Weekly Lunch Pick: one of the best pizzas in the Annex
A favourite with professors on long (and liquid) lunches, this slick Annex haunt dishes up rustic Italian fare with unpretentious service. Individual thin-crust pizzas, made to order in a scorching hot oven, are the standout. The Buffola features imported buffalo mozzarella, which forms a thick blanket over meaty, stewed plum tomatoes and a crust with a near–rice cracker crunch. Instead of the advertised artichoke hearts, our 12-inch pie comes strewn with dollops of rough-chopped fresh basil pesto. Simple but satisfying, this vegetarian lunch pairs equally well with a selection from the ample wine list or a simple bottle of San Pellegrino ($2.50).
The cost: $23.50, with tax and tip.
The time: 54 minutes; the order takes nearly 30 minutes to arrive but is polished off in half that time.
Bar Mercurio, 270 Bloor St. W. (at St. George), 416-960-3877, barmercurio.com.
![](http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https://torontolife.com/food/weekly-lunch-pick-one-of-the-best-pizzas-in-the-annex/&title=Weekly Lunch Pick: one of the best pizzas in the Annex&picture=https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/smaller-pizza.jpg&description=[caption id="attachment_53221" align="alignright" width="320" caption="Bar Mercurio’s pizzas emerge from the oven with a rice cracker–like crust (Image: Renée Suen)"][/caption]
A favourite with professors on long (and liquid) lunches, this slick Annex haunt dishes up rustic Italian fare with unpretentious service. Individual thin-crust pizzas, made to order in a scorching hot oven, are the standout. The Buffola features imported buffalo mozzarella, which forms a thick blanket over meaty, stewed plum tomatoes and a crust with a near–rice cracker crunch. Instead of the advertised artichoke hearts, our 12-inch pie comes strewn with dollops of rough-chopped fresh basil pesto. Simple but satisfying, this vegetarian lunch pairs equally well with a selection from the ample wine list or a simple bottle of San Pellegrino ($2.50).
The cost: $23.50, with tax and tip.
The time: 54 minutes; the order takes nearly 30 minutes to arrive but is polished off in half that time.
Bar Mercurio, 270 Bloor St. W. (at St. George), 416-960-3877, barmercurio.com. ){kind=link}
I hope this place is good–their website does not feature a MENU section so I will have to go solely on the basis that, as the website states, politicians, profs, and the occasional celeb eat here. What does that say? It’s probably a little pricey? Does this article mean to say that the pizza with a large crust with mozzarella and basil (instead of artichokes–not really a fair trade-off, is it?) is $15.50??
oops, forgot the tomatoes!