I’ve been dying eat at Pizzeria Libretto for the longest time. The restaurant has four locations across the city and I’ve only been to one this month. I’m not implying that I will go to all the locations..it’s just taken me a long time.

I couldn’t ask for a better day to go. My cousin and I were shopping at the mall and it was the perfect dinner spot. The walk from the mall to the restaurant took no more than 15 minutes and the particular Saturday Summer weather wasn’t bothersome.

There is a nice patio of the side street that has many small to large tables, depending the party size. We opted for inside for two reasons. 1. It wasn’t a really sunny day, and the weather was on the chilly side. So we didn’t want out butts freezing when eating. 2. I wanted inside restaurant photos for this post. :P

The restaurant is narrow, as usual, since it’s located in the heart of downtown Toronto, space is gold. But nothing like Europe. Although it’s narrow, there is still plenty of space to move, just be more careful of walking.  We both loved the decor. The lights remind me mini Babybel cheese. The inside was just so bright when wooden tables and marble countertops.

We were seated in a both for two. A cute table for a cousins’ date! And beisde us was the bar, so we could view all the bar-action (there wasn’t many at the bar when we were there).

I hardly ever order fizzed drinks when out. But there was an item on the menu “Blue Soda” and I asked our waitress what this was. Just another brand of pop made with cane sugar instead of white granulated sugar. What’s the difference?, it’s still sugar. Anyway, we each had a can. I noticed that the ginger ale was lighter compared with the other brands I’ve had.

I’m not sure if it’s part of the bread presentation, but it sure looked simply fancy. I loved the bread (I didn’t ask what type it was) and the dipping oil complemented the bread very well.

A few days back, I read something on the Internet that food photos on Instagram are only for display and really not worth eating. And I sort of feel like this Buttermilk Fried Calamari is on the edge of the category.
Pros: definitely on of the most well presented starters I’ve ever seen. For $12, you sure get a lot of squid.
Con: it wasn’t steaming hot, which was the sad part. I wished that it was hotter.

It may be just me, but this pizza just didn’t cut it. This may be due to the fact that I have been wanting to eat this Libretto’s pizza, since forever, but there were multiple things I disliked about it.
We ordered a margarita pizza and I expected it to have more than a few pieces of basil. The pizza’s sauce was watery (compared to pizza at other restaurants) and the pizza was salty. Not sure if it was the sauce that had an extra pinch of salt added to it or the cheese (mozzarella cheese isn’t salty, is it?). I expected more from a pizza restaurant.

Needless to say, maybe I would come back if I were in the neighbourhood with friends. But certainly would not recommend eating the margarita pizza.

Click here for Pizzeria Libretto’s website.