Rocky Mountain Flatbread Co. Frying Pan Pizza Kit; Photo: Tara Lee
National Pizza Day takes place on February 9 but let’s be honest: many of us have a hankering for pizza daily, especially given the number of establishments in Vancouver that have taken this city’s pizza game up a serious notch.
Take the home pizza kit from Rocky Mountain Flatbread as an example. There was a time when making pizza at home basically consisted of heating up a mass-produced frozen product. Now, thanks to Rocky Mountain Flatbread, that beautifully charred crust and the fresh, high quality ingredients that you associate with restaurant pizza can happen at home.
And there are many other places all around the city offering pizza that you can try in the lead up to – and after National Pizza Day!
Until further notice, in line with the public health order, non-essential travel into, within, and out of BC is not recommended. BC residents, let’s do our part by continuing to stay small and support local with your immediate household, in accordance with the latest guidelines.
Rocky Mountain Flatbread
Frying Pan Margherita Pizza (with chorizo) from Kit; Photo: Tara Lee
Rocky Mountain Flatbread (1876 West 1st Avenue; 4186 Main Street) has been long known for their interactive and fun pizza parties. With COVID-19, the restaurant has shifted to household-bubble pizza making at the restaurant, and at-home pizza kits. Designed to approximate a forno-style pizza, the kit comes with easy-to-follow instructions that will see you rolling, adding on toppings, and using the heat from a frying pan and your oven to make pizza magic. It promises a delightful (and relaxing) activity with the whole household or over Zoom with family and friends.
Each kit comes with instructions, two balls of double fermented organic dough, house-made tomato sauce, flour (for making your pizza), and toppings for either margherita (parmesan, fior di latte, fresh basil) or BC mushroom pizzas (parmesan, fior di latte, BC mushroom mix, truffle oil). You can add chorizo or vegan Beyond sausage if you want to add more protein. And the result when it comes crisp and bubbling from your oven transforms your home into an Italian trattoria. Kits can be customized to be gluten wise or vegan. There’s also a version for the kids, as well as Cocktail Kits (e.g., You, Me, & Green Tea) for the adults.
And if you don’t feel like cooking, there are always dine-in, take-out, and delivery pizza options at Rocky Mountain, like the genoa salami flatbread with organic tomato sauce, mozzarella, crimini mushrooms, marinated cherry tomatoes, kalamata olives, caramelized red onion, fior di latte, and basil.
Bufala
Pepperoni pizza (with extra cheese); Photo: Tara Lee
Now two locations strong, Bufala (5395 West Boulevard; 3280 Edgemont Boulevard, North Vancouver) has received considerable critical acclaim, including capturing Bronze for Best Pizzeria at the 2020 Vanmag Restaurant Awards. And the award was for good reason: the thin-crust pizzas arrive blistered from their 800 degree stone oven with toppings that evidence no shortcuts when it comes to freshness and quality. For example, at the Kerrisdale location, run-of-the-mill ham and pineapple is made inventive and absolutely delicious with the use of hot-smoked ham, confit garlic, roasted pineapple, rosemary, manchego, and bianco sauce. Other Kerrisdale favourites include the lamb merguez with smoked provolone, mozzarella, shallots, lemon, and hot sauce; and the funghi with roasted mushrooms, goat cheese, arugula, pecorino tartufo, and bianco sauce. Delivery and takeout options are available at both locations.
Nightingale Restaurant
Delicata squash pizza; Photo: Nightingale
There’s so much to like on the Nightingale (1017 Hasting Street) menu, including their thin-crust Neapolitan-style pizzas. Ingredient selections show a craftmanship in terms of textural and flavour combos, like one with mortadella, pistachio, honey, and lemon ricotta; or another with broccolini, chanterelles, arugula, and chimichurri. A pizza perfect for seasonal produce is one with delicata, burrata, aged balsamic, and chives. Delivery and takeout options are available. And even better, on February 9, in honour of National Pizza Day, Nightingale will be offering Happy Hour pricing on all their pizzas, making them a very reasonable $13 (applies only to dine-in and takeout pizzas; excludes delivery/DoorDash pizzas).
Frozen mushroom pizza; Photo: Nightingale
You’ll never go back to bland frozen pizzas from the grocery aisle once you’ve tried one of Nightingale’s heat and serve pizzas, like the frozen mushroom pizza with wild mushrooms, mozzarella, pecorino, sunflower seeds, and white sauce. It’s also available at Bel Café (801 West Georgia Street).
Sprezzatura
Proscuitto & pear pizza as part of Vancouver Foodster Pizza Challenge 2020; Photo: Tara Lee
The interiors of Sprezzatura (265 Kingsway) are gorgeous – a charming confluence of industrial chic, old school Italian, and feminine whimsy. And the pizza is seriously good: authentic “Vera pizza Napoletana,” with a char on the crust and a light, airy crust (folding it works for eating but a knife and fork also do the trick). There are so many appealing choices, like the prosciutto and arugula pizza with fior di latte, tomatoes, and parmegiano; the potato and taleggio with white sauce, fior di latte, and confit garlic; and the roasted pork belly with fior di latte, fennel, and caramelized onion. Delivery and takeout options are available.
Sopra Sotto Pizzeria
Mortadella with mozzarella, and pistachio; Photo: Sopra Sotto
Born on the Drive (1510 Commercial Drive), Sopra Sotto has expanded to Burnaby (4022 Hastings Street, Burnaby) but still retains the spirit of Vancouver’s Little Italy: authentic food crafted from simple, classically delicious flavour pairings. When the pizzas are served straight from the wood-fired oven, breathe in deeply the aromas of the confluence of fresh ingredients.
Contadina; Photo: Tara Lee
Go for the Contadina pizza with Taleggio cheese, smoked pancetta, cherry tomatoes, mushrooms, and green onion; the mortadella pizza with mozzarella, and pistachio; or if you like a bit of heat, the Diavola pizza with San Marzano tomato sauce, mozzarella, spicy Italian salami, grana padano, and basil. The Cantadino is also transformed into a breakfast pizza on the weekends when it comes topped with an egg. Delivery and takeout options are available.
Capo and the Spritz
Shrooms pizza; Photo: Tara Lee
Yaletown has some new Italian kids on the block, one of them being Capo and the Spritz (350 Davie Street) in the Opus Hotel. The folks behind Autostrada really know what they’re doing when it comes to Italian fare, as showcased by pasta, and of course, the pizza. The crust itself has great textural chew, perfectly spotlighting only the best of ingredients. Be a Rebel with a pizza with prosciutto cotto, cacciocavello, and chili pineapple, or revel in a sweet, savoury, and peppery mashup with the Shrooms, a bianca pizza that consists of fungi, taleggio, kale, honey, and black pepper. Takeout and delivery options are available.
Tutto Restaurant & Bar
al Salame; Photo: Tara Lee
The other new Italian darling in Yaletown is Tutto Restaurant & Bar (901 Homer Street), offering an elegantly refined weekday lunch and dinner service. Pizza selections show a skilled, modern attention to traditional Italian ingredients, like the parma prosciutto with parmigiano crema, arugula, and burrata; or the guanciale e patate with baby gem potatoes, black kale, smoked mozzarella, guanciale, white sauce, and crispy shallots. Delivery and takeout options are available.
Cardero’s
Double pepperoni pizza; Photo: Trattoria
If you’re looking for pizza with a spectacular marina-side view, Cardero’s is your spot (1583 Coal Harbour Quay). Nestled in very picturesque Coal Harbour, the restaurant offers gorgeous sightlines of the Burrard inlet and Northshore mountains (snag a seat on the patio for the best gazing). Pizza selections from their wood-burning oven include the double pepperoni, in addition to the Sicilian with Italian pork sausage, roasted fennel, pickled banana peppers, tomato sauce, and mozzarella. A gluten-free pizza option is also possible. Takeout is available.
Trattoria
Carne; Photo: Trattoria
Servicing three of the Lower Mainland’s areas, Trattoria (1850 West 4th Avenue; 102-4501 Kingsway, Burnaby; 757 Main Street, West Vancouver) stays true to its name: offering an inviting eating experience that distils the best of Italian cuisine – like pizza! The classic margherita with tomato, basil, fior di latte is always a good choice; or, if you’re feeling particularly peckish, feast on the carne, with calabrese, capocollo, fennel sausage, meatballs, and pepperoncini. Trattoria also does a lovely funghi pizza with smoked pancetta, mushrooms, creamed leeks, sprouts, and provolone. Delivery and takeout are available.
Di Beppe
Pepperoni and funghi; Photo: Di Beppe
In the heart of Gastown, Di Beppe (8 West Cordova Street) brings together both a caffè and a ristorante concept. On the caffè side, pizza is available by the slice or you can order whole pizzas on the ristorante side. Their distinctive rectangle-shaped pizzas come in two sizes: in Pala for 1-2 people, or al Metro for 3-4 people. The crust shows char and billow, with topping choices that maximize flavour, as illustrated in a pizza with tomato sauce, Sicilian chili salami, charred broccolini, caperberries, fermented hot sauce, fior di latte, and grana Padano; or another tempting pizza with tomato sauce, capers, spicy pickled eggplant, grana Padano, hot capicollo, green kale, fior di latte, and gorgonzola dolce. Wowsers! Delivery and takeout are available.
And this list is just the amuse bouche for your pizza eating adventures in Vancouver. With so many wonderful options, National Pizza Day can be any day you feel like reaching for a slice (or a whole pie).
