At last, Pizzeria Libretto has opened a larger location,
conveniently located downtown and takes reservations! Of course, it’s no longer
the mom and pop shop on Ossington having expanded to three locations with a
fourth on the way. However, they are still Vera Pizza Napoletana (VPN)
certified, essentially ensuring preparation of the pizza follow standards that
make it truly Neapolitan.
Since it was my first real meal at the restaurant, we went
with two titled dishes – the Libretto meatballs ($10) and Libretto
Margherita ($17) pizza. Plump and
fluffy, the meatballs were flavourful without heaviness. A classic marinara,
shavings of Grana Padano and crusty toasted bread finished off the delicious
appetizer.
The pizza was less impressive with large pieces of crushed
tomatoes overwhelming the rest of the ingredients and making the pizza soggy.
Moreover, the ingredients were heavily concentrated towards the centre of the
pie leaving large swaths of crust areas plain.
A VPN Neapolitan crust is generally softer as it’s supposed
to be kneaded and formed by hand, thinly formed and cooked at a high heat for
no more than 90 seconds. In the end, there wouldn’t be the crisp bottom, but
rather a fragrant blistered crust with an elastic chewiness. At Libretto, they
met these requirements.
We should have gone with the duck confit pizza ($17), which
although not traditional, is a lovely combination of salty duck breast, sweet bosc
pear and caramelized onions. Moreover, a $1 from each pizza is donated to Mealshare
to help feed others.
To balance off the meal, we split an arugula salad ($9) that
had a lovely balanced Ontario Gamay vinaigrette and plenty of toppings (crisp
walnuts, juicy pear and a neutral piave
cheese).
Libretto’s tiramisu ($7) is worth a try if you love the
Italian dessert as much as I do. Arriving in a mason jar was the first sign
that the tiramisu would be moist and creamy. Sure enough, the cookie layers were
soaked with plenty of espresso, adding a fragrant bitterness against the sweet
mascarpone cream. A delicious ending to a comforting meal.
How To Find Them
Location: Toronto, Canada
Address: 155 University Avenue
Address: 155 University Avenue
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Gastro World's Grading System
- Anything under 5 - I really disliked and will never go back
- 6 - decent restaurant but I likely won't return
- 7 - decent restaurant and I will likely return
- 8 - great restaurant that I'd be happy to recommend
- 9 - fantastic restaurant that I would love to visit regularly and highly recommend
- 10 - absolute perfection!
Is That It? I Want More!
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