| rev:text
| - BOTTOM LINE: Libretto remains king, but finally, a solid and much needed (Neopolitan) pizza joint in Kensington Market!
(3.5 STARS)
Via Mercanti is brought to you by the guys behind Queen Margherita Pizza and it's a welcome addition to all the food choices in Kensington Market. Their space is large and the seating is comfortable. I couldn't help but smirk at the crooning Italian pop playing in the background. Located just north of Bellevue Square on Augusta, I have a feeling this place will be packed come summer time.
They have a wide selection of pizzas (with and without tomato sauce), and whilst most of them are vegetarian, you can add meat for extra. They also have a good selection of appetizers. The menu, however, is a bit cramped and can make reading a bit difficult.
I had their lunch special of a 6-inch Margherita pizzas with an arugula salad paired with their sauteed rapini with sausage:
-The pizza was a good size and can be finished in one sitting. The tomato sauce was sweet, it had a good portion mozzarella cheese, but I couldn't taste the basil very well. Their thin crust isn't as thin or chewy as Libretto's but I quite liked it. The salad, similarly had some really tasty cheese on it.
-I loved their rapini (fresh and bitter) and sausage (with the skin removed so it's just chunks of pork) that was served with their house-made chili oil. Speaking of their chili oil, whilst clearly freshly made, I would've liked it spicier and with a stronger flavour.
My dining mate ordered their mushroom and olive pizza, and all I can say is that I generally can't stand olives, but these were the first I actually enjoyed! They're not salty at all and the I didn't find the flavour to be overpowering! That's a win in my book. The mushrooms, however, weren't as flavourful as one would've expected.
Whilst we didn't try their pastas, they make their own from scratch and I've heard good things about it...so I can't wait to come back and give it a go.
Finally, they have a respectable selection of beers, including the Amsterdam Bone Rattler (a rather hoppy IPA) and some from the local Augusta Brewery. There's also a healthy selection of wines.
According to blogTO, they're expected to upgrade their oven in a few weeks that should make their pizzas (especially the crust) even better. Their pricing is affordable ($30 for the lunch special + appy + pint + tax and tip), but Libretto still gives you more bang for your buck. Overall, I'm looking forward to returning and trying their other offerings.
|
![[RDF Data]](/fct/images/sw-rdf-blue.png)
![[cxml]](/fct/images/cxml_doc.png)
![[csv]](/fct/images/csv_doc.png)
![[text]](/fct/images/ntriples_doc.png)
![[turtle]](/fct/images/n3turtle_doc.png)
![[ld+json]](/fct/images/jsonld_doc.png)
![[rdf+json]](/fct/images/json_doc.png)
![[rdf+xml]](/fct/images/xml_doc.png)
![[atom+xml]](/fct/images/atom_doc.png)
![[html]](/fct/images/html_doc.png)