Canada definitely isn’t the first country that comes to mind when you think of pizza, but it undoubtedly has some incredible spots. In general, Canada is pretty great with most cuisines owing to its diversity, but amazingly, Canada is so good that it has some spots that are ranked amongst the best in the world.
A popular pizza publication that started in 2017, called 50 Top Pizza, creates curated lists of pizza spots around the world. Amongst these lists is an end of the year top 100 pizzas in the entire world. This includes pizza shops in world famous food cities like New York City, Naples, and Tokyo, but also a couple in some humble Canadian cities. Below are the Canadian spots that made the cut along with some other restaurants from a Canada specific top pizzas list. Keep in mind, this is an Italian publication so naturally this list will be biased towards more traditional, Italian style pizza. In fact, some of these spots are certified by the Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana which certifies Neapolitan-style pizza by their strict specification, so you know these spots are legit!
Pizza Culture — Calgary
I grew up in Calgary and a couple of my favourite restaurants happen to be pizza shops, which I will mention at the end so make sure to keep reading! One spot that I haven’t had the pleasure of visiting though is Pizza Culture. This restaurant serves up classic Neapolitan style pizza, and they go to great lengths to try and preserve a certain level of authenticity. This includes importing “00” flour from Italy, which is approved by AVPN, and hosting a pizza oven developed in Naples by Stefano Ferrara, a third-generation oven builder, so that they can prepare the pizzas at the ideal time and heat. Additionally, all of their key pizza making ingredients are imported from Italy with other produce being sourced locally or coming from their own garden. This commitment to crafting the perfect Neapolitan style pizza is incredibly impressive, and what is even more impressive is that they were honoured as one of the Top 100 Pizzerias in the World in 2025 by 50 Top Pizza. Next time I visit Calgary this is definitely going to be on the top of my bucket list.
Pizzeria Prima Strada — Victoria
If we rewind to 2024, another Canadian restaurant was featured on 50 Top Pizza’s Top 100 Pizzerias in the World, and that spot is Pizzeria Prima Strada in Victoria, BC. Their website expresses a simple story: come visit for some of the best pizza in a casual, neighbourhood setting. When I visited Pizzeria Prima Strada that is exactly the kind of impression it gave — an upscale ambiance that still maintains homey vibes. As far as the pizza goes, having visited some pretty famous pizza joints in Naples, I am somewhat of a harsh critic when it comes to Neapolitan style pizza. Would I say that this place is on the same level as the best Neapolitan pizzas that I have had? Not quite, but that should be expected. That being said, the pizza tasted delicious, and I completely understand why people love this restaurant so much. This spot is ultimately serving delicious pizza at reasonable prices, perfectly balancing incredible quality, ambiance, and flavour — which is something that should be applauded.
Via Tevere Pizzeria — Vancouver
If we rewind even further to 2020, 50 Top Pizza picked out their top pizza spot in Canada from a pool of nominees. The top spot, Via Tevere Pizzeria, is another traditional Neapolitan-style pizza spot with AVPN certification. This restaurant has two locations in Vancouver with a variety of tomato based, olive oil based, and cream based pizzas. Interestingly, they also have a food truck that can be reserved for events that serves up Italian sandwiches. Given their many accolades this is definitely a spot I am going to want to check out next time I visit Vancouver!
Other Notable Nominations
Other nominations from the 2020 50 Top Pizza Canada list include:
- Elena — Montreal
- Farinella — Ottawa
- FCO di Fiumicino — Montreal
- Forno Cultura — Toronto
- General Assembly Pizza — Toronto
- Moleskine Restaurant — Montreal
- Nina Pizza Napolitaine — St-Roch, Quebec City
- Pizza Face — Calgary
- Pizzeria Adamo — Montreal
From this list, the only spot I have tried is Pizzeria Adamo and it was solid — definitely not my favourite pizza spot in Montreal, but there are so many excellent pizza places in Montreal that it’s hard to stand out. Otherwise, this is a great mix of cities, highlighting that you can truly find amazing Italian-style pizza across the country.
Beyond Neapolitan
Ultimately, this is only a tiny snapshot of the tremendous diversity of amazing pizza that you can find in Canada. Due to the Italian pizza focus of publications like 50 Top Pizza, styles like donair pizza, desi pizza, and deep-dish barely get a mention — but they are every bit as much a part of Canada’s terrific food scene. I’ll be saving those styles and some of their standout restaurants for a future post.
For now, enjoy these delicious pizza spots and stay tuned! And if you don’t have an account already, make sure to create an Ukus account to log all of the restaurants you visit to your own personal diary, add your foodie friends, and discover new small businesses to support.