I love me some pizza.
Not as much as I do gelato, but I love pizza. And unfortunately, my tastebuds have been a little spoiled because coming from an Italian background, I’ve had the privilege of visiting Italy and eating all the pizza my belly can handle.
So, every now and then, I get a craving for authenticity that needs attending to. Especially since I recently returned from a trip to Italy. Sadly, I’m not yet rich enough to fly across the world at the drop of a dime, every time I please. So I have been on the hunt to find a delicious stone oven pizza place here in the GTA. And luckily, earlier this year I came across this gem, Queen Margherita Pizza.
Initially, I wanted to find a place that is comparable to the ones in Italy. I was looking for something authentic and true to taste. However, after being disappointed numerous times, I knew I was going about it all wrong.
I learned not to compare the taste of pizza here to the pizza in Italy. Unless every single ingredient is imported, it’s never going to taste the same. And I’ve accepted that. Even pizza in Italy tastes different every region you go, from north to south. So it was a totally unreasonable goal.
I then decided to simplify.
Find a place that makes good tasting stone oven pizza.
Basic. And as I do with many new Instagram discoveries, I mention it to bae until he finally caves and takes me.
With Queen Margherita having three locations, we went to the one closest to the east, on Queen Street in Leslieville. We dined on a weekday afternoon to avoid crowds and, upon first sight, it looked like a pub. As you first step in, it’s a little small as there is only a bar, a staircase and a few tables. I was surprised, but didn’t want to jump to any conclusions or go in closed minded because I was there to eat pizza. So if I can grab a slice of 99cents pizza on a busy street corner in Manhattan with no tables, I can eat in the little corners of this restaurant.
After being greeted, we were then lead upstairs to our table and I was impressed when I saw a cool, loft style, open concept restaurant. It was complete with wooden benches, chairs & tables, a white painted brick wall and unfinished flooring. The factory style windows allowed for all the natural lighting to come in, which I love. Most importantly though, the food was delicious.
The portions were good and they have some interesting options for toppings, including kale and sunflower seeds. We got 2 appetizers and 2 pizzas between the both of us. The apps we devoured. We got a grilled kale salad which was so good. We’ve never had anything like it. It had this slight smokey taste and mixed with the cheese was absolutely scrumptious.
With that, I had high expectations for the pizza and they did not disappoint. We chose one white and one red sauce so we could try both styles. Topped with a glass of Brio, the pizza was super tasty and very filling. We even had enough leftovers to make a whole pie, which we took to go. I was hoping there would be a pesto option because that’s alway a favourite of mine, but maybe on a future menu.
In the end, I was very excited to come across Queen Margherita Pizza. The pizza tastes just as delicious as the photos look. (I’m drooling right now as I scroll their feed... And cue hunger).
This pizzeria is for sure a go to, if I’m ever craving thin crust, Italian style pizza. I’m due for a visit, since I haven’t had pizza in almost a month. So I definitely recommend you go check them out too!
xo
Stephanie
*Note: I visited Queen Margherita back in February 2017. Their online menu is slightly different so some items may no longer be available to order… which sucks if the grilled kale salad is gone. It was delicious!
Luxe & Loaded 
