La Pizza Week 2021 reviews

The 2021 edition of nationwide restaurant festival la Pizza Week continues through May 7, with over 100 Montreal restaurant participating (and delivering via Skip the Dishes). Here are reviews of seven Pizza Week offerings, most of them available exclusively this week:

Pizzeria NO.900

In the Neapolitan pizza game, Pizzeria NO.900 hardly gets its due. Sure, with 25 locations across Quebec, you could argue that it’s garnered some decent popularity. But pizza snobs (among which I count myself), especially those who love Neapolitan pies, often discount it for being chain pizza. Well here’s my official stance: Pizzeria NO.900 is good. Is it the best out there? No, but they do a Neapolitan pie justice. The crusts are charred and bubbly and the flavour hits the spot nearly every time. It’s hard to ask for much more than that. 

To kick off pizza week, I popped by my old standard (there’s one around the corner from my place) to try out their offering: the Double Salami. There’s no mystery to this one, and if you ask me, that’s how I like it. 

This is a classic red-sauce personal pie. Served fresh from the oven, the double salami bears 900’s signature charred and bubbly crust. The pie is then topped with a copious (like almost too much?) amount of organic pepperoni from Les Viandes Bio de Charlevoix and covered in melted caciocavallo cheese. The pepperoni is loaded with fennel seed, which I personally love. And the caciocavallo, which is a firm, slightly nutty cheese, adds some depth to the pie (the way mozzarella wouldn’t) and ups the saltiness level, which is intense but just right for a pepperoni pizza. 

It’s not a revelatory pie, and you have to be a pepperoni fan, but during a week celebrating pizza, you could do a lot worse than the very good, very simple pepperoni pie from Pizzeria NO. 900. (Clayton Sandhu)

G Sacchetti

When is a pizza not a pizza? Dubbed “Montreal’s First Online Virtual Pizzeria specializing in Roman Style Round and Square Pizzas and Sides,” Giuseppe Sacchetti’s angular pies being slung near the super hospital in NDG might not check the obvious boxes, but the Mortassa Ready to Eat (you can buy cold pizzas to warm at home, as well) is undeniably a tasty concoction. It looks more like a focaccia at first blush, rectangular and crusty like al taglio Roman pizzas are supposed to be. Only this la Pizza Week special closes it up like a sandwich. Each bite is brimming with rosemary and garlic, dollops of cheese and thin mortadella. It’s not very pizza-like initially, but if you put it in the oven for an extra few minutes, the elements blend together in a recognizable way. Why put a name on it? It’s fresh and delicious, which is all that matters. (Erik Leijon)

Slice + Soda

Available by the giant slice or in jumbo 22-inch pie format, the CR7 pays homage to soccer player Cristiano Ronaldo with a Portuguese variety of their New York-style pizza. With smoked caciocavallo cheese as well as mozzarella, there’s a solid base of lusciousness for the pizza’s sparse toppings: two-inch chunks of chorizo and thin strips of roasted red pepper. The pizza is seasoned with roasted red onion, fresh basil and oregano, and while the tomato sauce is solid, perhaps an infusion of a Portuguese flavour would’ve been more on-theme. That said, this is definitely a recommended Pizza Week option. (Lorraine Carpenter)

Geppetto

Pizza is a comforting friend we never can get enough of. This is why, with one of my best friends, we eat one pizza a week from a different place each time. Of course, during Pizza Week, I had to try a pizza from a place I’ve never ordered from before. Enter the Jambon-Beurre pizza from Geppetto Pizzeria, with a mascarpone dijon sauce, some rosmarino prosciutto cotto, pecorino pepato, mustard microgreens, black peppercorn mignonette, gherkins pickles and clarified butter. My partner was salivating as I was reading the ingredients out loud and I couldn’t say no to butter on a pizza, so we went for this masterpiece. And boy, we were happy: it wasn’t too heavy, and given that the prosciutto cotto isn’t cooked with the pizza, and with the addition of microgreens, it has this sharp and surprisingly fresh taste that leaves you wanting more. That being said, the dijon mustard mascarpone sauce overpowers the other ingredients and will sometimes take you by surprise. Another missing ingredient: the butter! We didn’t taste any of the buttery goodness that a jambon-beurre has. There was a container on the side of the pizza, but we weren’t sure if it was spicy oil or the clarified butter for us to pour over the pie. We did dip our slices in, but it didn’t add much. Do we — the partner included — recommend it? Yes. Is it our favourite yet? We’re not sure. We’ll have to try some more to say so. Any excuse is good for more pizza! (Yara El-Soueidi)

Fiorellino

Without a doubt, one of my absolute favourite pizzas in Montreal. Fiorellino should be top of mind for anyone looking for authentic Italian cuisine, and we’re all fortunate that the Cacio e Pepe pizza is on their regular menu, outside of La Pizza Week. Based on the traditional Roman pasta dish, literally meaning “cheese and pepper,” Cacio e Pepe translates to perfection in pizza form, the pancetta and black pepper creating a smooth texture with two types of cheese: fior di latte and pecorino. I’m very much looking forward to tasting this again at either of their two restaurants in Montreal when they open for dining-in, hopefully sooner than we think. (Tim Salhany)

Pizzeria Bros

Despite my crazy love for French fries, I’ve never once thought of putting them on a pizza. This year’s Pizza Week entry by Montreal chain Pizzeria Bros, Mi amor Emilia, did not disappoint. The Piri Piri chicken and chorizo sausage were delicious toppings, and the crunchy skinny fries (or batatas fritas as the restaurant calls them) added a nice texture to the overall taste. The pomodoro and spicy mayo was also a very welcome sauce combination. Absolutely recommended for Pizza Week. (Tim Salhany)

Mikes

Honey, I shrunk the pizza! Toujours Mikes has been a staple of children’s pizza parties across Quebec for decades. Lobster season is in full effect and the restaurant chain is taking full advantage with the Lobster & Shrimps Taglio Pizza. Its blend of lobster, shrimp and bacon is a seafood sensation. Particularly, the Gaspésie-imported lobster is sure to make you feel some provincial pride. However, the pizza was far too small for its price, even with the delicious crustaceans on top of it. Toujours Mikes is far from top tier pizza but if you are going to order something from the chain, it might as well be this. (Mr. Wavvy)

For the full list of Montreal restaurants participating la Pizza Week and more details about the festival, please visit the official website.

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