Often times for these pizza reviews, I'm off sampling the goods of some new new-ish pizzeria (possibly in a trendy part of town) that's attempting to be hip or different or faux retro or all of the above... which ironically robs it of the style and character its clearly going for. Occasionally though, the opposite opportunity presents itself to check out somewhere that has more of an established legend to it. I mean, it's not every pizza joint I review that has their own city plaque outside the front door:
(Eat your heart out, Cherry's High Dive!)
To call Cafe Diplomatico an institution would be... well pretty accurate, actually. The plaque explains most of the backstory but to summarize (the words are small in that photo): The Mastrangelo family, lead by Rocco Sr (who passed away just a few years ago), opened Cafe Dip in 1968 during a period when the Italian population of Toronto was burgeoning. Initially just a small cafe offering various baked goods, they were notable for being one of the very first establishments in the entire city to fully embrace outdoor dining... which seems kind of wild when you think about it. Early 1960s Toronto must've been a hoot, eh.
Not long after its opening, Cafe Diplomatico expanded into a full scale restaurant and became a hub for big Italian sporting matches and events Torontonians know it for today, affixing itself was one of the pillar establishments of the (southern) Little Italy neighbourhood of downtown. Surely having such an appealing patio on a bustling corner didn't hurt either. Seriously though... people in Toronto just didn't dine outside before the 1960s? That's insane to me... were Summers back then like eight degrees?
Back to Cafe Dip and, believe it or not... I'd never been before! Or if I had, I was thirteen and don't remember any of it. As an adult they'd been on my pizza list for quite some time (obviously) but I'd just never gotten around to it, When an old friend suggested we go (she and another close friend were off to the Lauren Ash concert at the nearby Mod Club) I was all aboard for that. Despite the usual issues with taking the TTC across town (and my friend taking a GO Express train by mistake and ending up at Clarkson) the three of us managed to eventually settle in at a table. The inside was actually fairly busy for a Tuesday night (Maple Leafs game on the numerous wall-mounted TVs) but fortunately there were still a couple tables available.
Cafe Diplomatico don't offer any kind of signature pizza creations, instead leaving it up to the patron (at their own peril) to devise their own. Well, I happen to know a thing or two about what works on a pizza and what I like... so here we've got bacon, goat cheese and mushrooms. A reliable go-to combination for me: you get salty pork, creamy cheese, earthy mushrooms... some sweet or spice would be a valuable fourth addition sure, however we're keeping things mostly simple here.
This will sound strange... but this is a pizza that tastes nearly exactly how I imagined it would. The dough especially, which is quite light on the crunch and not too dense. With the tomato sauce you get a very bright taste with an undercurrent of garlic powder... no complaints there... while the mozzarella cheese is your standard 'good' mozzarella. None of that cheap, hollow plastic taste... though none of the wondrous buttery feel you get from the really good stuff either.
There's a nice blend of textures here. The hollow crispiness of the crust, the heavier cheesy pockets more in the centre of the pie, the tender oily crisp of the baked bacon bits... it all works quite nicely. Flavour-wise... it's maybe not the most explosive pizza you're going to encounter. Nothing here is exactly "WOW!!!!!!!1" but everything is entirely decent-to-good. I do like the oily, thin crispiness of the bacon... the mushrooms are thankfully juicy and not dry... while the goat cheese really bleeds into the mozzarella, making its distinct melted looseness a constant presence throughout the pie.
One slight complaint could be a general feel of wateriness in much of the pizza, which gives the flavours much more of a thinned out taste and presence. Certainly not to the point of anything becoming flavourless, thankfully... just that it does feel like the taste is a bit emptier than it perhaps should be. Can't put my finger on exactly what could cause that (the mushrooms maybe?) but I've encountered it before on pizzas of far less quality than this one, so here it's far from a deal-breaker.
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Overall! While I think the pizza is a notch or two below the level where I say you absolutely have to try it... Cafe Diplomatico itself has such a distinctive history and aura wherein I'd recommend checking it out for that alone. Despite being around for over half a century now, it still seems to maintain the feel of a simple and familiar neighbourhood spot where locals can gather for a quality meal and or a few cold ones while a big game plays out on one of their several televisions. There's nothing all that special or anything about the aesthetic inside, yet there is a subtle basic charm to the place that surely cannot be fabricated or purchased.
The pizza gets a lower end "B" grade from me, basically meaning that while I wouldn't actively seek it out for a return visit, I'd gladly get it again and likely not be disappointed if I happened to find myself there in the future. Like I said, the food isn't going to blow your shoes off your feet but there's something to be said for simply being reliably solid-to-good.
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