Bigabaldi’s Pizzeria

Having just come back from NYC, I was excited to check this place out with the missus after reading all of the glowing Unilocal reviews about «NY-​Style» pizza here in Toronto. Could it be true? I mean, would it really be possible to get pizza like Grimaldi’s, Lombardi’s, Patsy’s or Ray’s here in Toronto? Unfortunately, I’m sorry to say the answer is no.
The food — We both split a Bomba which is a large meatball drizzled in tomato sauce and accompanied with some fried cheesy dough. The dough was the best part though the meatball was ok. Get it if you want but nothing to really write home about.
We then ordered a large pepperoni pizza. Definitely not NY-​style pizza, and definitely not the best pizza in Toronto (which, in my opinion, still ranks as: Massimo’s, Bitondo’s, Terroni’s, Vesuvio’s, Libretto’s). If you happen to be up by Marlee and Eglinton and you really want to try their pizza, go ahead. The portions are huge. However, do not come with the expectation that this is the best pizza in Toronto.
The atmosphere — the place was clean and nicely decorated. The staff behind the counter were friendly.

Today, I was in the neighbourhood and figured I would drop by. And when I mean I «dropped by», I mean I was on the southbound train heading downtown and my stomach wouldn’t stop growling for food. When the announcement over the speakers called out, «Next stop… Glencairn Station.», I asked myself, «Isn’t Bigabaldi’s Pizzeria near here?»
Taking a slight detour in my plans, I quickly hopped off the train. It’s a short five minute walk to what people have called it the ‘best pizza in town’.
I’m not sure why I expected to walk into a tiny, stuffy eatery with grease marks on the wall; that’s what I assumed when I thought of a New York-​style pizzeria. But Bigabaldi’s isn’t that. It was a clean, airy, brightly lit place with three tall tables and chairs, and additional seating along the west-​side facing window. There’s even a patio area that faces Marlee Street, but there wasn’t any tables or chairs set up. It’s too cold to sit there right now.
I wanted something that was simple and filling, and I ordered a slice of the Baldi ‘za: it included rappini, goat’s cheese, sausage and roasted garlic. The crust was thin-​ish and it did hit the spot that my stomach was crying for. My wallet was also happy as I spent less than $ 5 for the slice and a drink (water or soda) on the side.
I don’t know if I would call Bigabaldi’s the best pizza place in town but it was pretty darn good, and worth trying. Their location is unfortunately too far for me to return and I counted three other pizzerias nearby, all of whom I’m assuming are family-​owned. However I wasn’t the only person who decided to drop in for lunch today so we’ll see how this place holds up in a few months.
The only complaint I have is that there isn’t a recycling bin. The plastic water bottles, the paper plates, napkins, all of these can be recycled. Bigabaldi’s should definitely install some sort of recycling solution in their restaurant.

Absolutely delicious sandwiches.
After hearing so much about this place, I had to check them out. Unfortunately, my office is not in their delivery zone, so I had to pick up the food myself. The guy who works there made it a little better by giving us a discount and four free deep fried bread desserts.
I had the meatball sandwich. It was gigantic and delicious. Oddly enough, everyone else’s sandwich was cut in half except mine. This is very odd because I usually ask for it not to be cut and forgot. Creepy. I could have gone with more sauce, but otherwise, it was amazing.
The deep fried dough balls were fantastic AND DAIRY FREE!!! They were sprinkled with sugar and cinnamon, and came with a dipping sauce that looked like caramel. I didn’t try it since caramel is made with cream.
I will definitely be ordering from these guys again. I’m going to have to call back and see if my house is in their delivery zone. If it is… I may have to buy a completely new wardrobe, a few sizes up.

Not much to add on top of everyone’s really thorough reviews. Almost a week later I’m still craving more of the baldi– whole roasted garlic cloves, mm. Had a great time sweating it out with everyone and eating some delicious ‘za.
This is often the type of food I crave, and I’m planning on picking some up for our next family pizza night!

Our CM Vivek is just so Awesome!
By organizing a CMYE at Bigabaldi’s Pizzeria on one of the hottest day this summer, he single handedly gave us a authentic Italian experience!
Hot Hot Hot! No AC? But in Southern Italian most of the restaurants has no AC anyway…
Dripping in sweat… Drip Drip Drip! Am I practising Hot Yoga or Hot Pizza Eating with all these Unilocalers?
Bigabaldi’s Pizzas are really good… love the fresh ingredients and how they were served pipping hot from the oven. Are they the best pizza I ever have? Not really but they were tasty enough.
Bigabaldi’s Pizzeria is more like a takeout place, but that evening we just took over the place… and made it our venue for an UYE! The staffs were really accommodating and friendly.
BTW, the best pizza that night surprising was the Roasted Vegetables, maybe I am turning into a vegetarian slowly… but when Rafi N (the beef eating manic) and Edwin A both came to the same conclusion, just makes me wonder!

So, hit up Biga’s with some fellow Unilocalers (thanks, Vivek!) and my oh my oh my tummy aches!
When you hear that the portions here are big, man, you’ve no idea. I ate one meatball and half a medium pizza… and I don’t think I’m gonna need food for the rest of the week!
So, is it worth it aside from the enormity of portion size? Yes. Yes yes yes! Bigabaldi’s likely won’t be a contender for the very best pizza you’ve ever eaten, but that’s ok – it’s damned fine ‘za, remarkably tasty, with a nice thin tomato sauce, authentic mozza, and some exceptional crust (that has a generous dusting of flour on the underside to remind you it was juuuuuust made fresh!).
So, first the meatball: medium rare, surprisingly, but don’t tell the health inspectors — they fear ground meat that isn’t burnt. Very good. It’s deceptively sized — maybe 6oz of round burger. Tasty, and probably a 3.5 if not a 4. I can’t argue with the $ 4 price, as it’s a lot of meat, but they’ve other things on their menu for just a pinch more that are a whole lot more interesting to me (sangwiches!).
Now, the pizza: this is where they shone! I split a Baldi, and snuck a slice of Calabrese.
The Baldi boasts goat cheese (perfectly melty-​soft and the highlight of the pie for me), sausage (we subbed pepperoni), rappini (yes!), and whole roasted garlic cloves. Delicious!
The Calabrese was classic, with soprasetta, onions, hot banana peppers (fresh ones, not pickled!), and black olives (though we omitted the olives due to Kat K’s allergy). This is a favourite pizza style of mine, and they nailed it. Again, delicious!
Both pies hover in the 4 to 4.5 range, so big kudos to the good folks at Bigabaldi’s for offering some fantastic pizza at an incredibly affordable price.
Finally, I’ll note that it’s crazy hot outside and was about the same temperature inside Bigabaldi’s due to the small space and the dozen or so of us crammed within. All I can say is «thank you» to the two guys and a gal slaving over hot stoves in there without complaint. Sure it’s hot, but we had fantastic pizza to take our minds off it. Again, thank you!
(Just don’t open up another shop close to me… my waistline couldn’t handle the number of times my mouth would drag me there! But rest assured we’ll be ordering in soon — that massive party box is gonna impress and intimidate! I can’t wait!)

I ordered lunch from here and it was DELICIOUS. I made my own pizza and while the underneath was just a teeny bit burned, it was still a darn good pie. I made a plain cheese, tomato sauce, with green peppers, tomatoes and goat cheese pizza. And lot’s of hot pepper flakes on top.
I work in the area, so I ordered it for pick up. Ordering was an experience in itself because there was a lot of flirting going on back and forth over the phone. It made it that much more fun to pick it up in person! The pizza was ready on time, it was still hot and the staff were funny and friendly.
The design is great and very welcoming. There is so much more to go back and eat and I can’t wait to do it! I am overwhelmed with joy that Marlee Avenue has a place like this for me to go to.

This place is the real deal. An eye-​talian eatery with a NYC aesthetic in an old-​school Toronto neighbourhood. I got to sample A LOT of their menu with some wide-​eyed foodies last week. Had I eaten even one more bite, authorities would be scraping cheese, sauce and my exploded Unilocaly innards off their pizza ovens.
Bigabaldi’s is walking distance from Glencairn subway station. Like a zebra that owes money to the casa nostra it was black and white and red all over. There are two round tables with tall crimson-​topped stools and a street-​facing counter with a bit more seating. The floor is a checkboard and white subway tiles covered any surface not painted teal. Very classic looking, but with limited seating you’ll probably want your order to go.
Let’s talk grub. The owner Rob, started us off with the ‘bomba’, a fist sized meatball ($ 4) made of beef and pork that was spiced nicely, wrapped in bread and drizzled with red sauce. Mouth-​watering. Next they served up a hero coldcut sandwich the size of a dinner plate and the height of two big macs. It looks like it could feed at least two, which for a $ 7.50 price tag is a steal. Mortadella, sopressata, proscuitto, ham with mozzarella, sundried tomatoes and mushrooms. I enjoyed this a lot.
Cracking open a Brio, we moved on to the pizza. Their smallest is a twelve inch «medium» ($ 9.50-$ 14.50) and it scales up to a two-​foot wide party size ($ 19.50-$ 28.95), whose box alone is intimidating. I tried two of their signature versions. The Bigga is a meat-lover’s dream with pepperoni, bacon, mortadella and sausage. As a mortadella fan, I almost cheered when I saw this come out, but I actually preferred the Baldi. It’s roasted garlic, rapini, sausage and goat cheese. I don’t know what kind of goat cheese they were using here, but it was fantastic. Be warned, the crust here ISN’T thin; so it’ll fill you up quickly.
I only had a few bites of their veal sandwich. It has a ways to go if it wants to best other contenders in Toronto, but it wasn’t bad. The pepperoni-​filled panzerotto ($ 6.95) was super cheesy, and goes well with their sauce. Not too oily either. The only thing I didn’t care for was the arancini ($ 2.95) which was a bit gooey for my liking. We topped off the night (as if I needed more) with an experimental panzerotto: banana with nutella and rolled in cinnamon and sugar. I’m sure I don’t have to explain how good this was.
It’s hard not to like this place. Bigabaldi’s does quality offerings at very reasonable prices with super generous portions. I can only complain about is how far it is from my house, but it’s better for my waistline that I can’t come here every day.
Obligatory Title Pun: BIGA is better!
Menu Readability: They didn’t mess around on the graphic design here. It’s fabulous.
Need to mention: This was a special event, so all the food and drink was provided for free.
What this place teaches me about myself: If I set my mind to it, I could double my weight in six months.