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Best Restaurants In Vancouver: Pizza

Vancouver's Best Pizza
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Everbody loves a good pizza - and that goes double when the pizza is great.

The past two years have seen an influx of great, Italian-style pizzerias to Vancouver, and we are definitely not complaining.

We asked our Huffington Post B.C. food panel to survey the crusts and toppings out there - and nominate their favourites. This way you can leave the mediocre pies behind, and head straight to pizza perfection.

The panel was asked to choose their favourite spot, tell us why, and give us a dish or two they would be sure to order.

Our contributors are all Vancouver-based writers and serious foodies. Between them they have judged a number of local food, wine and restaurant awards.

Check out their nominations - and prepare to drool:

Lombardo's Pizzeria & Ristorante

Best Pizza In Vancouver

Mark Laba, writer and sausage enthusiast. @shmendrick

Husband is caught canoodling with a waitress. Wife takes him to court and then to the cleaners as she wins their jointly-owned pizzeria in the settlement. He opens his own pizzeria down the street to compete. Sounds like an Italian opera or soap opera really. Either way the original Lombardo’s, owned and run by Patti Lombardo has been making incredible wood-oven Neapolitan-style pizza for over 25 years. Hidden away in the small Il Mercato Mall on Commercial Drive, it manages to carve out a tranquil pizza oasis among the lottery machines and cheap boutiques. Try the simple but incredible Margherita or the invigorating Siciliana for a perfect mix of salty, spicy and soothing. You can taste the passion and revenge in every bite.

Lee Man, food writer and founding judge of the Chinese Restaurant Awards.

In my mind, proprietor Terry Deane is THE pioneer of great thin crust pizza in Vancouver. First with Ah-Beetz in Abbotsford and now with Pizza Barbarella in Vancouver, his pies take a real New York City point of view - sure handed, gusty and delicious. The crust crackles with a great chew, sturdier than the full on Neopolitan style. The Fuoco with spicy capicollo and jalapeno is a favorite. The tomato sauce has that real East Coast marinara balance of bright freshness and rounded sweetness. I know what many of you are thinking - jalapeno on a pizza? Trust me, it’s delicious.

Joie Alvaro Kent writes for Montecristo, NUVO and Vancouver magazines. @JoieWrites

Via Tevere Pizzeria

All the pretenders can step aside — Via Tevere Pizzeria is, unquestionably, the real deal. It's a neighbourhood restaurant in the true sense of the word, located along a residential stretch of Victoria Drive and owned by a family originally from Naples that's been making pizzas in East Vancouver for over two decades. The lineup of locals spills out onto the sidewalk each night, but these Neapolitan pies are more than worth the wait.

Arugula salad with lemon caper vinaigrette — refreshing. Homestyle meatballs in a bright, fresh tomato sauce — absolutely killer. But the stars of the show are Frank and Dominic Morra's perfectly blistered pizzas, certified authentic by the Associazione Vera Pizza Napoletana and served hot out of their wood-fired Stefano Ferraro oven. Top marks for the simple, rustic Filetto: San Marzano tomato fillets with creamy fior de latte, garlic, and basil.

Kasey Wilson is an award-winning food and travel writer, co-host of AM650s Best of Food & Wine and editor of Best Places Vancouver.

Pizzeria Farina

In a city that’s gone crazy for Naples-style pizza, veteran chef J.C. Poirier is breaking the mold with more classic Italian pies in a slice of a space tucked into decaying brick at the Cobalt Hotel. There’s a ten-seat communal table for eating and meeting fellow pizza nerds or you can order take-out. Neapolitan pizza needs to be eaten immediately says Poirier or the crust loses its texture. He builds his dough to be crispy and toothsome, able to withstand traveling. A word to the wise, he opens daily at 5p.m. and only makes so much dough — when it runs out, the place closes. Try the Finocchiona with fennel sausage, tomato sauce, provolone, Parmesan and spicy peppers or check out Poirier’s special creation of the day.

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