Pizzeria Libretto

221 Ossington Avenue
Toronto, Canada


As we are all well aware, Ossington Avenue is the new Queen West strip, hopping with new bars, a cool crowd, and some great new places to eat. Pizzeria Libretto is one of them.


Now, I am a BIG lover of pizza, so naturally, I had to try this place. Could is possibly compare to the great Terroni slices?


Well, in all fairness, I would have to say that I'll need to update this blog upon visiting Libretto again. The reason being, because Libretto has such a hot new name and doesn't take reservations, on a Saturday night you'll likely be waiting a couple of hours for your table. Thus, during this time, my group and I went to the bar next door on emtpy stomachs. By the time we were called to say our table was ready, we were pretty full on booze and probably would've eaten a paper drawing of a pizza if you handed it to us.


However, the restaurant vibe itself is unique, with long picnic benches as tables...so be prepared for your neighbours to hear every word that you're saying. Our party started with the Antipasto platter, which consisted of very nicely refined meats and cheeses. I followed with, of course, a pizza. I was a little disappointed to realize that there was, in fact, no cheese on this pizza, however, this was my fault for misreading the menu. I took the proscuitto and aragula pizza, which in the end was extremely tasty. The sauce rivals that of Terroni, however the dough can't quite compare. Although a very good dough, not the absolute best ever.


The only pitfall to mention is that, although there are some great appetizers to start with, this is strictly a pizzeria ladies and gents, so no pasta's or risotto's...just bear that in mind. However the place is cool, the service is good, and I did find the food - especially the starter - to be really tasty. I will be going pack to Libretto again.

Serra Restaurant

378 Bloor Street West
Toronto, Canada

Serra is a classic Italian restaurant, lost in the mix of the Korean, Chinese and pub grub that dominates this area of Bloor Street West. However, every time I walk by, the place is full and there is often a line up. So, of course, I had to decide for myself: is Serra really that good?

And I would say that yes, if you want your average Italian meal, you won't be disappointed. The price is inexpensive, plates from $10 - $17, and covers all your regular American-Italian foods. If you have someone to share with, I recommend splitting the Antipasto platter. Not your average antipasto, as it comes with smoked salmon, grilled calamari (which was actually melt-in-your-mouth), grilled shrimp, and then your usual proscuitto, beef carpaccio and grilled veggies. Lots to choose from and all very tasty. The restaurant boasts wood fired oven pizza's, however I opted for their grilled chicken angel hair pasta, which was nice.

I found the service to be friendly and extremely accomodating, as we did have a 3rd party join late and two servers immediately assisted us with setting up a larger table.

If you want to avoid the hustle and bustle of Little Italy, but still want Italian, make your way down Bloor and give Serra a try.