Best Old-School Pizzerias in Toronto

It’s a sad truth that some of the longest running, old-school pizzerias have announced their closures over the last month. Toronto’s Olympic 76 Pizza, Camarra Pizza and Gerrard Pizza have all closed their doors. We’re talking family-run for generations, serving hand-kneaded Italian pies using recipes from the motherland. Fortunately, some vintage pizzerias are still going strong in Toronto, pumping out pies like they have something to prove. They’ve survived for 40, 50 and 60 plus years — that’s proof enough. Here are the top O.G. pizzerias in the city that are still killing it today.

Vesuvio

In 1957 when frozen foods became part of grocery store chains and a new house cost roughly 12K, Toronto’s oldest pizzeria was born in the west end. Still owned by the same Pugliese family, using the same seasoned recipes, Vesuvio’s has set the pizza standard high for the rest of the city. In fact, they say about half the pizza joints in Toronto learned from them or were influenced by them, which is a bold statement but sounds about right, since they’ve been around for over 60 years.

In fact, Vesuvio’s gets the credit for bringing New York-style pizza to Toronto — that chewy but not too bready tasting dough, that heavily seasoned tomatoes sauce and that crispy, two-millimeters thick crust that makes New York pizza well…New York pizza.

Pizzeria Via Mercanti

Pizza maker, Romolo Salvati, continues to make pizzas the way he did when he was a young buck back in Naples — the birthplace of pizza. Best known for their authentic Neapolitan pizza, it’s their signature, over-the-top, double layer Via Mercanti pizza that could easily be featured at the CNE. Picture a full pie with ricotta, mozzarella, prosciutto, sopressata, mushrooms, layered with a proper margherita pizza on top. Pizzeria Via Mercanti has been running strong for over 40 years and is currently up to five locations across the GTA.

Danforth Pizza House

Serving classic Toronto-style pizza since 64.’ What is Toronto-style pizza though? Some say we have no style, others say it’s simply a multicultural fusion to reflect Toronto’s diversity, (aka experimenting with various toppings), Danforth Pizza calls it the 100% uncut pepperoni and mushroom pizza. With their 50-year-old gas oven and their interior style that pretty much reflects that time, this place is staying true to its roots by not deviating from their half a century old recipes.

They also added to their menu, a boat-shaped Greek-style pizza called The Pinerli dressed in mozzarella, kasseri cheese, smoked bacon and topped with an egg. Talk about throwing a curveball into the mix. Danforth Pizza is one of the few Toronto joints that only serve pizzas. Their menu also offers two salads and garlic knots, but those don’t count right?

Bitondo Pizzeria

This tiny, worn-down pizza parlour is best suited for takeout, since there’s very limited plastic seating inside. No seating, no patio, no-frills, no website, no problem. This is as old school as it gets, and it has been this way for over 50 years, which goes to show it really is about the food. Bitondo’s is best known for their classic pepperoni pizza, with its chewy crust, gooey cheese and salty pepperoni. They’ve earned the title as “Toronto’s greasiest, cheesiest guilty pleasure.”

Frank’s Pizza House

Frank’s Pizza has been a staple Corso Italia since 1965. If you’re looking to get adventurous with your toppings, but craving that authentic, Italian, handmade dough, this is the spot. Frank’s has stepped out of the classic Italian box by topping their Marisol pizza with smoked salmon and their Albano Martins pizza with unpitted prune black olives.

Fun fact, owner Giorgio Taverniti even helped develop the “Pizza 101” course at George Brown College and has been a long-time instructor ever since. He’s also a columnist for the Canadian Pizza Magazine. Who knew that was a thing?

Big Slice

Originally published on TRNTO, by Post City