Review Pizzeria Via Mercanti - Toronto

Ordered a Margherita pizza and arancini balls. Margherita was Decent, the sauce and cheese were both great as well as the crust. We had to return the arancini balls as they were cold from the inside, but even once they were brought back they still lacked flavour. The waiter also added some complimentary mozzarella balls which tasted much better than the arancini balls in my opinion. The service was ok. Our waiter was basically clueless when it came to the menu options and his communication was a bit off (don’t know if he’s just awkward like that). The place is at the heart of Kensington market and we did the mistake of dining out on their patio which was literally on the street (not in the back of the restaurant as I thought) and that meant having the view of crackheads to enjoy which can be quite uncomfortable. Overall, good pizza, and if I’d be back I’d dine inside next time.

Amazing pizza with the best service. The staff is very professional and friendly. We got complimentary in house bread as well. The red sauce pizzas are always better and their cocktails are so great. Overall, a satisfactory experience

Great pizzaria at Kensington Market. Staff was very friendly and professional. Pizza was delicious, bruschetta was divine, great desserts also. Totally recommend a visit.

Oh no! What happened to this place? It used to be my go-to spot for Neapolitan pizza. Not anymore.. pizza was cold and I had a bunch of mozzarella chunks under the crust (the cheese wasn’t even melted!). By looking around I saw a lot of flat-crust pizzas being served. Calzone was so flat too. They must be under a different management, probably not even Italian anymore. One thing is for sure- I haven’t seen many Italians hanging around and I’m not surprised at all.

Classic Italian. Tables cluttered together, noisy and smells amazing haha really liked this place, made me feel in another country. Pizza was amazing, sauce and cheese on point! Italian music in the background is a nice touch Ocassion: casual Friday date

They service was not great. The pizza is yummy the tomato based one were better we had marinera and the olive oil based vegetarian. The olive oil based one came out with burnt eggplants and nearly no sign of olive oil. We told our server the pizza is burned he said yeah I saw that! They eventually came and told us they can offer a new pizza but at that time we decided to just not wait and already were through half of the pizza. To be fair this was late at night and the pizza did look great and the marinera one was very tasty! The dough was really good quality. Our experience was certainly less than ideal though.

Its a restaurant where they understand their ingredients very well.. perfect balance of complex savouriness coming from prosciutto with rather mildly seasoned sauce and dough in comparison makes perfect juicy and burst of flavour, and for a great price too!

Used to love the place! This was an ubereats order and I cared enough to let them know of how dry and stale the food is even though ubereats refunded me. The bolognese was super dry with barely any meat and the rigatoni stuck to each other! The cheese on the pizza was very little. Unfortunately, all they managed to do is to tell me to request a refund from ubereats when I expected that they would take it seriously and know that this kind of quality can’t come out of their kitchen and offer to make it right! If it was just a one off or if the food was just cold because of the delivery, I wouldn’t have minded! But there were issues with quantity, taste, portions and lastly service! Disappointed!

Ah Via Mercanti!<br/><br/>Ah Via Mercanti where the atmosphere is nice, the wait is expected, the double stacked pizza is delicious! They bring the pizza makers straight from Italy so you can eat a real Italian pizza served the way it should be! Did I mention the wood oven?

This place was introduced to me by one of my Italian friends a few years ago and I liked it then. But when I came back with another Italian friend, I was blown away at how much better it was. The pizzas are some of the most authentic you will be able to find in this city.

The place looked busy so my friends and I decided to go in. The server seemed a bit impatient with us to start. The service was way too fast, not sure how fresh their food was considering our appetizer was ready in less than a minute of ordering and our rice ball was cold in the middle. We did not try the pizza, we all got pasta. The cherry tomato sauce was really good, but my ravioli could have been cooked longer. Not sure if I would go back here for the price of the food as I know I could get better quality pasta for cheaper.

So effing good, this place is truly a hidden gem. I've been multiple times because the white sauce based pizza is unreal. Easily on par with libretto. The panzarottis are huge and delicious.

Tried this place out with some friends on Friday. It has a family friendly atmosphere, so very casual, well lit and we did see some babies and toddlers about. That being said, I also did see some people on dates. Our service was good, our waitress checked in on us regularly and kept refilling our water.<br/><br/>We started with the arancino di riso, which wasn't my cup of tea. My favorite risotto balls are at queen margharita pizza, and these didn't come anywhere close. We also got the calamari, which was not very impressive either. What blew me away was the mozzarella di bufala! Although this mozzarella, tomato and prosciutto plate is priced a little more for an appetizer ($18), it is well worth the money. The portion is also pretty big, so it's shareable between 2. The Buffalo mozzarella is incredible and I felt like I was back in Florence.<br/><br/>For our entrees, we got the pasta alla bolognese, which was okay, but nothing special. The via mercanti pizza was actually quite good as well with its stuffed crust of hot soppressata adding the perfect amount of kick to the pizza if you like your food a little spicy. The patate e pancetta pizza was probably the biggest disappointment of the night - I could barely swallow this down and it very well might be worst pizza I've had in a while. One might think that they would add in slices of potato with the pancetta but it was more like mashed potatoes! The texture of it was just really off putting! We also got the pollo pizza, which was really good. The goat cheese with the chicken and roasted red peppers was the perfect combination.<br/><br/>My friends got dessert, and since I'm off dessert until the 26th, I passed. Overall, mixed reviews - I would go back for their buffalo mozzarella and a couple of their pizzas and the tiramisu which looked good.

Pizza lovers will know that there are different styles of pizza which makes the quest for the ultimate favorite a tasty journey that will depend on personal taste.<br/>Pizzeria Via Mercanti was a name that came to my attention based on a local italian magazine piece.  If you would like neapolitan style pizza, then this is definitely the place for you.  Even the pizza chef tonight is from Napoli :)<br/>I had the classic Ciambella Ripiena which at its base is a pizza margheritta with a crust folded with hot soppressata, ricotta cheese and black pepper.  The crust was very thin by design so it won't be heavy on the stomach but full of balanced flavor.  Luckily I didn't have any appetizer even with my classic appetite :)<br/>I ended with some almond and lemon gelato with my double espresso.<br/><br/>The folks at the pizzeria were very welcoming and attentive from the moment that I walked in on this quiet night.<br/>The original Kensington market location is more of a pizzeria although you can also order wonderful pastas and other wonderful dishes.  The Elm location by comparison would be more of a community restaurant.  It's all good.  Missed my man Romolo Salvati, the big chief of the pizzeria.  I will certainly see him next time.

You can never go wrong with Pizzeria Via Mercanti. Once you tasted their pizza, it feels like you transported to Italy. Their Via Mercanti pizza is a must try! I will go back here for sure. :)

Had the pleasure of taking my wife out to dinner for her birthday last night. Had a fabulous meal and the best pizza ever. I cannot ever eat Pizza Pizza or Pizza Nova! I am Italian born Canadian raised in the good days of St Clair and meeting the owner Romola and his wife Robin was an added bonus. To the staff thank you so much and for a short time I felt I was in Italia. My only knock is when you leave I'm not a fan of downtown for many reasons. However I can forget for a short while when eating a delicious pizza. Romolo come to the suburbs please the Italians of Woodbridge need you!

All I can say is that if you're in Kensington market , you have to visit this pizzeria ! It has one of the most delicious pizzas in Toronto. The margarita and tiramisu were divine !! Follow that with a coffee at Casa .

Dean Martin sings "In Napoli.....When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie...that's amore!" As far as Neapolitan pizza, this place rocks!!! Extremely authentic - all the pizza making staff speaking Neapolitan Italian - you can't get any better.

Awesome vibe in Kensington Market. If you're looking for an authentic Italian dining experience, look no further! Casual, welcoming and friendly service. Lots of menu options to pick from. They will accommodate dishes for those with allergies. All staff are speaking in Italian to one another which only adds to the ambiance of this place. Pizza was perfection, simple and delicious just as it should be. Must visit again. @Via_Mercanti

The Via Mercanti double decker is my favourite pizza in Toronto hands down.<br/><br/>Great location, great service, nice atmosphere, actual Italian staff and great alternatives in terms of pasta and other options which other pizzerias don't bother with.<br/><br/>I go back again and again, basically anytime I want amazing pizza. This pizza is good cold also. The ingredients are so fresh and delicious, nothing beats it. Don't bother with the others in the so called top 10 lists, as this is by far the best.<br/><br/>That crust!!!

We love this place! Get the double pizza, called the 'via mercanti'. Staff is very friendly, food is great and the prices are good. We also like hanging out in the market, it's a good vibe.

Probably one of the best pizzas in the city. I drive down to Kensington from Port Credit just for Via Mercante pizza. <br/>The Scarpariello is my "go to". Incredible flavour and I can't bring myself to ordering a different pizza; I just wait and hope that my daughter and g'friend don't finish their pizzas so I get a slice of theirs. 😊😊😊

Via Mercanti. Really nice dough and fresh sauce, with al kinds of meat inside

LOVE LOVE LOVE. Went to the elm street location-> Firstly, our server was this sweet girl from Italy who was so helpful and nice! Secondly, I was helping my mom doing a pizza tour of Toronto so we've been to quite a few top pizza places. THIS ONE TAKES THE WIN! Its classic Italian with a twist. Had the bocconcini bites, wow; had the Ciambella Riapena, wow wow wow. amazing. The pizza was so thing so the stuffed crust balanced with it perfectly. We also had the Via Mercanti ( double layer pizza) loved the idea and again the pizza dough was so airy and thing that the double layer wasn't too much at all. We dipped the crust in the amazing hot oil they had too! WE also got the Patate & Panchetta pizza which was so creamy and delicious. For dessert we had to try the Nutella pizza which was amazing too. This has taken the top as the best pizza I've ever had. The combinations of ingredients were very creative, fresh and done to perfection. I'm also a pizza snob soooo I think I am an opinion to trust. GO HERE!!!

Amazing pizza, amazing service. We hit Pizzeria Via Mercanti at the tail end of a loooong day in Toronto (drive from Brampton to Kipling Station, subway to downtown, hit the CN Tower, walked up to Chinatown and Kensington Market, subway/bus out to Science Centre and back, then walked to PVM after starting out in Little Italy). We had gotten the tip on it from the patrons of a bookstore in Little Italy, and we incredibly glad we came.<br/><br/>We have two very picky daughters, aged 10 and 5. After not seeing a children's menu or a basic pepperoni pizza for them, we were worried that we might have walked a long way to have two miserable children. But Brit, our excellent waitress, suggested a basic margherita pizza with pepperoni, saying "This isn't my first rodeo with kids". When it came, I again fretted, because the pizza sauce was both orange rather than red and was applied sparingly, and the pepperoni more closely resembled ham...mind you, my wife and I honeymooned in Italy, and the crust, sauce, meat, and construction were very much like the pizza we'd enjoyed there, so this wasn't a complaint so much as a worry about Thing 1 and 2 being too finicky to eat something that didn't look like American pizza.<br/><br/>We needn't have worried. The older daughter put away six (SIX?!?!) pieces and the younger one two. No mention made of the differences between pizza from the US - just two happy kids tearing through dinner.<br/><br/>As for my wife and I, we got the Pollo, with fior di latte, goat cheese, chicken, mushrooms, and roasted red peppers. It is almost impossible to describe the taste of the pizza without cursing for effect. It was that (f&&&ing) good! Absolute heaven.<br/><br/>My wife and I are both former servers, and as such, we can't say enough about what a great job Brit did. Not only personable, friendly, and excellent with two over-tired kids, but to our minds, she made the exact correct number of trips to the table and at all the right times. This was despite the fact that the place was slammin' and jammin' on a Tuesday night.<br/><br/>Considering the service and the food, rightly so. We may not make it back to Toronto for a few more years, but when we do, we'll be back.

First time here after reading a review on best cheap eats. Got a seat in a minute despite being packed. When a place is packed, u know the food is going to be good. Ordered the margarita pizza and it was tasty. Brittany was our server and she was friendly and attentive and social with the patrons. I would recommend this restaurant for gourmet Italian pizza that won't break the bank.0

Mediocre food and RUDE service. The only good thing I can say about our experience at this restaurant is that our food was brought to us within a reasonable amount of time. Our waiter was extremely rude, rushed us to order, and complained about the tip we gave him! <br/><br/>Some of the food was not very good, with the exception being the pizza cappricciosa (it was good, not great) and overpriced for what you get. <br/><br/>Kensington Market is a wonderful area with lots of great restaurants (Hungary Thai, Amadeu's, El Trompo) that I would suggest you visit instead of this place.

Down to earth gourmet pizza. It's a relief to find a gourmet pizza place that isn't stuck up and difficult. True to their Kensington location, they are super friendly, tasty fresh ingredients and tastes that set them apart from the herd of other pizzerias. Don't know what sets apart their crust (cornmeal? certain flour?) but Gawd it's tasty. Salads etc round out a simple but unique menu. Love this place!!

Totally Overrated. I don't know what the hype is all about. I am really disappointed and won't go back.

Service is AWFUL. The food was okay, it is a little bit overrated on some websites though. The service is REALLY REALLY BAD, waiter who served us was really rude, no smile, and when we were trying to pay for the food, he made us calculate the total of tax+tip+food by ourselves, and when we asked about it he replied "well its weekend, i dont have to calculate it for you, you tell me how much and i will put it on debit machine".<br/><br/>Not recommended at all.

Just fabulous! Great service, great atmosphere, delicious pizza, appetizers, gelato. The pizza crust was excellent.

Been coming to this place since it opened..always have enjoyed the pizza..one of the best in the city. Always had good service each visit.

Terrible. Rude server, bad pizza, not ever going back.<br/><br/>The pizza came out chewy and soggy.<br/><br/>Better pizza can be had anywhere, including the frozen section of grocery stores.

Nice Surprise. On a recent Toronto trip and some shopping in the Kengiston market area and feeling hungry we went to the Via Mercanti. Excellent pizza and service. Recommended when in the area. The only criticism as the tv that was on with the local news. It took away from the atmosphere. But the nice house wine and pizza was excellent.

Awful. Rude servers, average pizza at best, not ever going back.<br/><br/>Restaurant was more than half empty, server and owner/manager? took an attitude when we didn't like the table offered to us, in the middle of the restaurant, where all the traffic is and miniscule.<br/>Asked for salt, was given a tiny bowl with some dirty salt and a spoon??<br/>The pizza came out in lightning speed, the dough was chewy and soggy.<br/>I've had better slices at take out joints.

Best pizza I've ever had in my life. I am Italian, and have high standards but this place exceeded them. Little Italy and Woodbridge pizza joints cannot even be compared to this place. Service was great. All cooks are straight from Italy and do everything right. If you want quality come here. They slice the prosciutto with the machine and squeeze oranges for your orange juice! Authentic Italian! They even brought us a jar of their home made hot chilli spread/oil. I will come back to this place for sure! AMAZING!

Well rude.. The food was good but the service was terrible and the place was kinda dumpy. The man who sat us threw the menus at us. My friend asked for the rest of her pizza to be packed up and he wrapped in tin foil and toss it at her. The waitress never asked us how our meal was or came to check with needed anything. We waited for over 30 minutes to get our bill after her walking by us many times she didn't even give us eye contact for us to ask her politely. When she finally came back with the bill, she grunted when we asked for separate ones. When my friend asked for change, she said she had no more change, if she could just not bring her change. They were so unbelievably rude that despite the food being good, the service left a bad taste in my mouth. I will never go back there again.

Awesome pizza. Pizza is great (the crust is perfect), and salmon rigatoni special was delicious. Service was friendly but inattentive. Would return.

Terrible service, good pizza (depending on what you order). I had the misfortune of having a server who decided to "pppssssst!" me for taking a menu off another table while I was waiting for him to bring our menus over (because he was **too busy** watching the soccer game). I saw another, more polite server in another section and enviously wished I was sitting somewhere else. Seriously, I get if you want to watch a soccer game at work, but do you have to yell at the game over customers trying to have a conversation? - and then comment - no, **shout**, "What? This is a Neapolitan Pizzeria, what do you expect?" <br/><br/>If you want to get "pssssst!!" for reading a menu and feel like you are intruding in someone's home while they watch the soccer game, just come to this place.<br/><br/>My friends who have had good experiences at this place have all done takeout. This was my first experience sitting down in this restaurant - mental note to never do that again! The pizza is not bad (although pricey). The crust is unbelievable, fluffy and thin and crispy and warm.

Rubbish service; mediocre food. Our server was unfriendly from the beginning - no hellos, just a terse "for how many?" I don't need my servers to be overly dotting, but just some basic niceties are expected (e.g. how are you, have you been here before, here are some dish recommendations). Instead, the guy we got was more concerned with watching the soccer game than doing his job. He even let out a big whoop when a goal was scored, startling some of the diners. My guess is that this guy must either be the owner or family in order to continue being employed.<br/><br/>Now on to the food. We ordered the Quattro Formaggi and the Funghi. The Quattro Formaggi was the better of the two pizzas but you can't really mess up pizza with four cheeses. The Funghi promised "mixed mushrooms" but instead we got a sparse smattering of button mushrooms coupled with underwhelming tomato sauce. A frozen Dr. Oetker Funghi is waaay tastier than Mercanti's version.<br/><br/>Another tip: skip the marinated olives as the ratio of pickled vegetables outnumbers the gaeta olives. <br/><br/>There are enough restaurants in Toronto boasting "wood fired oven pizzas" to render this place not that special. There are also better tasting restaurants in Kensington. This place definitely does not warrant a return visit.

Since this place has been open,everything I've tried has been delicious! I've suggested this place for birthdays & so on & my friends & family have been very pleased.My husband even worries that I tell so much people that it will be hard to get a table!

I love pizza here!. I'm Italian so I've been in many pizzeria in Italy and also all over the world and I can say this is The Original Italian Pizza, really good, well made, fresh ingredients ......I'm not fake it .....really I love it!!!<br/>On the other hand server are so ....how can I say this ....they are not so ..friendly, I've been there three times for lunch and never find someone kind .....to bad :-(

Fabulous meal in a relaxing environment. The perfect night to enjoy great authentic pizza and catch-up with friend. Service was attentive, food was prompt and tasty. Dinner was a savoured event.

Superb!!!!!!!!!!!. I have never had a pizza like this in my 5 years of living in Canada and I have eaten at a lot of pizza places. Good pizza better prices.

Italian pizzeria in the Kensington market. Truly authentic Italian pizza! The staff is very friendly. I'm glad this restaurant moved into the Kensington market. The market's been missing a real Italian pizzeria. The owners are easy to talk to as the kitchen is open and you can watch them cooking the wood fired pizza in action.

Delicious oven baked pizza!. Same quality of Queen Margherita, as the pizza guys moved to this central location, pizza is really nice as it would be in Italy! price range is still affordable.

Simply the best. Please do yourself a favor and just go try this place its unbelievable. The pizza is simply the best in the city hands down. And what a beautiful space!

Best Pizza in Toronto. Some of the best pizza I have ever eaten. I can't walk into another restaurant and order a pizza or pasta without wishing it was the same as Pizzeria Via Mercanti. The prices are amazing for the fresh ingredients you eat. You can see the pizza being made, place looks really clean, I highly recommend you try it!!

Yummy :). The décor, the service and best of all the food were amazing! The wood burning ovens and the quality of the pizza and pasta are delicious. I love how everything is made fresh and in house too! Delicious, I can't wait to go again!

Real authentic pizza that you will not find any where else but Italy. Pizza so good that you will want to come back everytime and forget all the so called pizza joints!! Highly recommend it !! *****/*****

Best pizza anywhere in the city!. Authentic Italian experience! Listen to chefs chatter away in Italian in the kitchen, watch them as they make your food, and enjoy high quality delicious tasting pizza like nowhere else! Great environment, staff, location, and price!!! What more could you ask for?? A place to visit with anyone anytime!!!

Mouthgasim. Toronto has been blessed with this amazing place! With the two old school chefs from italy making food better then mama use to make it and the freshness of their young che this will soon become a Toronto staple. Looks like the pizza war is over, its best if the other two places (whatever there called) throw in the white flag!

Easily the best and most authentic Naples style pizza in the city! Blows QMP and librettos out of the water! If you love authentic Italian food (pizza and house made pasta) this place is a must to check out, you won't be disappointed.

In response to a craving for a hand-tossed, thin-crust, southern-italian style pizza, a friend and I thought it would be appropriate to pay Pizzeria Via Mercanti (in Kensington Market) a visit. As it was my third time dining at the unassuming pizzeria tucked away on Augusta St., I walked in knowing that my cravings would soon be satisfied.

Mercanti’s humble offerings showcase Italian pleasantries in the heart of Toronto’s favorite bohemian market. We shared a pizza which came right out of their piping hot wood burning oven a la Naples. Mike was keen to order an entire plate of fried mushrooms which may seem a bit extravagant but in many ways an essential homage to umami . We chit chatted about our hopes and dreams whilst swigging local beer and carefully tearing at each pizza slice. The real winner was the prosciut

I was completely ecstatic to check out Pizzeria Via Mercanti ... I simply love pizza and especially with all the competition going in the city, its nice to see how each one differentiates...The menu offers 2 types of pizza: Pizze Rosse with tomato sauce and Pizza Bianche with olive oil Pizze Rosse:  Funghi ($14.00) fior di latte, mixed mushrooms Pizze Bianche: Romolo’s Pizza ($15.00) half tomato sauce, half olive oil, fior di latte, prosciutto cotto, mixed mushrooms I decided to opt for the half tomato sauce and half olive oil base just so I can get a feel of both bases fresh flavours thought a little heavy to the stomach i personally though the pizza dough was a little salty for my liking so I ate mostly everything except for the crust

...round of bocconcini pizza which are basically Italian pizza pops. Nothing like comparing beautiful, authentic Italian food to garbage stuffed garbage in a box, haha. The wood fired pizza balls are stuffed with ricotta and soppressata and blew everyone at the table away. I could see myself stopping in for a pint and a handful of these alone. Dipped

Large open windows invite you into a boisterous Italian pizzeria, reminding me of a

Knowing I had an errand to do by Kensington Market, I searched Urbanspoon to see what would be open for a very late lunch. No matter how much I frequent Kensington, there was still another restaurant that I haven’t been into.  This afternoon, I was in the mood for pizza and I headed towards Pizzeria Via Mercanti.  Knowing that my friend Diona’s Kanto    was just close by, I decided share it with her and ordered the pizza to go.

I stumbled upon Pizzeria Via Mercanti by chance when I was walking down the street looking for some lunch. I had never heard of it, despite it being very popular at the time. When I took my first bite of my pizza, I was amazed at how delicious it was. The thin crust with the flavourful tomato sauce and the generous amount of cheese resulted in one of the best Margherita pizzas I have ever had the pleasure of eating. This was over 2 years ago and I continue to stop by Mercanti whenever I feel like having some authentic, delicious pizza.

I have been to the Pizzeria several times with family and friends, and we are never disappointed the food or service. The pizza, pastas, salads, atmosphere, music, staff are all great. Truly authentic and a MUST dine spot!

One of my favourite places to eat pizza in the city. This is not your gentrified pizza joint; Via Mercanti has the feel of the pizzerias Ivisited in Italy. This is especially true for their oven, which has transported from Italy and re-built here. I'm not sure whether thatmakes the pizza taste better, but it adds to the authenticity of the place.As for the food, I can only speak for the pizza, which is excellent.The pies are a little on the small side for my tastes, but I do tendto eat more than the average customer. The wine selection is decent (again, they aren't striving for fine-dining here), but the price point seems a bit high for the place.