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8a Gloucester Street, Toronto ON 416-960-0092 Map Approx $20 per person Local Food? some local ingredients Local Wine/Beer? very small selection |
Lunch, Dinner Mon to Sun: 11am to 11pm |
Olympic Pizza is rare in its class, in that it’s a sit-down pizzeria in downtown Toronto. Add to that, it’s not a franchise, but a unique restaurant that has been around since 1976. It’s a refreshing contradiction to the multitudinous fast-food pizza joints that litter the streets of downtown Toronto.
This unique restaurant serves up all kinds of pizzas, in every size you could ask for, depending how hungry you are. If you want your own pie, there’s the 9 inch, (yields 4 slices), and they just keep getting bigger, from 11 inches, to 14, to 16, and finally 18 inches (yields 12 slices).
Choose one of the House Specialty Pizzas, which includes Hawaiian, Canadian, Mediterranean, and Pesto, or design your own, selecting from the list of traditional and gourmet toppings. Olympic also serves panzerottos (deep fried or baked), garlic bread, salads, and a long list of pasta entrees and hot sandwiches if you’re not in the mood for pizza.
It’s a cheerful, upbeat restaurant, usually has a full house at mealtimes, and is great for casual corporate lunches. The staff is minimal, and hard to track down, especially on busy days, so allow sufficient time for a relaxed meal. The food is worth the wait though… the pizza comes to your table piping hot with lots of cheese and a generous proportion of toppings. If you’re a pizza lover, there’s nothing like enjoying a fresh pizza, custom made to your liking, straight out of the oven.
The restaurant is one large room, open all around, without any booths. There are lots of tables, and they’re often joined together to make one long banquet table, for large groups. Outside, there’s a sidewalk patio at the front of the restaurant, which is perfect for warm summer days, and even some sunny autumn and winter days.
It’s one of those places where you go when you have an urge for some really delicious gourmet pizza, on a day when you have time to wait, to savour the end result. The champion nature of the pizza makes the name Olympic Pizza that much more applicable, and makes it one of my favourite pizza experiences to date.
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