totally fair.
But also... hey it's me... this crazy ass maniac fella who went and tried 105 different pizza places in about 14 months. Even with a couple of years of distance I still trust my judgements in these particular moments.
Plus... if you're read this far I gotta mention some new pizza spots. Conzo's kicks ass, probably in my top 30... Annette Food Market bakes an expensive pie but geez it is fluffy and filled with taste, top 15 probably... Somun Superstar closeby to me in the Upper Beaches, perhaps the best dough I've ever tasted in a pizza...
And of course Pizzeria Badiali. I need to try them again but my introductory experience was damn impressive... their vodka sauce pizza, shared with some sharp perspective pizza friends, tastes like a fabulous grilled cheese sandwich just in pizza form.
Anyhow... that's my list. All I gotta say is... Toronto has some damn good pizza... you just gotta dig a bit deeper is all, as do I in the future. Until then... peace and love.
