Way back in 2018 when I first started this endless journey of pizza tasting, there was a spot near the corner of Queen Street East and Pape that had just opened up called "Queen City Pizza" (replacing a longtime Amato's). I sampled Queen City and was very unimpressed: criticizing the extreme amount of bland cheese and how overcooked it was (although cutting their slices into three was uniquely weird).
Queen City lasted maybe a year or so before shuttering, with Samaira's Kitchen eventually taking its place. The layout barely changed at all (even the tables are in the same places) but the prices jumped (Queen City wasn't a bargain, either, even in 2018 bucks). This steep escalation of cost in tandem with the place seeming almost exactly the same as before... well it certainly kept me away for quite some time.
It's been at least over three years since Samaira's came to be, seemingly of high enough local popularity and quality to sustain and survive some rough times for restaurants... and so the time had finally come for this mad pizza man to try them and see if they'd improved on the previous pizza tenants. I wandered in on a Tuesday early evening, slightly drunk (don't ask, rough week) and elected upon a two topping small pie. My choice was a typical go-to for me: goat cheese and bacon.
Finally, a pizza with plenty of sauce! Thank heavens. Even Somun Superstar, which I absolutely loved, was stingy with that precious tomato spread. Not here. Also... the sauce has quite a nice hint of garlic to it. Did they know I was coming? What's going on here? Wild stuff, but much appreciated of course.
On its own merit, it's a very okay tomato sauce. Fairly dried out in this form, particularly the more exposed parts, and beyond that garlic touch it's fairly generic. The crust is likewise fine... not remarkable in any way and it gets real stiff once the pie gets cold. We're off to a very inauspicious start here.
Fortunately, it gets notably better. Even without the addition of goat cheese this would be a very thickly cheesy pizza, as the photo demonstrates, and the mozzarella is a standout in its pleasant soft, gooeyness. It walks the tight-line of being so close to overcooked, but just at the point where you get a layer of crisp bubbles on top of the cheese, but the rest keeps its malleable texture. Even once cold, it never stiffened or dried out, which is a good sign of quality. Lots of sauce and cheese, together at last? I like the balance.
You can't really see because of all the cheese, but those are bacon strips in there and not crumble, so another point for that. I've always liked the goat cheese and bacon combo because when done right, you get an added creamy element to the pizza along with some salty tenderness. Samaira's delivers upon my mad creation with admirable skill: I enjoyed this pizza quite a bit. My suspicions are that a simple cheese and sauce pizza from them would be very unremarkable, considering the nondescript crust... but I'd still take even that over multiple other pies I've sampled.
Overall! Honestly my biggest hangup with Samaira's Kitchen is the price. This was a small two topping pizza (we're talking 10") that still came in over twenty bucks. It's a perfectly fine pizza but nothing mind blowing in terms of high quality, and considering its lesser elements (meh crust) the cost doesn't quite match what's inside the box. But I did like it: it's saucy, cheesy, a good amount of toppings scattered throughout, while the foundation finds that good spot between flimsy and too firm. Significantly better than Queen City, but I wouldn't say Samaira's is a must try spot. Beyond a nicely garlicky tomato sauce (which again is more of a 'me' thing), nothing really leaps out at you as being excellent. It's a "B-". Essentially the kind of place around the corner from your house you'd frequent for cheap pickup specials and never be disappointed... "that was solid and tasty". Problem is, those affordable specials don't exist as far as I've seen.
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