Pizza is a special thing in a person's life, and everyone has their favourite in the city.
From thick, cheesy slices of Ottawa's iconic Lebanese-style pizza to delicate, wood-fired Neapolitan-style pies, there are so many options for delicious pizza in Ottawa — especially downtown.
But everyone deserves a great pizza that's close by! You shouldn't have to drive more than 10 minutes for a solid pizza when the craving strikes.
So, we've put together this list and map of the best pizza in Ottawa by neighbourhood so that you know your local joint worth trying.
Little Italy: Retro Gusto
Price: 💸💸💸
Cuisine: Roman-Style Pizza
Address: 122 Preston St., Ottawa, ON
Why You Need To Go: Naturally, Little Italy has a few notable pizza spots, and because of that your favourite might be left off this list. However, in my both humble and professional opinion, Retro Gusto is the best pizza in this area (it might even make the top 3 in the whole of Ottawa).
Retro Gusto truthers swear by their favourite joint, and for good reason. The quality of ingredients is out of this world, and the understanding of the business to know that they know best and not offer substitutions is a breath of fresh air for a long-time hospitality worker like me.
Retro Gusto may be right on the edge of Little Italy, but it's the neighbourhood's best pizza.
West End: Napoli's Cafe
Price: 💸💸💸
Cuisine: Classic Italian
Address: 1300 Stittsville Main St., Ottawa, ON
Why You Need To Go: Napoli's in Stittsville is taking classic Italian pizza concepts and elevating them through technique and choice of ingredients.
Their Google reviews are through the roof. The people who go here love it, and they love it so much that it becomes a part of their regular rotation of dining out.
While I haven't made it out to Napoli's yet myself, I've done enough research to trust that it's the best of the west. In fact, as someone who's pretty in touch with the Ottawa food scene, I can acknowledge my gaps in expertise on the outskirts of the city, but that didn't stop me from hearing about Napoli's very frequently when discussing the city's best pizza.
Hintonburg: Heartbreakers
Price: 💸💸💸
Cuisine: New York-Style Pizza
Address: 465 Parkdale Ave., Ottawa, ON
Why You Need To Go: Not that I would dream of having it any other way, but if I hadn't put Heartbreakers here, I very well may have been burned at the stake (or in the pizza oven).
This doesn't come without good reason though. Heartbreakers is widely regarded as the best pizza in the city. This is not an exaggeration — 90% of the people I ask, both in and out of the industry, rank heartbreakers on top. Their pizzas just do something to people, and they've built a ride-or-die fanbase that will defend them to the end of the world. Good on you heartbreakers, keep up the good work.
East End: Aroma Pizzeria
Price: 💸💸
Cuisine: Lebanese-Style Pizza
Address: 6004 Voyageur Dr., Ottawa, ON
Why You Need To Go: I did extensive research on Pizza in the east end and narrowed my search down to two potential spots. Aroma Pizzeria just narrowly edged out the beloved Louis Pizza. Let me tell you why!
While both spots had a slew of five-star reviews and people swearing by them as their favourite pizza in the city, there were two things that stood out to me while doing my research:
- Aroma seemed to pass the eye test a little better. The ratio of dough to cheese to ingredients just seemed visually more appealing, and more akin to my personal taste.
- One dude left a review that was so convincing that I could not possibly ignore it. Like I said, both spots had a number of five-star reviews, but this guy absolutely sold me on it. Aroma Pizzeria is my first stop next time I'm in the east end.
Centretown: Giulia
Price: 💸💸💸
Cuisine: Coastal Italian
Address:350 Elgin St., Ottawa, ON
Why You Need To Go: I have a soft spot for Giulia. I truly believe it is the best in the city. While there are other heavy hitters like Stay Gold and Pizza Nerds (stay tuned) in Centretown, I'm partial to a Neapolitan-style pizza, and Giulia hits the mark every time.
The Sweet Tony and Sicilian pizzas are truly two dishes that I could eat every day of my life. The creamy garlic dip has singlehandedly pulled me out of depressive episodes. The beverage program is objectively the best in the city for a pizza place. The list goes on and on — this is the best pizza and pizza experience in Centretown, if not all of Ottawa.
Downtown: Lil Z's Pizza
Price: 💸💸
Cuisine: Pizza
Address: 45 Clarence St., Ottawa, ON
Why You Need To Go: I covered Giulia in Centretown so we're not going to cop out and put their market location here, but what we will do is shout out one of the most underrated pizza spots in the city — and one of the few spots left that does a really solid slice.
Lil Z's is everything you need in your life. You can sit down for the full pizza, wings, Caesar salad, wine and cheesecake experience (like a smart person), or you can grab and go one of their slices that always come out feeling fresh (also like a smart person, but in a different way).
Old Ottawa South: Pizza Nerds
Price: 💸💸💸
Cuisine: Neapolitan-Style Pizza
Address: 44 Seneca St., Ottawa, ON
Why You Need To Go: Pizza Nerds is where pizza gets creative. The hybrid flavour combos that they continue to serve up are not traditional, but boy are they delicious.
Pizza Nerds also manages to do something that so many other pizza spots can't: provide an elevated version of pizza that still holds up when doing takeout or delivery.
Again, I acknowledge my bias in that the thin-crust personal pizzas are more my style, but they just don't travel well. Pizza Nerds has absolutely nailed the quality-to-travelability (new word alert) ratio.
Pizza Nerds MenuNepean: Pi Squared Pizzeria
Price: 💸💸
Cuisine: Pan Pizza
Address: 1884 Merivale Rd., Ottawa, ON
Why You Need To Go: Pi Squared is a beautiful blend of tradition and innovation brought to you in the form of a pan pizza.
These square pies fall somewhere between Neapolitan and Detroit style. The rectangular shape is akin to our friends in Detroit, but Pi Squared doesn't make their pizzas as deep, appealing to those of us who enjoy a thinner crust.
This is my choice for the best pizza in Nepean, and truth be told it's in part due to their amazing social media campaign. They've done a wonderful job of captivating an audience enough to get them through the door to try their food, and I hope you are next!
Pi Squared Menu
I hope this made you as hungry as it made me. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go find my lactose pills.
The opinions expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect the views of Narcity Media.
