Beast Pizza is a swanky little joint that has operated as a restaurant for quite some time, but only somewhat recently transformed itself into a pizza destination. It has a bit of a Bitondo's vibe as far as being located off the beaten path (that's two straight reviews with a Bitondo's reference, for those keeping score!). Beast is right on the corner of Tecumseth Street and Whitaker Avenue, a quiet residential strip despite being nestled between the busy hoots of West Queen West and King West. With all the unassuming houses along the way, this almost became a difficult place to find: as we were walking my trusted occasional pizza accomplice indeed Googled the exact location... a smart decision considering my usual counter-approach of just wandering around forever until stumbling upon your destination.
The interior of Beast Pizza is quite quirky, and I rather liked it: not the largest space you'll encounter and it reminds me of some kind of 1930s smoking room with an old fashioned wooden bar right as you walk in. There are plenty of decorations and one of them being a section of wall/pillar with baseball cards behind a frame, which certainly wins over my sensibilities.
After some deliberation (their beef tongue pie did sound quite intriguing), I went for their meatball offering which you see above. What you don't see above (obscured by clouds of arugula) are the supporting toppings: caramelized onions, fennel jam, and your usual mozzarella and tomato sauce. I also went for a garlic dip, because life is short and garlic dips make everything better.
First off, this is an excellently made pizza. Quite terrific. The crust is pillowy and light, a marvelously and surprisingly soft texture considering its heavy, thick look. Sauce and cheese are likewise both of high quality: vibrant in their tomato sting and butteryness (totally a word) respectively. The foundational components here definitely show that Beast is a place that knows what they're doing, and take the details seriously. Great stuff and fitting of comparison to the better, even the high end, wood-fired pizzas around.
This is a good combination of toppings also: the fennel jam with the caramelized onions do push it on the sweeter side, and yet those two compliment each other quite well... like two rhythm guitars alternating leads. The jam itself definitely stands out as a unique offering, with an instant tangyness that is pleasantly understated within the overall picture.
Alas... despite all of these positives (and I was extremely impressed by most of this)... the biggest and critical weakness of this pie is in the moniker: the meatballs. As noted by my wonderful and occasional pizza accomplice, these meatballs flavour-wise are just kind of ordinary. There's no zing or spice to them, nothing that lingers on the palate beyond an enjoyable meaty texture. That texture is indeed fabulous, a good balance of juiciness and firmness, everything you'd want out of a meatball... but where's the taste? Each bite of it just tasted of meat... a high quality meat sure but it needed seasoning or heat or sweetness or really just anything.
It's truly a shame because the rest of this pizza is so, so excellent. Each topping working in absolute harmony with one another... the leafy sting of the arugula pairs with that jam and onion sweetness perfectly... but when you're calling this a "Meatball Pizza" and the flavour of your meatballs are missing something, thus being so meh... it's sadly a bit of a letdown.
To end on a positive, though. The garlic dip was indeed exceptional. Definitely leaned more into the garlicy than creamy direction, which I prefer, and that nice sharp sting was there. Highly recommended... not quite at the level of Blondie's black garlic dip but pretty darn close.
Overall! I do suggest giving Beast Pizza a try, should you be in the area. I'd be curious to try their other pies because if they are of similar quality but with more flavour than those sad meatballs, this could indeed be a pizza joint in the "A-" range. For now, I'll give them a strong "B+". Those lacking balls of meat aside, terrific stuff in both toppings and foundation.
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