Toronto’s best pizza right now
Our favourite thin-crust, deep-dish and deep-fried pies
Annette Food Market
The Junction’s cozy Italian spot turns out wood-fired sourdough pizzas in all kinds of classic white and red Italian options. We’re fans of their more playful pies, like the cacio e pepe topped with prosciutto, provolone, parma, cracked pepper, fior di latte, and one covered in kicky Calabrian pesto and finished with braised beef, caramelized onion and pecorino. 240 Annette St., no phone, annettefoodmarket.com
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Bitondo’s Pizzeria
The classic pepperoni-and-cheese pie at this old-school Toronto favourite sports a chewy crust swathed in gooey mozzarella and salty pepperoni for a greasy slice of heaven. And while it’s not technically a pizza, don’t overlook their panzerotti: it’s a deep-fried, cheese-stuffed crescent so indulgent that Dr. Robert Atkins turns in his grave every time it’s ordered. 11 Clinton St., 416-533-4101, no website.
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Blondie’s
It’s impossible to miss this bright-pink cube of a pizzeria across the street from Greenwood Park. Inside, the Food Dudes’ Matt Blondin is cranking out a dozen different pies on crusts that are sturdy yet light. Blondies has something for every pizza predilection. Their vegetarian options are creative—the Debbie Said So, for instance, comes topped with fior di latte, pistachio pesto, basil and sea salt. The meatier pies don’t skimp on protein: Don’t Think…Sparkle! comes piled in salami, pepperoni, ground beef and chicken sausage. 1555 Dundas St. E.; #2-88 Ossington Ave., 437-341-1555, blondiespizza.ca
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Buca
Luxe flavours abound on Buca’s pizza alla Romana, pies topped with fancy ingredients like smoked mozzarella, preserved tomato, shaved truffles, pickled garlic and ’nduja. Order one or two for pickup or delivery and have a Buca-at-home experience. Various locations, buca.ca
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Conspiracy Pizza
No tinfoil hat required to enjoy one of these over-the-top Leaside pies made with six-day fermented dough. Our top picks include Bay of Pigs—their insanely good riff on a Cubano sandwich that comes slathered in white sauce, and topped with bacon, pulled pork, pickles and a few squiggles of mustard—and Cowspiracy, which is loaded with 12-hour smoked brisket. Conspiracy Pizza is working towards ditching UberEats, so help them out by ordering through their website where they’re offering free delivery. 176 Wicksteed Ave., 647-694-3327, conspiracypizza.ca
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Conzo’s Pizza
The folks at Sugo are now tossing pizza just west of their red sauce joint. The style of pie here is distinctly North American: a mashup of New York, L.A. and Toronto (they looked to Fresca and Pizza Gigi for inspo). The wood-fired result is a floppy-centred round, anchored by a substantial, crunchy crust. If you like Sugo’s rigatoni, try Conzo’s (irreverent-but-delicious) rosé pizza. 1279 Bloor St. W., 416-792-1279, pizzaconzo.com
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Descendant Detroit Style Pizza
These Detroit-style pies make all other pizza rivals seem shallow. You can travel the world by eating your way through Descendant’s menu, each rectangular base is topped with different globe-spanning toppings. The Jaffna, for instance, sports a Sri Lankan patchwork of chopped kothu roti, mango chutney, green onions, cilantro cream, coconut sambal and Calabrian chilies. Homebodies might prefer Our Canadian, topped with pepperoni, bacon, roasted mushrooms and ranch. 1168 Queen St. E., 647-347-1168, descendantdsp.com
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The Fourth Man in the Fire
In 2010, Shant Mardirosian opened The Burger’s Priest because the style of hamburger that he grew up on in California wasn’t available in Canada. After selling his patty empire, he decided to open a new restaurant, again based on American nosh that he couldn’t north of the 49th. “My inspiration was Joe’s pizza in New York City,” says Mardirosian, who’s making fantastic pies: the mozzarella is rich, the tomatoes are vibrant and tangy, and the crust is crisp along the edges—but the slices are floppy enough to fold. 832 Dundas St. W., 416-792-3473, thefourthmaninthefirepizzeria.com
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Fresca
This College Street standby makes a sturdy thin crust with the perfect amount of vibrant tomato sauce and melty mozzarella, brushed with addictive pesto, and sprinkled with fresh basil. 302 College St., 416-922-9555, frescapizzapasta.com
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General Assembly
Pizzaiolo Curt Martin doesn’t use commercial yeasts to make his three-day naturally leavened dough. The result is a crust that’s chewy-yet-light, and, after a stint in an Acunto Napoli oven set to 900°F, it’s blistered perfection. The pizzas all have cute names like Lamb Borghini (a Halal pie made with lamb sausage and lashed with labneh), Porky Pine (a gussied-up Hawaiian) and Fern Gully (a vegan option topped with a mushroom medley, walnuts and caramelized onions). Recently, General Assembly launched a frozen pizza subscription service, delivering pies that put Dr. Oetker to shame. 331 Adelaide St. W., no phone, gapizza.com
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Lamanna’s Bakery
This Kingston Road bakery specializes in cakes, pastries and gelato—but they also have a lot of fun with pizza. Some of their most outlandish toppings include petite pizza slices, poutine and teeny tiny grilled cheese triangles. They do standard toppings, too, but they manage to make even a slice of pepperoni fun. Their supersized two-foot-long Big Slice is an Instagram star in its own right. No walk-ins, pre-orders only. 6758 Kingston Rd., 416-287-2020, lamannabakery.ca
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Lambretta
Lambretta’s Roman-style pizza has a thin, crisp crust. We love the tomato-based Puzzola, with rich fior di latte, sweet Italian sausage, thinly sliced red onion and a crumble of gorgonzola. 89 Roncesvalles Ave., 416-551-9925, lambrettapizzeria.ca
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Maker Pizza
Although Matty Matheson doesn’t work the pass at Maker, he did develop their recipes. For the past five years, this quickly growing mini chain has been churning ou double-baked hybrid pies that combine the best from the New York and Italian approaches. Maker has tightened up their menu (thanks a lot, Covid) and are currently only offering five pizzas. Luckily, the Dr. Pepperoni—which covers every cheesy square inch with a crisp, curled slice of pepperoni—is still available. 59 Cameron St.; 1537 Avenue Rd., 416-782-2000, makerpizza.com
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Mattachioni
In 2015, Terroni alum David Mattachioni took over an old Portuguese bakery and left the circa-1970 space basically untouched. He’s running it as a quasi-bodega right now—fridges full of cheeses, crates of tomatoes and peppers, fresh pasta and just-baked loaves of sourdough can be purchased alongside Mattachioni’s blistered-to-perfection pies. The Bonati—a white pizza layered with smoky speck, fresh mozzarella, fontina, parm and peppery arugula—is a crowd pleaser. Tip: Monday through Wednesday, you can snag a Margherita, Marinara or Napoli for just $11. 1617 Dupont St., 416-519-1010, mattachioni.com
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North of Brooklyn
Is there such a thing as Toronto-style pizza? This pie—with a crust that’s simultaneously thin, chewy and pillowy—just might be it. Made with flour from Arva, Ontario (North America’s oldest continuously operating water-powered commercial flour mill), North of Brooklyn’s pizzas are unique. Everything they make is excellent, but their Killer Bee is our favourite. The heat of the Calabrese sausage and jalapeño peppers is cut by the pickled onions and honey, so your mouth is left buzzing just a bit. Multiple locations, northofbrooklyn.com
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The Parlour
“Not from Naples” reads the top of every Parlour pizza box—and in this case, that’s a good thing. This Vancouver import is making stone-baked oblong pies that are built on a decadent, almost doughnut-like dough. The crusts puff at the edges and give way to thin-yet-substantial centres. Goldmember—loaded with caramelized onions, mushrooms, Yukon Gold taters, gruyere, mozzarella and a lick of truffle oil—is their standout pie for good reason. 642 King St. W., 416-583-2642, theparlourrestaurants.com
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Piano Piano
Chef Victor Barry’s wood-burning oven churns out an assortment of beautifully blistered pizzas, but the pièce de resistance is The Bitters, a fire-kissed sourdough crust topped with charred kale and dandelion greens, creamy fior di latte, parmesan, chilies, garlic, and a refreshing spritz of lemon. (If you’re in the west end, you can find frozen Piano Piano pies at Cheese Boutique.) 88 Harbord St., 416-929-7788, pianopianotherestaurant.com
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Pizzeria Defina
The wood-fired pies at this Roncey family joint get the haute treatment. We like the Pumba, topped with wild boar meatballs, mozzarella, caramelized shallots, cremini mushrooms and garlic confit. 321 Roncesvalles Ave.; 1485 Dupont St., 416-534-4414, pizzeriadefina.com
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Pizzeria Du
This plant-based pizza parlour—the offshoot of vegan tasting-menu restaurant Avelo—is particularly secretive about the blend of flours they use to make their dough. Cooked for three minutes at 750°F, their crust has both a springy, pillowy texture and a satisfying crispness. We can’t decide between their most textbook creation—the margherita ($14)—and their least Italian one: a vegan take on a Hawaiian topped with San Marzano–cut barbecue sauce and jackfruit ($15). The cumin-spiced fruit makes for an excellent pulled-pork dupe on this cheerful, pro-pineapple pie. 536 Queen St. W., 647-655-7451, pizzeriadu.ca
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Pizzeria Libretto
One of the city’s traditional Neapolitan go-tos is also a standout for its more off-piste creations, like this white pizza dotted with tender bits of rosemary-flecked duck confit, Bosc pear and mozzarella. Their vegan Margherita might be one of the best in the city: made with a mozzarella dupe that could fool even the most avowed turophiles. Multiple locations, pizzerialibretto.com
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Queen Margherita Pizza
The Queen never disappoints with its namesake pizza: thin, chewy, soft-centred crust simply dressed with zingy tomato sauce, fior di latte and fresh basil. Multiple locations, qmpizza.com
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Sud Forno
Terroni’s sister bakery tops the Occhi Di Bue, one of our favourites, with sun-dried tomato, rapini, mozzarella, parmesan and poached eggs. Their Crazy 8 Pizza Box ($50 for eight slices) is a great option for a family that can never agree when it comes to toppings. 716 Queen St. W., 416-504-7667; 132 Yonge St., 416-955-1100, terroni.com/sud-forno.
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Superpoint
Each foldable slice of this Ossington pizzeria’s New York classic is minimally topped with sweet tomato sauce, mozzarella and pepperoni, and finished with a dusting of parm and oregano. 184 Ossington Ave., 416-519-6996; 269 Dunn Ave., 416-901-4080, superpoint.ca
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