Surely this is an easy one to explain in the translation department, no? Even the king himself was singing the word over half a century ago...
Sadly we're not going to a glamourous Vegas show in this article (that's a different kind of and spelling of revue). Instead we're checking out a somewhat new pizzeria up in the northern edges of East York, close to where the Don Valley Parkway does its bendy thing. Viva las pizza!
While I can't find a whole lot of backstory about Viva Pizzeria and their website is entirely that typical "our mission is to make food the freshest and most delicious for our customers blah blah blah" (what do you want me to do... actually contact these places? Sheesh... Smash that Like and Subscribe though!)... I can tell you that Viva opened up on O'Connor Drive, just a block east of Pape, this past August (2024) taking over the space from what looks like a breakfast spot.
It must also be mentioned how this is an awkward part of Toronto: O'Connor Drive is essentially a high volume relief road from the nearby freeway (not to mention a artery connector to Leaside and Scarborough) and such a road with that necessary width (like six lanes) isn't exactly one conducive to little restaurants or shops or anything like that. More like gas station marts and big box stores... or so you would think, but O'Connor is actually lined with the classically quaint little East York houses its entire length... thus the awkwardness I'm describing. It's both residential and not ideal for walking... a street that's just enormous open thoroughfare with cars zooming by with pre or post-highway determinations.
Yet despite this, there are restaurants along it too. A high school friend of mine used to work at The Wally, there's an Eggsmart (there's a review I'll get to in 2027 or something) and now Viva Pizzeria, which is nestled on the north side of O'Connor near a short side street close to Pape. On a sunny evening I rode my wheels up (taking Cosburn Avenue which actually has a bike lane) and walked in to sample this self-described "best pizza in town!" (spoiler: it isn't).
I know I've written about this before but I'll never stop being fascinated by how much aesthetic variety pizzerias can have. You can have a faux old-school Italian home cooked restaurant like you see here (complete with plastic vines), a greasy white tiled takeout spot with oily arcade machines, a sleek and hip spot with groovy lights... something snooty and upscale pretentious, or warmly welcoming all without any frills... something steeped in foreign culture, or straight forward North American... and of course a blend and chosen mix of any number of those. Are there any other foods or classic meals that can boast such an assortment of vibes and decors? I certainly cannot fathom one.
While the checkered tablecloths and plastic vines of Viva are cute though somewhat kitschy, I was genuinely enthralled by this golden cash register behind the bar (next to the serious business espresso machine). I made my order and sat at this very bar, the restaurant mostly empty on this Wednesday evening just after 7 o'clock (one table by the window and a presumed local chatting up the female bartender and making a very specific sandwich order).
A short time later my pizza was ready and I made off, trying to find a park or a bench nearby to dig in... which took a while because as I described: O'Connor Drive is just not that kind of street.
I do quite like rapini on pizza (a preference not shared by many I know) and this here is Viva's 'Salsiccia e Rapini'... featuring Italian sausage, sauteed rapini, bomba, with tomato sauce and fior di latte of course (although Viva does give the option of a white sauce instead).
Immediately on my first few bites, I noticed something extremely distinctive about Viva's pizza... something even unique among the actual hundreds of pizzas I've tried/reviewed... an dominant butteryness. Like for real, I've never encountered any other pie to this degree wherein the most prominent taste is a specific butter-like creaminess. It's completely inescapable: the flavour, the smell, the type of oiliness it leaves on your fingertips.
Does it ruin the pizza? Hardly. There's enough else going on to at least give every bite a bit of variety on the tongue, even if all these toppings do taste like thinner supporting characters. It's strange! Nevertheless, there is very good quality here and those toppings are rather plentiful.
While this pizza also smells great, that robustness doesn't completely transfer over to the tongue. There is a looseness (and occasional wateriness to the sauce) that stretches the flavours a bit thin, leading back to that 'supporting character' comment I described earlier. The crust though... exceptional. Like an oily focaccia with just enough crisp to hold the slice together (these are pretty floppy) with a marvelous fresh baked taste. I do think this pie could be a bit thicker and more of that bread would only be a positive. It's legitimately fantastic.
Strong toppings as well, faint as they can taste. A nice mix of juiciness in the sausage crumble (with some bits bringing more sting than others), the rapini is wet but far from bland or overly soggy, the bomba spice is rather sneaky (enough to forget about it just in time for it to strike again) and gives some solid mouth sizzle. Quality mozzarella here also: maintaining that softness even once cool and tasting (like so much of this pizza) decadent and buttery.
Overall! Such a strange one, despite it not really looking that part. That watery butteryness does subside on the reheat (also the pizza itself loses little else on that) and yet even when in full force that dominant element never becomes unpleasant... rather just softening the other flavours somewhat.
You can often tell when a place puts actual work into their pizza and Viva is that for sure. While I think I'd stop just short of a "you gotta go try this place!" type of recommendation, this is an entirely good-to-very-good pizza option I'd be happy to check out again (should my travels lead me up to this odd part of town again). All that considered, Viva Pizzeria gets a strong "B" grade. Interesting and tasty stuff.
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