Beast Pizza — Restaurant in Toronto

Food Review: Beast Pizza If you have been following my pizza adventures, you know that I have been on a quest to find the very best pizza Toronto has to offer. And that is a tall order given the competitive nature of the Toronto food scene. On Saturday, I got a little bit closer to that realization by visiting Beast Pizza. And this place did not disappoint, lived up to all the hype. Now let’s talk Pete-zah. I knew I was going to love this place because there’s a sign that says – Pete-zah. How can you go wrong?

The pizza looks like a giant loaf of Italian bread when it’s dropped on the table. On this particular night, we ordered: “The Meatball Pizza” (red sauce, mozzarella, fennel jam, and arugula), “What The Cluck” (sweet potato cream sauce, mozzarella and collard greens), and Philly Cheesesteak Pizza. It was the special of the night. There are several great appetizers on the menu however, we only ordered one, and that was the Maccheroni with Iberico Pork Bolognese – a house-made macaroni simmered in a tomato-based ragu with ground pork and vegetables.

Each pizza was an absolute standout, my favorite being the Meatball, and the Philly Cheesesteak being a close second. The pizzas are quite deceiving. You think you are going to be biting into a large piece of bread and that’s your first holy cow moment. There are tons of air pockets in the dough which makes the pie look beast-like however, it’s like biting into a cloud. Tons of air pockets and space…pillowy soft.

The toppings are perfectly matched and balanced for each pizza. You can understand why they don’t allow substitutions of any kind. Don’t even think of going to this place if you’re an artist and like to order your style pizza. This is not that kind of place. NO SOUP FOR YOU.

The Philly Cheesesteak pizza was the evening's shocker. I’ve been to Philadelphia and there’s a fine art to assembling these things. If done properly, they are incredible. Seasoned steak, onions, green pepper and the right amount of liquid American cheese. I mean the cheese looks like a waste by-product of a nuclear facility however, it’s so good. And the geniuses at Beast somehow put the perfect cheesesteak on top of their pizza. It was so good. What The Cluck was not bad but did not leave a lasting impression like the other two. The pasta dish was okay, but not something I would order on a second visit. If you want pasta, head a few blocks north to Geary Avenue and get some fresh stuff with Bolognese. It’s epic.

Now here’s the kicker. For me…and this is just me, the real surprise of the night was the atmosphere. This is a tiny place that has four tables in total and a bar that seats about 10. The place feels like a neighborhood pub colliding with a 1950s-style dinner. No hint of designer anything in this place, coupled with a very humble and pleasant staff. From one table, you have a bird’s eye view into the kitchen and all the characters at the bar – a couple of university guys about to do some food damage, a first date, and a regular. The vibe is almost Cheers-like. Everyone knows your name and if they don’t, they soon will. This stood out for me because Toronto does not celebrate what I would classify as a “Joint.” New York city and Chicago have tons of these places. And they celebrate these places. They film movies in these places (think the 1989 comedy/romance - When Harry Met Sally). Toronto’s oldest restaurant, The Senator did not survive the COVID lockdown, so we don’t have enough Joints. And this place is a Joint in every sense of the word. With great food, a creative chef, and a truly unique pizza product. So is this my favorite place? I’ve come to learn that this is a bad question to ask in Toronto because the variety of the variety of pizzas this city has to offer. Why limit yourself to one? Beast pizza is a mix between a New York-style pizza, the dough structure of a Neapolitan pizza, and a set of truly unique toppings. Give this place a try sometime. You...

I honestly don’t know the hype about this place. I went there for the first time last week. I’d seen so many of my friends post it on instagram and I thought ok sure, there’ll be a line-up, which I was fine with. We had a nice table and our server was nice, told us about the special, everything was great and I ordered the benny with bacon and asked to add “avocado” but once the dish was on the plate I saw mashed avocado that was as dark as olive, it tasted sour and ruined every other taste so after a bite, I asked for the same meal without the avocado, this time it was a different server I told this to and she mentioned that there’s a chance that I might get charged but my sister who had invited me reassured her that’s ok, so a while later I had a new meal, it wasn’t anything out of this world, the potatoes didn’t taste fresh and had a soggy texture and when my sister paid the bill I saw that I was charged for my meal + avocado + the second meal, which is still OK given I’d been told about it before but the principle. Aside from the wait, the cold meal, and the “avocado” which didn’t look nor tasted like avocado, they charged me twice AND for the avocado paste or whatever they call it. I was really disappointed with the quality of food and I truly don’t think it was worth the wait. Maybe next time if I do revisit I’ll ask for a burger or something they might be known for cause the breakfast seemed really bad, not just mine but also what 4 other people at our table ordered except for the French Toast which tasted and looked pretty nice. And the nice gentleman who served us was great hence the 1 star otherwise 0 would...

Their whole animal dinner was absolutely mind blowing. Their pizza also looked amazing and I was dying to get a pie along with dinner (or borrow a slice from neighbouring diners) but alas, I will need to be back!

Unbeknownst to many, Beast Pizza serves up a delicious multi-course nose-to-tail tasting menu of an online pre-selected "theme" that ranges from chicken all the way to elk, venison, bison, offal, and more with your choice of how adventurous you feel (high, med, low).

We came as a group of 7 and selected Elk with a "high" adventurous level. Book well in advance as it's a small restaurant. you also require a min of 4 people for the whole animal dinner. Won't go in-depth into each of the courses as you can look at the pics, but everything was perfectly cooked, seasoned, and flavoured.

The things that you'd expect to have either a gamey of irony taste, there wasn't any (although I personally love strong flavours). A great example is the elk heart tartare, one of my fav courses. If you didn't tell me it was heart, I would never have guessed! Better than beef tartare. The elk tenderloin and chop were chef's kiss. Perfectly cooked and paired with amazing sauces on both. Everyone's plates were literally licked clean. Massive hats off to the Saucier because the sauces truly elevated the dishes.

Lastly, the service was top notch. Very attentive and great recommendations on drinks, etc. They also include tip as part of their pricing. This place does no wrong.

Highly recommend to anyone for any occasion and will definitely be back as I am eyeing both the bison and offal! Bring on the sweetbreads, liver,...