Recently these pizza reviews have been a lot of new places that opened in the past couple years, or trendy spots that deserve my attention merely via their popularity, or (in the case of Mercatto) an established mini-chain that has a reliable base standard for their offerings.
It's been a while since I checked out the kind of place that really was the driving origin story of this entire endless pizza project: the old school, local hidden gem that keeps chugging along without much in the way of viral fame or common knowledge.
If you live or have lived in south-east Etobicoke, or Mimico, however... Mamma Martino's is no hidden gem. It is a well known and well visited institution of the neighbourhood: huge, decorated with excessive flair and like Tom's Dairy Freeze next door simply impossible to miss when heading down the Queensway in either direction.
Mamma Martino's has been doing their thing for over four decades now, all in the same location (which they've expanded upon over the years, resulting in a massive multiple room restaurant). The ownership has remained in the Martino family throughout their history, as BlogTo (yeah, I know) does quite a fine job of getting into those details in the introduction of this article.
It's a strangely quirky place, at least from the outside... a fact I'd completely forgotten about from my first visit half a decade earlier (let the records of that harmless evening be lost in the haze of history). The exterior of Mamma Martino's is like one of those shops that sell sculptures and such by the side of the road... there are flags and statues and plants and the large stone brick facade is striking, the full scope of which is difficult to fully appreciate with the many parking spaces out front of the restaurant all occupied (at 4pm on a Wednesday).
Whereas the inside of the restaurant? Imagine 'homey tiled Italian restaurant that's been around for almost half a century" and you've pretty much got it. Not quite akin to stepping back in time, like Il Paesano for instance... but there are numerous odes to a storied past that permeate throughout the air of the place.
Despite those records lost to the "haze" of history (*cough*)... coming into this I remembered enough of what Mamma Martino's pizza was like and so knew the level of quality to expect. Indeed my accuracy shocked me, but more on that later. I had to work later that afternoon so the timing was tight: I called in my order while the GO train was leaving Exhibition towards Mimico, certain that with my bike I could be at the restaurant within twenty minutes (which is generally how long your usual non-deep dish or wood fired pizza takes in an oven).
Surprise! It would actually be 35 minutes, and they warned me how for pick up orders they only accept cash. Wuh-oh. Picture a scene of a hapless fella, who has to be at work in an hour at a completely different part of town, riding a bike down a particularly unfriendly stretch of Queensway for cyclists... praying there's a TD bank at Parklawn (there was not).
Wasn't the most fun I've had going for a pizza, but all of that difficulty is surely no fault of Mamma Martino's and when I at last arrived for my pickup order with money in its paper form, the vibe of the place and staff wiped away my instinctual awkwardness with seasoned ease. Exhibit A: when paying for the pizza (I got a medium two topping that was about 17 bucks) I hazily pulled out a five dollar bill and handed it to the server, only realizing my mistake right as it was inches away from her outstretched hand. One of those green twenty dollar bills was obviously the correct one, and I lamely joked how "dang, almost got away with that!". They laughed! Perhaps politely or genuinely, such corniness only deserves so much rope, but in the moment it certainly put some positivity in the mind of a stressed out, time crunching pizza reviewer.
Onto the actual pizza. I went for bacon and garlic as my two toppings, because both of those things are awesome citation not needed. Garlic especially... I'm a fiend (I've put raw chopped garlic on hot dogs and I'll do it again) and while keeping vampires away is all well and good, I'm always hesitant when places offer garlic as a topping. I've been burned so many times with cheaper pizza places that use 'garlic' precisely within those quotations I just used. Like a topping freebee, it'll be a dusting of dry-ass garlic salt, or a single tiny chopped bit in each slice. That'll be an extra three bucks! Meanwhile they snicker in the back "this idiot ordered garlic? Hahahah! That's the cheapest thing we stock!"
So yeah, you can tell I'm skeptical despite my love of garlic. Pizza Nova once upon a time did it right (the considerable decline of Nova is another story). When you offer garlic as an actual topping not an additional side thing, you have to do it right. Whether it be roasted and oily soft cloves, or a consistent baked presence in tiny bits throughout... it has to be there. It's a topping! Nobody would happily order a pepperoni pizza that has just a couple of cups on the entire freaking thing.
Rant now aside... Mamma Martino's read my mind because they do indeed treat garlic as a topping seriously. It is chopped up in bits and nesting within the cheese so you can't really see it... but it is present throughout very centimetre of this pizza and it is wonderful. Baked just enough to be oily and softened, the flavour oozing into the nearby surrounding cheese, and there's quite a lot of it that you get a full dose of that distinctive sharp garlic taste. Maybe not an ideal 'first date' pizza, perhaps...
Taste-wise, there isn't a whole lot else to say about this particular pizza. Very thick with the cheese despite a thin floppy base, decent-ish tomato sauce (bit of a herby kick to it) and all are of a pretty strong quality. Bacon strips! Always a good sign when a place avoids the crumble and you get quite a generous amount of them (more of a softer bacon than a crispy one)
Also... this pizza was freaking huge. An absolute steal/bargain at seventeen dollars. Loaded with toppings and cheese, those are the flavours and textures that definitely dominate... a very simple but effective formula. Also good on the reheat (low heat pan on the stove for sure), although the crust gets a bit chewy/stale for my liking.
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Overall! Simplicity is the name of this old school pizzeria game... flavours that aren't innovative or mind-blowing but just reliably enjoyable. Despite my "hazy" recall of the other time I tried Mamma Martino's in 2020... this pizza was exactly the same quality and taste here in 2024.
The dough is is bit too tough at points (the pan reheat helps add some much needed crispiness) but that is the only glaring weakness here (I'd also prefer the sauce be more of a presence, but with a pie this devoted to the church of heavy cheesiness... clearly they've comfortably chosen their faith).
It's a good pizza! Tasty, somewhat oily (in a good way) and satisfying. An Etobicoke institution that deserves the praises and legendary status. There isn't quite enough there for this to be among the true elite pizzas of Toronto... it's rather two dimensional... but this is still a strong 'B' in my eyes.
Normally I only recommend trying a place if they score a 'B+' or higher, however I make an exception for classic, long time places like this. Much like Fresca and Bitondo's (which is extremely ordinary, sorry) this is just a place I think people should try via its longtime reputation... and Mamma Martino's is better than both those spots regardless (Fresca is equally charming of course). Good stuff!
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