Pizzeria Via Mercanti

Great atmosphere and food. Try the meatball sandwich for lunch, won’t be disappointed!

Freshly made wood oven pizza, very authentic Italian restaurant.
Friendly service, plenty of bread, love the spicy oil.
Definitely go back and try the different options!

First of all, I am not the biggest fan of pizza, compared to most, and I have gone years without eating it. However, after noticing it was open on New Years day, and seeing John Catucci on their web page I decided it was worth a try for dinner this evening. I ordered for take-​out and stuck with the simple Margherita. Customer service when I went in, and when I called to confirm hours, was great; they were very friendly and helpful.
The pie was ready in no time. I was really impressed… it was delicious! The crust tasted fresh, as well as all of the minimal ingredients, I loved the real mozzarella. Real and fresh ingredients make a huge difference and I was really pleased with everything. I could appreciate the flavour of everything without anything being over salty or over powering. I would definitely recommend stopping in and visiting Pizzeria Via Mercanti!

Perfect visit.
Pizza was quick, amazing tasting and server was super helpful.
Can’t wait to return.
Yum.

Great pizza and pasta. Just as good Pizza Libreto with having to line up. Fantastic house made pastas.

Easily my favourite pizza place. The Mercanti Salad is delicious, $ 10 lunch special for a personal pizza and salad is my, nearly, weekly treat since it is down the street from work. Atmosphere is great, everyone that works there is welcoming and the hot sauce burns my mouth but tastes too good to resist.

I’ve been a few times, and the pizzas, salads, etc are all very good. Atmosphere is warm and friendly, and so is the service. I’ve heard a few people say this is the best pizza in Toronto, but I think that’s a bit of a stretch. Probably top 5 though.

Met a friend for dinner on a Thursday night and was surprised by how busy and bustling it was. Ambiance was definitely lively and louder than I was hoping it would be for a catch up dinner.
I was 45 min. late (this NEVER happens) so my DC went ahead and ordered appys — Mozzarelline Fritte ($ 5) and Potato Croquette ($ 4). I preferred the mozzarella balls but they could have used a side of dipping sauce. Didn’t care for the croquettes — too mushy on the inside. She also got a ½ liter of house red ($ 26) to wash it all down but seeing as I was insanely late, we should have just ordered the whole bottle!
We ordered the Margherita pizza ($ 11) and the Insalata Mercanti ($ 10) to split. The salad was pretty spectacular — light, refreshing, love the dressing! Pizza was also tasty. I’ve had similar at Queen Magherita and Libretto.
Still a good dinner with great company and decent food.

The food is delicious! I highly recommend the pizza bites (which we shared as an app but I preferred over the pizza!) we also had a mushroom pasta which was ok. For dessert we shared the Nutella cake which was scrumptious, ice cream and tiramisu.

My go to for pizza. Great atmosphere, amazing service, authentic food, favourite pizza joint.

«My friend said they have pretty good pizza here.»
– cross check Unilocal to verify. okay, it has a good rating.
«Okay so I’m already here and we’re in luck there was a spot available for me and my two friends»
– the waitress was super sweet and was prompt in providing service.
I agree with all the Unilocalers who gave them 4Stars. The wood oven pizza is delicious and the appetizers are pretty good. We ordered the breaded mozarella and the Napoletana pizza.
The waitress suggested a coctail — Aperol with white wine and it isn’t in the menu. So this is my tip I wish to share with all of you avid readers of Unilocal!
I even tried the Italian Pop– chinotto– its like coke and root beer and was also really nice to sip on while having my tomato base pizza. We ordered crème brûlée in the end and it was like cotton candy on custard and we finished it as soon as it was on our table.
It has a very relaxed atmosphere and I particularly like the paintings on the wall. I am not an Artsy person but it instigated a conversation between me and my friends and before we knew it, we were indulging in our interpretations of the painting!
There were lots of couples on a date and I could see how this could be a coool date place. Not too hard on the payer’s wallet (whoever chooses to pay the bf or gf or gf or gf or bf or bf) and yet impress the date with your amazing choice of venue.
Walking to the place, I wanted to try the bar next door (there was good music and ambience, i totally forgot the name though) or even go opposit to handlebar for a few drinks. So the neighbourhood yet again makes it an ideal place to go for a date.
Would definitely recommend it and hopefully get to go there again to try the eggplant appetizer

We had people visiting from our corporate office so for team dinner, one person suggested bringing them here. They have «the best pizza in Toronto» after all. And was featured in «You Gotta Eat Here». I don’t know why those two are valid considerations when choosing a pizza place but we had a consensus.
So off to Kensington Market we go, braving the traffic, going crazy finding parking and having a close encounter with a very interesting man with a snake.
And the consensus was no, it’s not the best pizza in Toronto. Not by a long shot. And there being about 15 of us, we ordered all kinds of pizza and nothing stood out. Some were even shot down.
We did have better luck with the appetizers and the free bread you get is stellar so it was not a total fail. Service was fast and friendly too. It’s just not a good pizza place. And definitely not the best pizza place in Toronto. Sorry John Catucci, that’s 1 point off your street cred too. Why did you tell us we gotta eat here?

Via Mercanti! We trudged along the early blistering sunshine of the day (yes what a struggle…) And came into a restaurant roaring with all sorts of celebratory cheers because Roberta Vinci (she and another Italian, Flavia Pennetta, went into the first-​ever, all Italian finals) had beaten Serena Williams in the U. S Open Semis. What a time to enter a proud Italian Pizzeria especially when the owner’s around eh?
No discount for this momentous occasion though, I asked but failed (+10 points for attempted bravery)
Anyways, we came into Via Mercanti with big hopes because we’ve been hearing from fellow co-​workers who said, «it’s THE best Margherita pizza around» and that got us very interested to try this place out.
Vika and I shared a weekday lunch special ($ 10) a 4 sliced, thin crusted Margherita with perhaps the most appetite-​inducing vinaigrette and olive oil salad (tasty) and were treated with the friendliest of service — these Italians I must say — treated us so nicely, it almost feels like we’re at home and the weekday atmosphere with sunlight pouring in made it feel even more badass.
As for why it’s only 4 stars, we felt that something’s lacking in the dish and would’ve loved to have more basil in there to pump up that dish. Maybe not the best Margherita pizza around but it was a positive experience (next time round, we’ll take up our server’s recommendation for the Romolo’s pizza — his personal fave and maybe that’ll take it up to 5 stars)

If all the pizzerias in Toronto that I’ve been to, this one has the most friendly service and the best food. Having been to Italy myself, I can tell you that the pizza (both the Biance and Rosse) here is authentic and delicious, as are the many appetizers.
The staff are friendly, and the atmosphere is great, only serving to make your food taste that much better! TIP: Try dipping your crust in the olive oil. Ask for Danielle; a very friendly server.

Went with 5 other people. Everyone enjoyed their meal. I had the Via Merchanti pizza; 2 layer pizza. It was excellent.
This is a nice place in Kensington market. A bit noisy but that didn’t stop us from having a good time. Service was good.

If you’re looking for a good quality tasty pizza, definitely check this place out. The pizza is quite tasty — crunchy crust, fresh toppings and sauce, and thin.
However, try to get a seat on the main level, I had the unfortunate experience of having a table in the basement, it felt like a dungeon (small, dark, and dirtier). If it wasn’t for that experience, I would’ve probably given a higher rating.

The margarita pizza they have with a soprassa-​stuffed crust changed my life for real. One of the best Neopolitan style pizzas in the city. The rice balls are also my jam. Staff were attentive and had lots of personality. I’m not even Italian at all — but it made me feel like I was at my Nona’s house!
A homeless lady came in and stole a loaf of bread when we were in line, props to that lady! Gotta give credit to Via Mercanti as well for feeding the homeless.

Know of this place because I, saw it on You Got It Eat Here, the tv show on Food Network. I have to say the pizzas are very good. I really like the crust. The service was okay. The servive was good and fast. All the pizzas u can see they are made to order. Next time I will try other items on their menu.

Via Mercanti, ti voglio bene. Perfect pizza backed by authenticity and real Italian charm.
This quaint and simple pizzeria is located in the heart of Kensington Market and when our server sees us approaching, he extends a warm:
«Buonasera!»
It’s a simple place but all Italian. The owners are from Napoli, Eros Ramazotti plays on the sound system, and the kitchen brigade are bonafide Italian, not a bunch of botchagaloop imposters. Enrico, our server is charming and perfect at his job. I tell him this and he answers in his lyrical Italian accent:
«I love what I do, so that makes it easy!»
Tonight is a special night as I’m having dinner with my love and the parents who happen to be in town from the Big Apple. Dad is picky about his pizza and he has every right to be as an Italian New Yorker. I’m hoping that Via Mercanti lives up to the hype. Mamma mia, I’m impressed. We are all impressed. Even Dad shouts:
«The best pizza I’ve had! You get my approval!»
First slice: Napoletana. Black olives, perfectly blistered cherry tomatoes, Italian oregano, and tasty anchovies. Thin crust, not soggy, unlike some other popular places in the city (I won’t mention names). They know what they’re doing here. Second slice: Ramolo’s. Tomato, olive oil, fior di latte, prosciutto cotto, assorted mushrooms. Heaven on a slice. They make a great Negroni here also.
My only disappointment is the Tiramisu. It’s not bad but it’s lacking in caliber. First off, it’s served in a small round ramekin. In my opinion, Tiramisu should be served sliced with a great view of the Savoiardi biscuit layer and the contrasting mascarpone. Secondly, it’s lacking in espresso and liqueur and dominantly tasting of raw mascarpone. The Cannoli looked good and apparently, it tasted even better. Mom had the Crème brûlée and she liked it, but from a former pastry chef’s perspective, I can tell you it’s lacking the significant burnt top layer and the custard consistency is thinner than it should be. The desserts here need some fine tuning and focus. Perhaps they need me to pay them a visit.
Desserts aside, Via Mercanti is the perfect pizzeria.

Authentique. De la pizza savoureuse qui se déguste comme un plat plutôt qu’un objet géométrique qu’on emporte. Ajoutons à cela un personnel efficace, sympathique et adore s’interpeller l’un l’autre en italien. La popularité du lieu est un témoignage de l’excellence de la cuisine.
Prenez donc les calmars. A Toronto, c’est souvent servi tout caoutchouteux, limite plastique. Chez Via Mercanti, tout le contraire, de calmars al dente sans être des bouts de chambre à air.

This was my first visit with 5 friends. Two of which have been here before and swear by it. The place is nice and bright and fairly busy. We spent a total of three hours here! The wait staff was really good; they were patient and prompt at the same time. The bread was homemade but I really wasn’t a big fan.
I started things off with the arancini which I was really impressed by. The exterior was nice and crispy. The interior was creamy. The seasoning was spot on. It sat on a bed of arugula. Really good combination.
Then I chose to go with the pasta of the day which was a gnocchi with osso bucco. The meat literally forked apart and was tasty. The gnocchi was fluffy and delicious. I could eat this dish every day for the rest of my life and still wouldn’t get tired of it.
I will most definitely be going back. Highly recommend this place. I miss it already.