Address: 221 Ossington
Phone: 416-532-8000
Dinner for two: $70, including taxes and tip
Hours: Daily 5-11pm
Reservations: No
Wheelchair access: No
“Smile! It’s worth the wait” reads a chalkboard message just inside Pizzeria Libretto, the newest hit destination on Ossington’s restaurant row. Testimonial or not, the tight-fitting crowd does seem to be doing just that: smiling. With a long wait ahead (they don’t accept reservations), surprisingly, no one is whining. Hordes of hungry hipsters wait patiently to sit in a largely communal space; they ripple with anticipation, as if we’re in line at a rock concert or expecting Godot and camping out is an integral part of the experience.
Considering the buzz about Libretto, this comes as little surprise. “It’s like Terroni,” people are saying, “but without the attitude.” Pretty high praise for a fledgling pizzeria in a city where Terroni has been at the tip of almost everyone’s top 10 lists for about a decade. While we won’t go quite that far in our praise of Libretto, we certainly agree with the hypesters about one thing: Libretto’s pizza ranks high on the pie scale.
Baked for a mere 90 seconds in a 900ºF oven, its crispy, charred and blistered outer crust and airy, almost doughy interior come fantastically close to naan fresh from a tandoor oven. Food purists like Heston Blumenthal (In Search of Perfection) would be proud. The Neapolitan mouth-watering results are worthy of the marvellous wood-burning oven used to bake them, the centrepiece of Libretto’s open kitchen. Take one bite and see why owner Max Rimaldi spent the extra dough to have it built in Italy by a third-generation pizza-maker.
As for the toppings that adorn this manna bread, they read well in print, ranging from sardines, citrus olives, herbs and chili oil to duck confit, pesto and tomato.
But in the case of the prosciutto and arugula pie ($17), a hillock of baby greens, cured ham and wickedly light fiore di latte is overshadowed by an overly sweet sauce. The same can be said of the house-made sausage variation ($15). Patches of golden caramelized onions are well matched with a smattering of crumbly, earthy-scented sausage, yet the advertised chilli oil seems to be MIA.
When it comes to appetizers, buttermilk-battered calamari ($10) features a scant portion of thick, plump and tender squid rings riding a rich smear of roasted pepper and almond purée rimmed by basil oil. While we wouldn’t say no to a second helping, Café Diplomatico offers better value — with added jumbo shrimps — for marginally more. The agnolotti ($15) come swimming in a pool of rich but subtle gorgonzola sauce that’s so sinful it should be against the Geneva Convention, but the pasta itself is too thick, undercooked and stuffed with a filling reminiscent of generic-brand cheddar-and-potato perogies. A beef bresola ($8), an opener portion of gorgeously cured fillet with asiago shavings, has us wondering if there’s a member of the staff with the sole job of counting arugula leaves, lest someone overdose on greenery.
Libretto’s mandate to remain true to what a pizza was intended to be is one to be respected — they only use san marzano tomatoes and fiore di latte mozzarella, brought in fresh daily. The dough is made from 100 per cent organic stone-ground flour, never bleached or bromated, leavened naturally and probably kneaded by 80-year-old nonas in a secret grotto nearby. For this, we tip our hats to them. Same for service; no fault on that front. The staff are both courteous and eager to please, with an enthusiasm for the food that borders on fanatical.
This is doubly impressive given the enormous task they have in keeping the seated patrons happy and engaged, while dealing with the pressing need of turning tables to ease the door crashers. Their job isn’t made any easier, we’d imagine, by the quality of house-made desserts such as the lemon panna cotta ($7), which combines a wicked citrus-curd essence with the texture of a fine chèvre. With dolci this good, paired with sublime Reunion Island coffee, you may find yourself never wanting to leave.
So, is this truly the next Terroni? Maybe someday. For now, enjoy a fun, loud and homey hangout that we’ll definitely visit again. For crust this good, it is worth the wait.