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GuideUpdated June 7, 2026

The Best Pizza in Toronto (2026)

From Badiali's world-ranked New York slice to Libretto's pioneering Neapolitan and Bar Sugo's red-sauce pies — the eight Toronto pizzas worth crossing town for, each individually reviewed.

The best pizza (2026) in Toronto are Pizzeria Badiali, Pizzeria Via Mercanti, Bar Sugo, and more. Start with Pizzeria Badiali if you want the strongest overall first pick.

By TastyPals Editors•8 ranked picks•Published June 7, 2026•Updated June 7, 2026
Methodology•Editorial team
Pizzeria BadialiPizzeria Via MercantiBar Sugo
Editorial restaurant image stand-in for Pizzeria Badiali
Google

Top picks at a glance

#1Pizzeria BadialiPizza • Toronto • $#2Pizzeria Via MercantiPizza • Toronto • $#3Bar SugoPizza • Toronto • $

Who this guide is for

Toronto's pizza argument is no longer about whether the city can do it — it's about which tradition you're in the mood for. This shortlist spans the New York slice, VPN-certified Neapolitan, naturally-fermented sourdough, and old-school Italian-American red sauce, and every pick has been individually reviewed rather than ranked by star count alone. These are the pizzerias we'd actually send you to.

Quick picks

Pizzeria Badiali
Pizza • Toronto
Pizzeria Badiali on Dovercourt Road has built a reputation that sits well outside what its square footage or its price point would suggest.
Pizzeria Via Mercanti
Pizza • Toronto
Pizzeria Via Mercanti carries a specific credential worth noting before you book: the Kensington Market location beat both Libretto and North of Brooklyn on Chow's Pizza Wars, and the man behind th…
Bar Sugo
Pizza • Toronto
Bar Sugo has built one of Bloordale's more persistent line-ups outside its Bloor Street door, which in a neighbourhood not short of opinions is a meaningful data point.
Browse all Toronto restaurantsBack to Toronto hub
Editorial details
Author: TastyPals Editors
Published: June 7, 2026
Last updated: June 7, 2026

On this page

  1. 1. Pizzeria BadialiView →
  2. 2. Pizzeria Via MercantiView →
  3. 3. Bar SugoView →
  4. 4. Pizzeria Libretto - UniversityView →
  5. 5. The Fourth Man in the Fire PizzeriaView →
  6. 6. General Assembly PizzaView →
  7. 7. Napoli Centrale PizzeriaView →
  8. 8. Cafe Diplomatico Restaurant & PizzeriaView →

How the restaurants compare

Editorial restaurant image stand-in for Pizzeria Badiali
Google
Pizzeria Badiali
Toronto • Pizza
9.4/10
TastyPals score
Price
$
Best for
italian
Mood
Casual
Editorial restaurant image stand-in for Pizzeria Via Mercanti
Google
Pizzeria Via Mercanti
Toronto • Pizza
9.0/10
TastyPals score
Price
$
Best for
italian
Mood
Casual
Editorial restaurant image stand-in for Bar Sugo
Google
Bar Sugo
Toronto • Pizza
9.6/10
TastyPals score
Price
$
Best for
italian
Mood
Casual
Editorial restaurant image stand-in for Pizzeria Libretto - University
Google
Pizzeria Libretto - University
Toronto • Pizza
8.8/10
TastyPals score
Price
$
Best for
italian
Mood
Casual

How we chose

We looked for restaurants that feel like a strong fit for the guide topic, not just the most obvious names in the city. The shortlist favors rooms with clear mood, dependable pacing, and enough distinction to help someone decide faster. Read our full methodology →

Room tone

Lighting, pace, and general energy all need to support the reason someone clicked this guide.

Food fit

We favored restaurants that feel best suited for the moment, not just restaurants with broad reputation.

Useful range

The final list tries to give readers enough variation in neighborhood, price, and style to compare real options.

8 ranked picks

Pizzeria Badiali — Pizzeria Badiali on Dovercourt Road has built a reputation that sits well outside what its square footage or its price point would suggest. A 51st-place finish on a global pizza ranking — placing this Toronto slice shop ahead of institutions in Naples and New York — is the kind of result that invites skepticism, and yet the consensus from diners and critics who have made the trip is consistent: Ryan Baddeley's approach to the New York slice is disciplined, ingredient-led, and deliberately unshowy. The menu is short by design, and that brevity is treated as a statement of confidence rather than a limitation. The cheese slice is, by most accounts, the thing to order first — the purest expression of what the kitchen is doing. Diners consistently describe it as the benchmark against which the rest of the menu should be read: a thin, foldable New York-style base with tomato sauce that is reportedly clean rather than sweet, and cheese that browns without excess grease. The pepperoni slice follows the same restrained logic. The 16-inch pies scale those principles up for groups without altering the formula, and the rotating specials are where Baddeley is said to demonstrate range while keeping the underlying approach intact. The menu gives you very little to overthink, which appears to be the entire point. Badiali runs as a counter-service neighbourhood spot — no reservations, no ceremony, no sit-down evening pacing. Peak-hour queues are reported to run 45 minutes to an hour, which makes the online pre-order option less a convenience than a genuine strategy. Place the order ahead, pick it up, and skip the line entirely. That is the practical difference between a good experience and a frustrating one. View restaurant →
Pizzeria Via Mercanti — Pizzeria Via Mercanti carries a specific credential worth noting before you book: the Kensington Market location beat both Libretto and North of Brooklyn on Chow's Pizza Wars, and the man behind the oven — Romolo, a pizzaiolo with roughly four decades of practice — is consistently billed as a grand master of the Neapolitan form. That is an unusual concentration of pedigree for a room at this price point, and it shapes what the place is actually offering: wood-fired, Naples-style pizza made by someone whose institutional knowledge of dough is, by most accounts, the real draw. The Margherita is the dish regulars and critics alike point to as the diagnostic order — the one that reveals whether the kitchen is operating at its standard. It is known for the balance Naples demands: tomato and fior di latte in restraint, the cornicione doing the structural and flavour work a properly fermented rim should. The Via Mercanti two-layer pizza is the signature showpiece, reportedly richer in construction while still built on the same base dough, and it is what long-term regulars tend to direct first-timers toward. The menu also includes a Napoletana and a Calzone, rounding out a focused list that resists the temptation to overreach. One caveat diners raise consistently: quality can shift between locations and across service, and the Augusta Avenue original is the address that receives the steadier reviews. This is a casual neighbourhood dinner rather than a special-occasion room — the Kensington space is small and lively, which accounts for much of its appeal. Walk-ins are reportedly viable on weeknights; for weekend visits, arriving early or checking ahead is the practical move. View restaurant →
Bar Sugo — Bar Sugo has built one of Bloordale's more persistent line-ups outside its Bloor Street door, which in a neighbourhood not short of opinions is a meaningful data point. The kitchen's proposition is deliberately unfashionable: thin-crust pizza and a tight roster of pastas, served in portions that reportedly justify the wait without inflating the cheque. Diners consistently describe the room as convivial and unguarded — the kind of Italian-American red-sauce environment that has no interest in trend-chasing and considerable interest in getting the basics right. The Vinny Massimo is the pizza regulars name first, and the rotating daily specials are where the kitchen reportedly demonstrates range beyond its core menu. The crust is understood to be thin and built to carry toppings rather than perform on its own. On the pasta side, the rigatoni is the dish most frequently cited by returning customers — reportedly cooked properly and sauced with some weight and balance — while the pesto cream spaghetti is consistently mentioned alongside it as a reason to order two pastas rather than one. The calamari is reportedly lighter than the category average, and the tiramisu is said to follow a traditional approach rather than a reworked one. These are the dishes the menu centres on, and the lack of sprawl appears to be a deliberate choice rather than a constraint. Practically: Bar Sugo does not take reservations in the conventional sense, which means a wait at peak hours is the rule rather than the exception. The room runs loud and social — this is not the occasion for a quiet dinner. Arrive early, go with people you want to share a table with, and plan to order across both the pizza and pasta columns. The value-to-portion ratio is what keeps the queue forming. View restaurant →

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Pizzeria Libretto - University — Pizzeria Libretto arrived in Toronto in 2008 with a mandate that was, at the time, genuinely unusual: Vera Pizza Napoletana certification from the Naples government body that sets the standard for what the designation actually means. Co-founders Rocco Agostino and Max Rimaldi had an oven built in Naples and imported the attendant discipline alongside it. That origin story is not mere marketing. A significant portion of Toronto's current pizza culture traces a line back to what Libretto established — that the city could hold itself to a serious, codified tradition. The University Avenue location carries that pedigree into the financial district, serving a lunch crowd that might not make it to the Ossington original. The Margherita is, by design and by the logic of the VPN standard, the dish that reveals what the kitchen is doing. Diners and observers consistently point to it as the order that honours the certification — a short, high-heat bake producing the puffed, flame-touched cornicione and yielding centre that define the Neapolitan style. Beyond orthodoxy, the menu includes a duck confit pizza that reflects the kitchen's willingness to range outside Naples' strict canon, and a rotating seasonal special that reportedly demonstrates similar ambition. Gluten-free pizza is available and is regarded as receiving more considered treatment than is typical at comparable pizzerias. The midday prezzo fisso is frequently cited as one of the more reasonable sit-down lunches in the area. This location takes reservations and moves tables efficiently at lunch, which makes it the practical choice when the Ossington original's well-documented waits are not an option. Come expecting a proper sit-down meal rather than a quick counter transaction — the room is built for an occasion that, at this price level, asks very little of you in return. View restaurant →
The Fourth Man in the Fire Pizzeria — The Fourth Man in the Fire is the New York-style pizzeria from Shant Mardirosian — the same operator behind Burger's Priest — and the project carries over what made that earlier venture work: a deliberately narrow menu built around a single idea executed with genuine conviction. The Biblical name signals a certain seriousness of purpose, and by most accounts the kitchen delivers on that promise. The approach is rooted in New York tradition rather than local improvisation, and the menu is tight enough that every item on it is there for a reason. The NYC round pie is the anchor of what the restaurant is known for — thin, foldable, and reportedly built to hold up under toppings rather than surrender to them. Diners consistently point to the Brooklyn Squares as the order that rewards a second look: a thicker, pan-style cut that offers a different register from the round pies and tends to draw strong repeat loyalty. The mozzarella sticks round out the supporting menu in the way that format demands. The apple fritter donut, however, is the item that stands out in accumulated diner accounts — a California-style dessert that is treated not as an afterthought but as a deliberate reason to return. At a price point that reportedly lands around $35 for a pie that comfortably feeds two, the proposition is straightforward. This is a Dundas West casual — better suited to a generous weeknight dinner or a takeout order than to any occasion requiring ceremony. The half-and-half round pie is the reported move for a two-person table; the Brooklyn Squares are worth adding if the group can manage it. Do not skip the apple fritter donut — by most accounts, it is half the point of the trip. View restaurant →
General Assembly Pizza — General Assembly arrived on the Toronto pizza scene in 2017 with a deliberate argument: that the city warranted a more considered slice, built not on Neapolitan convention but on a naturally fermented sourdough base cut from Canadian and Italian flour with a measure of olive oil that would raise eyebrows in Naples. That departure from orthodoxy is, by all accounts, the point. The dough is reportedly what defines the operation — a crust known for genuine browning, structural crunch, and a tangy complexity that straight Neapolitan dough does not typically carry. The sourcing throughout is described as careful and intentional, which places General Assembly in a bracket above the average downtown slice shop regardless of format. The menu centers on individually sized pies, and the Certified Lover Boy is consistently identified as the signature — the build to start with, an upscale arrangement on that light, fermented base. The Margherita and Pepperoni represent the more classical end of the range and draw their own following among regulars who prefer to let the dough do the talking, while a Seasonal special rotates the lineup and reflects whatever sourcing commitment the kitchen is making at a given moment. The honest caveat that surfaces repeatedly among diners is the price relative to the format: a personal pie here commands more than the category usually demands, and the question of whether it represents the best pizza in Toronto remains actively debated. What is less contested is that it is executing a distinct and coherent vision with consistency. Practically, General Assembly suits a solo lunch on Adelaide Street or a paired dinner for two rather than any kind of group occasion — the individual format is a design choice, not a limitation. Order one each; the size is calibrated for exactly that. View restaurant →
Napoli Centrale Pizzeria — Napoli Centrale on Bathurst Street positions itself squarely in the Neapolitan tradition — wood oven, Italian soundtrack, a lively room — and the regulars who call it the most authentic Neapolitan pizza outside Italy appear, from consistent reporting, to mean it. That is neighbourhood-Neapolitan praise rather than destination-restaurant praise, and the distinction matters: this is Seaton Village doing something specific well, not a tasting-menu occasion. The menu is deliberately focused, which is usually a good sign. The Margherita is, by all accounts, the correct entry point — the benchmark against which the rest of the menu is measured. More revealing of the kitchen's range are the pies a step off the classic: the Brie e Funghi, which the menu builds around fior di latte, mushrooms, and rosemary, and the Quattro Formaggi, anchored by gorgonzola and ricotta. On the antipasti side, the Polpette al sugo and the Zeppoline are the reported openers of choice. One honest caveat worth flagging: Neapolitan dough is unforgiving of any lapse in oven attention, and diners note occasional inconsistency — a wetter centre, a pie that didn't quite finish — which suggests this kitchen rewards visits when the room is at full pace rather than on a quiet, slow night. Practically: the format works best when a table shares across two or three pizzas and the antipasti together. Walk-in availability on weeknights is reportedly reliable, and the pricing sits at a level where the cheque doesn't demand justification. Bring a group, order broadly across the verified menu, and treat this as a generous, informal dinner rather than a carefully timed occasion. View restaurant →
Cafe Diplomatico Restaurant & Pizzeria — Café Diplomatico — known to regulars simply as 'The Dip' — occupies a specific and largely uncontested place in Toronto's dining culture. Founded in 1968 by Rocco Mastrangelo on College Street, it is widely credited as one of Little Italy's first Italian cafés and a pioneer of the Toronto patio at a time when outdoor dining in this city was far from standard practice. More than fifty years on, its reputation rests less on culinary ambition than on continuity: a neighbourhood anchor where soccer matches are watched in collective, and where the occasion is as much the street as the plate. The menu centres on wood-fired pizza and customizable pasta — two straightforward pillars that diners consistently describe as honest Italian-Canadian cooking rather than anything revisionist. These are reportedly old-school renditions, the kind built around familiarity and portion fairness rather than technique for its own sake. Alongside these, the espresso and draft beer are the drinks the place is known for, and by most accounts they are the right companions for a long afternoon on the patio rather than punctuation to a serious dinner. Anyone arriving with tasting-menu expectations will have misread the room entirely; the value here is experiential, not gastronomic. The practical reality is that Café Diplomatico functions best as an afternoon-into-evening patio sitting — ideally when the weather cooperates and a match is on the large screen. It is a walk-in operation, and the heated patio reportedly extends the season beyond what most comparable spots manage. Go in that spirit: a classic pie, a draft, an espresso to close, and the particular pleasure of watching College Street from a table that has been doing exactly this since before most of its current patrons were born. View restaurant →

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Smarter follow-through after the guide: better restaurant context, quicker narrowing, less second-guessing.
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Date night spots with warm rooms and polished service
Next step
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