Za Cafe Pizzeria & Bar — Restaurant in Toronto

although Za doesn’t feel like a trattoria, their food is nonetheless comforting Italian fare. The beef carpaccio ($17) lays out large slices of raw beef tenderloin that’s liberally seasoned with salt, lemon juice, and very little oil. While it doesn’t have the drizzles of aioli that typically graces a Canadian carpaccio, there’s tons of flavours from pickled bell peppers, brined caper berries, and thick shavings of Parmigiano Reggiano. It’s a rustic carpaccio and would be even better if the salt was toned down a bit.

The burrata pizza ($21) special had a similar vein, the white pizza foundation just lightly brushed with oil, so the paper-thin crust remained wonderfully crispy and light. While the base was sauceless, the pie was still so flavourful from the herb and garlic base, tons of arugula, bright cherry tomatoes, and a ball of cool creamy burrata that went so nicely with the crispy hot dough. How do we get this special to be on the permanent menu?

I’m glad we tried their house made pasta as the curly strands of casarecce were perfectly done, chewy but still soft – almost like a pasta and gnocchi hybrid. The pasta’s crevices helped to scoop up the shrimp cognac’s ($24) creamy cognac rosé sauce, which was rich but refreshing. We were surprised by the generous portion of six tablespoon sized shrimp that topped the dish, more than enough to go around while sharing.

The pesto green ($17) was also large with plenty of the basil sauce so that it seeps into the tubular garganelli. The small dollops of ricotta were a nice touch, but there needed to be more of it.

While the seafood spaghetti’s ($28) presentation wasn’t the greatest, the dish contained a decent selection of seafood: shrimp, salmon, calamari, mussels, and clams. Like the other pastas, Za didn’t skimp on the ingredients as there was plenty of it. Often, pasta that’s fresh is best, but on the odd occasion I prefer the dried variety. For spaghetti this is the case, as I found the fresh version too doughy and soft.

Interestingly, Za uses a spicy tomato white wine sauce with the seafood spaghetti. The heat was evident but doesn’t necessarily add to the dish. In retrospect, I would have preferred a traditional non-spicy sauce instead.

The Basque cheesecake ($12) is ideal for sharing as it’s sizeable. While it was well caramelized, that slightly toasted taste wasn’t pronounced… it pretty much tasted like any other cheesecake. Perhaps it’s because the mixture was too dense, not the light creamy consistency you’d expect from a Basque.

Za’s tiramisu ($9) was a let down. It consisted of a lot of whipped cream and cocoa powder and very little lady fingers and mascarpone. At least it was a flavourful dessert, albeit basic and without a zip of zabaglione, which is disappointing compared to their other...

Disappointing date night. The reviews and photos of this place made it seem like it was going to be phenomenal so we were very excited to check it out. Our server was inattentive, often asking us the same questions multiple times in a conversation (luckily after the third time of her asking us if we wanted a drink, she brought them). The food looked fine but was absolutely sub-par. My girlfriend got one of the specials, a Baked Potato Pizza, it was so bland that we had to ask the server for salt and paper just to give it some taste which the waitress then proceeded to bring out in a small dish with a spoon (no salt and pepper shakers?). I ordered the smoked salmon pizza, the salmon was obviously past its expiry as the fishy taste was absolutely overpowering. The other toppings could not contend with the strong taste of the salmon and were therefore tasteless. I have to say it was easily one of the worst tasting pizzas I’d ever eaten, and that’s saying something! When asked if we wanted to bring our leftovers home in a box we politely declined. We also ordered the Baked cheese which was pretty good but very expensive, it was like a DIY garlic bread. No bad but overpriced for what you get. Giving our experience 3 stars because the appetizer was ok and we don’t really feel like tearing down a business but we absolutely needed to let our experience be known. Very mid, would never spend a dime...

First pizza I’ve tried after moving to Toronto 2 years ago. It was Fried Eggplant pizza and it became my favourite Downtown pizza. Since then me and my partner dinned at Za Cafe and ordered out multiple times. It became “our place” in a sense, because we live not far away. We celebrated a couple of personal milestones and important dates there. So we have a special sentiment for this place. There is some renovation happening to the exterior of the building where Za Cafe is located, so you can’t really see there is a pizza place behind all that construction fence. Which I feel sorry about, because this place is a real find! Although it is clearly old, which you can tell from interior design, furniture and very old menu folders, the food and service is unexpectedly great! The place definitely has its vibe and soul. Here is the list of dishes that we tried and loved: Fried Eggplant pizza Margherita Mascarpone pizza Ceasar salad Arugula salad Tiramisu Negroni Shirley Temple

The only recommendation I would give to the owners/people in charge: please update the menu folders :) But we are coming...