Pizzeria Libretto

221 Ossington Ave
416-532-8000

Pizzeria Libretto is located in Little Italy/Little Portugal, near the intersection of Dundas and Ossington. They cook their pizzas in a Naples built wood burning oven for 90 seconds at extremely high temperatures of 900 degrees. Pizzeria Libretto prides itself in creating real authentic Neapolitan pizza. They adhere to the set guidelines dictated by Veracé Pizza Napoletana Association. Italians are very serious and particular about their pizza. In fact, pizza making is such a serious and pressing issue that even a branch of the Italian Government is dedicated to preserving the authenticity of Neapolitan pizzas. Pizza and politics, what a strange combination. I guess I don't blame them, I'm huge fan of pizza. I could eat pizza every day if all of that cheese and grease didn't do a number on my health.

The guidelines set forth by Veracé Pizza Napoletana Association include specifications such as creating genuine Neapolitan pizza dough by using of Italian wheat flour, natural Neapolitan yeast or brewer's yeast, salt and water. The dough also can't be more than 3mm. It also can't be formed with the help of a rolling pin, hands must be used instead. There are more rules but I'm not going to bore you with all the technicality.

When I arrived at the restaurant on Friday night at 6:00pm, I was told the wait would be 30 minutes. They make the whole waiting process more bearable by taking down your number and calling you when your table is ready. This beats waiting around in the cramped restaurant because you get to roam around Little Portugal. The downside is that unless it's a food establishment, most of the shops close early in this area. We ended up walking aimlessly and back into the restaurant within 15 minutes.





Duck Confit ($16). This pizza consists of duck confit, bosc pears and Ontario Fiore Di Latte Mozzarella. I knew this pizza was going to be one of those hit or miss dishes. I was a bit skeptical at first because the thought of having pear in a pizza sounded very odd. The pear balanced out the duck perfectly. With every bite, I could taste the duck fat that percolated into the crust. The sweetness of the bosc pear helped balance out the heaviness of the sliced Duck Confit. Who would have known pear and duck would go so well together?




Quattro Stagione ($16). It's divided into four segments and has Cacciatore, Mushrooms, Artichoke, Bella Olives, Tomato and Ontario Fiore Di Latte Mozzarella. I bullied my friend into getting it because I felt it was an interesting concept since you get to try 4 variations in one pizza. After taking the first bite, I felt responsible since I swayed their decision. I didn't like it partly because I ate it after the Duck Confit, and it felt a bit bland in comparison. I'm also not a fan of olives. 1/4 of the pizza was dedicated to olives. On a positive note, the ingredients tasted very fresh.

Overall, the Duck Confit pizza was amazing and I'll definitely be coming back in the future. Next time, I think I'll try their Margherita or Grilled Eggplant pizza (the server told me it was his favorite).