Where to eat pizza in Ottawa — according to five years worth of Ottawa Citizen resto reviews

The Citizen’s restaurant criticPeter Humhas put years of work into this list of Ottawa-area pizza purveyorstaste-testing and reviewing each spot along the way. We’ve compiled every pizza-themed review we’ve published over the last five years in one spotto help you decide where to go when it’s time for some pizza.

This roundup post is based on the past few years of reporting and reviews. Information here may not be up to date. We’ve listed the publication dateso we are all on the same pageplus the original links so you can read the full article.

SchoolHouse Pizza

At SchoolHouse Pizzawhich has a location each in New Edinburgh and Little Italypizza crusts are distinctive and enjoyable — thintexturally on-point marvels with an appealing combination of crispness and chew. Made with high-protein bread flourthe dough is fermented for about three days so that pizzas are lightercrisper and more easily digested. Pies that hit the mark included the “Made in Brooklyn,” a fancied-up pepperoni pizza with premium ingredients and extra flavoursthe mushroom pizza made with locally grown Le Coprin mushrooms plus hits of garlic and truffleand the cacio e pepethat won us over with its garlic and black pepper creamcracked black pepper and coppa ham.

Read the April 132025 review of SchoolHouse Pizza here.

Opened in Vanier in 1960 by Louis Rizkwho came to Ottawa from Lebanon in the 1950sthe diner- Louis Pizza & Restaurant is an Ottawa pizza institution. Four generations of the same familynumbering more than 30 peoplehave worked at the restaurant. Among them are pizza-maker Mounir Saab74 and still going strongand his daughter Remawho works out front and is the kind of host who instantly calls strangers “sweetheart” and means it. Of all the old-school pizzerias in OttawaLouis may be the friendliest. It also may have the best crust of all of them. Herethe perimeters of the pies are crisp and deliciously cheesy.

Read the April 132025 review of Louis Pizza & Restaurant here.

In WestboroHouse of Pizzawhich is owned and operated by the veteran pizza-making couple Gabriel and Nadine Khatermakes both thin-crust pizzas and the kind of old-fashionedcheese-heavy pies that have defined Ottawa’s pizza scene for decades. Heretraditional Ottawa-Lebanese- pizzas are well-made and hefty without being sloppy. Their house-made tomato sauce is zestythanks to spices that the Khaters will not divulge and their cheese is a mix of mozzarella for gooeyness and brick for a salty flavour. The Canadian pizzamade with mushroomsold-school pepperonibacon and double cheeseis justifiably popular. Among thin-crust pizzasthe salumeria pizza is a top-sellerappealing to meat lovers with prosciuttocapicollo and Italian sausagenot to mention mushrooms and the cheese and tomato sauce that are on all of House of Pizza’s pies. The more minimalist Margherita pizza sported a well-puffedleopard-spotted crust.

Read the April 132025 review of House of Pizza here.

Pizza Nerds

478 Bank St. and 44 Seneca St.pizzanerds.ca

Pizza Nerds makes Neapolitan- thin-crust pizzas and has developed enthusiastic followings for both its Centretown and Old Ottawa South locations. The pizzeria strives for qualityvariety and imagination with 16 pies at an appealing price point. Pizzas here are between $19 and $25while some premium pizza competitors can ask in the high $20s or more than $30 for their wares. We tried four Pizza Nerd pies. Three were winners that prompted disagreements about our favourites. I voted for the Maclaren (prosciuttoapplegoat cheese and spicy honey)but the Lisgar (house-made sausage with local cheesebasil puree and tomato sauce) and Lyon (black-pepper-molasses baconlocal cheesepickled red onion and chili-basil honey) were close runners-up. Only the mushroom-based Bank pizza fell shortwe thought.

Read the full Pizza Nerds reviewpublished Apr. 92024.

Tennessy Willems

1082 Wellington St. W.613-722-0000twpizza.squarespace.com

Opened in 2010this Hintonburg wood-fired pizza joint serves thin-crust pies that are a little more North American than Neapolitanwhich is to say that they are a little more rigid and easy to eat with your hands. The topping combinations here were first-rateand the wild boar sausage pizzawhich also stars sage pestoapple and cheddar was fantastic. Not surprisinglywe were told that this pie was far and away the most popular pizza at Tennessy Willems.

Read the full Tennessy Willems reviewpublished Apr. 92024.

Colonnade Pizza (five locations)

280 Metcalfe St.1500 Bank St.1463 Merivale Rd.No. 22140 Carling Ave.896 Greenbank Rd.colonnadepizza.com

More than a pizzeriaColonnade is a brand. Its original downtown location on Metcalfe Street has been slinging pies since 1967and Peter Dahdouhson of original owner Kalil Dahdouhhas overseen Colonnade’s franchising so that there are four more Colonnades further flung from downtown in Ottawa. Colonnade serves goodthickheavylots-of-cheeseOttawa- pizza. Howeverat a recent visit to the downtown locationwe found that the pies were a little light on the sauceand the less meaty pies were under-seasoned. It might be that Colonnade’s legion of fans value its signature brick cheese above all else.

Read the full Colonnade reviewpublished Apr. 92024.

KS on the Keys

1029 Dazé St.613-521-0498ksonthekeys.com

Like the ColonnadeKS on the Keys is one of Ottawa’s pizza old-timers. The South Keys eatery’s original location opened in 1971and like the Colonnadeit’s a Lebanese-owned business known for its timelessparticular-to-Ottawaheftycheese-blanketed pies. The KS pizza (pepperonimushroomgreen peppergreen olive) will make lovers of old-fashioned combination pizza swoon. More modern palates might prefer Colonnade’s “gourmet pizzas,” which were more like flatbreads that featured garlicky or barbecue sauces and chicken.

Read the full KS on the Keys reviewpublished Apr. 92024.

Tangerine Pizza

969 Cummings Ave.613-745-2525tangerinepizza.com

This 15-year-old Italian-Canadian eatery in Gloucester has won over regulars who like heftyheavy-on-the-toppings pies such as the Tangerine specialcame fully loaded with pepperonigreen olivesmushrooms and crisp bacon. The mom-and-pop operation also grows some vegetables that feature in its foodand its vegetable and bean soup was surprisingly good.

Read the full Tangerine Pizza reviewpublished Apr. 92024.

Roberto Pizza Romana

241 Chem. Old Chelsea819-827-2882robertopizzaromana.lightspeedordering.com

Roberto Pizza Romana in Old Chelsea makes exceptional pizzas in the Roman rectangularwith a thincrispy crust. At our visitsroughly 10 pieces were available by the sliceall with gourmet toppings. Confit tomato and house-made ricotta was veryvery good. But so was the mortadella and pistachio slice. Equally simple yet top-notch was the pizza topped with ham and a softbrie-like cheese. The truffled potato pizza was so good that another slice of it was in order. Speck and hazelnut pizza impressed me a little lesswhich is not to say that I would disapprove of having it again.

Read the full Roberto Pizza Romana review originally published Oct. 62023.

Retro Gusto

122 Preston St.613-234-5747retrogustoeats.com

At Retro Gustopizzas shared thin and crisped but pliant crustswith toppings spread almost to their edgeswhich have no elevated rims. The crusts here hit the sweet spot between usually saggy and sometimes soupy Neapolitan pizzas and more chewier North American thin crusts.

Read the full Retro Gusto review, originally published Oct. 12022.

Toppings Unlimited

306 Preston St.613-565-0971toppingsunlimited.ca

Toppings Unlimiteda pizzeria that opened in May 2022 on Preston Street just north of the Queenswaypractically invites you to spin the globe before picking your pizza. Pies at this fast-food eatery range from the usual “New York” pepperoni pizza to more unique pies described as Caribbean barbecue to Manila adobo to Spanish paella to Delhi butter chicken to Australian-and Irish- to Da Lat Vietnamese pizza. Even if we experienced more novelty than deliciousnessI give full marks to this business’s owner for committing to his concept.

Read the full Toppings Unlimited review, published Aug. 252022.

Lil Z’s Pizza

45 Clarence St.613-860-3333lilzpizza.com

Lil Z’s vegetarian “Lil Z” pizzawith ricottagarlicchili flakes and more on an everything-bagel crust.

This ByWard Market pizza place consistently made pizzas with distinctive and enjoyable crusts that were thin but both sturdy and chewyless Neapolitan and more North American. Of the more creative pizzaswe really liked the eponymous Lil Z ($20)a vegetarian pizza that delivered a cavalcade of flavours thanks to ricottagarlicred onionchili flakesbasiland lemon zestplus zucchinion an “everything bagel” crust that also had hits of hot honeythe pizza garnish of the moment.

Read the full Lil Z’s Pizza review, published June 302022.

Giulia

350 Elgin St. and 61 York St.613-422-7492eatgiuliapizza.com
Pepperoni pizza at Giulia on Elgin Street

This sibling brand of the Ottawa restaurants RivieraEl Camino and Datsun opened its first pizzeria in the summer of 2021 on Elgin Street. More recentlya second location in the ByWard Market opened. At one visitthe pepperoni pizza was a showstopper — zestily saucednotablybut not excessively salty and blessed with a finethin crust that combined crunchy blistered spots and stretches of pleasant chewiness.

Read the full Giulia reviewpublished Aug. 72021.

Heartbreakers Pizza

465 Parkdale Ave.613-724-1144heartbreakerspizza.com

Owners Juliana Graf and siblings Andrew and Lizzie Chatham opened Heartbreakers Pizza just before the pandemic beganand subsequently made their stellar reputation with upscale takeout thin-crust pies. The dining room eventually openedand a curated menu of nine pizzas is in force. Pizzas that I’ve had over the years have always had pleasingly chewy crusts and admirable toppings.

Read the full Heartbreakers Pizza review, published Apr. 232020.

Stay Gold Detroit-Style Pizza

360 Elgin St.613-421-4653pizzastaygold.com
Bee Sting pizza from Stay Gold Detroit Style Pizza.

In 2019if some U.S. food writers were correctDetroit- pizza was having its momentspreading in popularity far beyond Motown. Thereculinary legend has it that rectangularpillowy pizzas with crispcheesy edges and uniformly browned bottoms were first baked decades ago in blue steel pans used by automotive workers. In OttawaStay Gold was a pioneer of this pizza . To love Stay Gold’s pizzayou really have to love breadbecause these loavesif I can call them thatbrought to mind focaccia with pizza-like garnishes. Among themthe Bee Sting pizzamade with pepperonisoppressata and chili honeytasted meatysweet and spicy.

Read the full Stay Gold Detroit Style Pizza review, published March 132021.

Del Piacere

416 Preston St.613-422-4416delpiacere.ca

Pietro Amariellochef-owner of Del Piacere on Preston Streetcooked in LuccaItaly for 30 years before he came to Ottawa in 2018. He worked at La Favoritathe veteran pizza and calzone eatery 100 metres up the streetbut left to open Del Piacere in early October 2020. While Del Piacere is not exclusively about pizzasits open kitchen includes a wood-burning ovenand we tried one of Amariello’s 10 pizzas.  The tasty prosciutto and mushroom pizza that we took home was massive and thin of crusttrue to the Neapolitan Amariello promises. Gluten-free pizzas are also available.

Read the full Del Piacere reviewpublished Dec 17. 2020.

Pi Co. Pizza Bar

236 Richmond Rd. and 170 Metcalfe St.pi-co.ca

The Toronto-based fast-food franchise came to Ottawa just before the pandemic began. At Pi Co. locationsthey make Neapolitan pizzas to ordersliding pies with customer-chosen toppings selected from a bountiful mise en place station into a sleek ceramic pizza oven for a 90-second spin in 715 F heat.

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Read a feature on Pi Co and other franchises, published Feb. 202020.

Farinella

492 Rochester St.and 806 March Rd.Unit 1farinellaeats.com

The two Farinella locations —  the 2019 original in Little Italy and its 2021 Kanata spin-off — specially in oblongRoman- creations with bread-y bases that are almost one-metre long and toppings that “are strictly traditional,” according to Ottawa-raised co-owner Cesare Agostiniwho spent four years making pizza in Rome. Past highlights have included a potato pizzaflecked with rosemary and notably pepperysome mushroom pizza that tucked its fungus under dollops of gloriously molten whipped ricottaa pizza that played vibrant fresh tomatoes against their sun-dried cousins and some utterly simple zucchini pizza. While the first Farinella did roaring business selling pizza basically by the slicethe pies now are sold in full-metre and half-metre sizes.

Read the full Farinella reviewpublished July 172019.

Editor’s note: This roundup post is based on the past five years of reporting and reviews. Information here here may not always be current. Click through to each article to see the date of publication. 

Where else should Peter Hum go for pizza? Leave a suggestion in a comment or send a suggestion to: [email protected]

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