Flora Pizzeria — Restaurant in Hamilton

This was an unexpected gem. Drove all the way to Hamilton from Vaughan to try the donuts and pizza at Cafe Baffico but disappointedly left as they were out of donuts and with a showcase of 2 dried slices of pizza shortly after noon. Trying to salvage the trip, did a search and found this place. It’s a bit hard to find as it is just a door underneath a bigger building to the side. Unfortunately parking, with high snow banks, made it challenging but was well worth it. It’s a no frills place. The pizza was not what I expected. They had 2 sheets of premade pizza, looked dry but that’s just the base. Ordered the Margherita and Pepperoni. They take the slice and dress it before and after they reheat it. The crust is perfect. I’m quite picky on pizza. I do not like thick and overly crusty crust. I prefer Neapolitan style but this think, crusty but airy crust was just perfect as each bite had a great topping to crust ratio to the taste. The toppings simple, not excessively dressed. The Margherita had the fresh basil to the side for you to put on as pleased. It is not placed on the pizza while reheated. They know how to do it right. The pepperoni was yummy, tasty and bolder flavor, as expected, than the other slice. Simple and not overly salted is how I like my pizza. Loved both of the pizza slices. Had to ask them where to get old style donuts in the area and suggested Grandad’s and they were right. Back to the pizza…it left our mouths so well, we returned back to Flora to order one whole pizza to take back home. Just as good reheated at home, even to the next day. Will be telling folks who live out on the west end to check this place out. ...

Flora is a beautiful testament to pizza, etched out of simplicity and freshness. This Roman-style pie belongs among the statuary of Hamilton's finest pizza.

Flora has the cleanest tasting pizza that I have tried in recent memory. It was a revelation that there was no grease to be found on the hearty margherita pie. The dough was exquisitely cooked and portioned; the body maintains a softness while having a proficiently charred underside and the crust has a respective and impressive crisp and density, standing apart from the body.

I would hazard that the flour used in the dough is whole or enriched and not refined white, which gives the pie a healthy and bucolic quality.

The cheese was creamy and luscious with pleasing pull and salinity. The sauce was not liberally applied and was perhaps too simplistic at heart. It owns a mild tang but taste like little more than two or three ingredients were used in its construction. It is fresh, but lacks zest and complexity. The pie artfully came with fresh basil on the side, giving the diner's preference total control of the supportive succulent's place on the pallet.

Overall, Flora feels like a pie that has been admirably restored from centuries ago.The flavours don't leap off the page, as the sauce is demure and lacking. It is, however, a masterpiece of rustic, technical subtlety. Many Roman style pizzas can easily tumble out of control and eat like weighty, marble albatrosses; this is not the case with Flora. I felt energized, refreshed and satisfied after my meal which can sparsely be said of even thin-crust pies.

I give Flora a 8.2 on the world scale and a 9.1 on the Hamilton...

Pizza Margherita, $5.69

╒════╡ Main (Pizza) ╞════╕

Ingredients: dough, tomato sauce, (stretched?) cheese, basil

Presentation: ★★★★☆ - Green (leaves), white (cheese), red (tomato sauce), and brown (dough) - baked just right to bring out a caramel shine.

Aroma: ★★★☆☆ - The slice smells like well-baked dough - pleasant yet uninspired. I'd be concerned if it smells like anything else though. Since food is cooked in the same room just behind the counter, the whole restaurant smells like pizza. I find this quite appetizing; your mileage may vary.

Flavour: ★★★★☆ - Buttery and herbal. The spongy dough lets enough air through, so that flavours from each ingredient can come together to form a diverse profile.

Texture: ★★★★★ - The bottom is crusty, the dough is soft, the sauce is mellow, and the cheese is tender; this single slice of pizza offers as much variety as a well-prepared dinner. At no point was it hard to swallow.

Value: ★★★★☆ - Restaurant-quality pizzas priced at par with most pizza chains. A steal for the price.

╒════╡ Environment ╞════╕

Service: ✓ - Staff/owners (who also double as cooks) are professional and work with a smile. They are attentive to my needs.

Cleanliness: ✓✗ - Staffs are not masked. Though the mandates have been lifted, I'd still be inclined to hold restaurant workers to a higher standard. The entire kitchen is...