Restaurant Review: Maker Pizza

MAKER PIZZA

59 Cameron Street ~ makerpizza.com Instagram: @makerpizza ~ Twitter: @MakerPizza Co-Diner: Tim Golem

Ever since first moving to Toronto, Maker Pizza was one of the top places that I wanted to visit the most. Why? Well first of all, I kept hearing about how amazing it was (blogTO calls it the #1 Best Pizza in Toronto), and secondly, I'm a fan of Chef Matty Matheson and this is his pizza place. First opened in 2015, there are now two locations. I headed myself over to the original location in the Fashion District (I only do the OGs) on a Saturday night. This place can get super busy and while the majority of people are doing take-out plenty of customers also choose to eat-in (such as me, always). There are only about 4-5 long communal tables available, so my first piece of advice is to arrive early if you want to guarantee a seat. The vibe of this restaurant is very laid-back, urban, and cool. You can feel it right away as soon as you see the giant mural on the side of the building which reads "PIZZAMAKER." Inside, the atmosphere is maintained with hip music, white-painted brick walls, and another large mural which reads "seven days with no pizza makes one weak." The opposite wall is stacked high with pizza boxes. The black-yellow-white branding is visible everywhere. The staff is busy and decently friendly. After approaching the counter to place our order we waited at our table until our pizza arrived. It didn't take too long. I would say that the wait was roughly 15 minutes, which seemed entirely reasonable considering that they were very busy with customers and making each pizza to-order. There is a cooler to the left of the counter that is stocked full of Brio, which I applauded. Clearly this place is well aware that the only acceptable beverage to go along with pizza is a Brio.

Brio is a chinotto-flavoured cola with a bittersweet taste. Fun fact: The brand was invented right here in Toronto! It accompanies pizza perfectly and really helps to balance out all of the savoury and sometimes spicy flavours. This menu was tough because there are so many good choices. The pizzas come in two types: Red or white. There are six in each category. They also each come in two sizes (small 12" and large 16"). In addition to this they also do a sandwich and wings. (I really want to try the sandwich (called The Bodega) a lot. It sounds and looks incredible. I'm probably going to go get one tomorrow.) We decided to order one red pizza and one white pizza in the interest of experiencing the "right" things, however the decision of which pizzas to pick was still super difficult. Starting with White, it's difficult to ignore the dine-in only Return of the Mac, which is basically a Big Mac burger in pizza form. But I had heard quite a lot about Frank's Best ($17.00 for small) and went with that one. It arrived first, served right in it's pizza box (regardless of whether you're eating in or not). They have paper plates should you require them.

Biting into this fresh-from-the-oven pizza it was clear immediately that the balance of flavours in this 'za were combined perfectly. It was sweet, tangy, herby, and all-around beautiful. I was dazzled by the crust right away. I find that an amazing crust is truly the element that sets a great pizza apart from the rest, and this crust was ideal. It was light and crispy, yet had a lovely chew to it. I adored the sweet caramelized onions, the super cheesiness of it all, and enjoyed the unexpected savouriness from the rosemary. And of course the honey - you can't go wrong with honey. I'm not even someone who is "crazy for pizza" and I absolutely loved this one. Onto the Red, I found it even harder to choose in this section. The Napoli Dynamite seemed like a typical choice for me but the Dr. Pepperoni sounded like a true classic. In the end, the Real Pep God ($17.00 for small) felt like a solid mix of everything (I really wanted something with pepperoni on it).

Isn't this exactly what a pizza should be? This one was pretty wet and sloppy but also entirely satisfying. I loved the plentiful and delicious little pepperoni circles and this pizza was truly drowning in cheese (there is no such thing as too much cheese). I'm a big fan of a saucy situation on top these days and really enjoyed their ultra-fresh tasting tomato sauce. The chili flakes brought a nice little punch of heat too. However, of the two pizzas, I'd say that Frank's Best is the one that really impressed me. There is one dessert on the menu and it's the Maker Cookie ($4.25). There's always room for a cookie, amirite?

These sit next to the cash, daring you to ignore them. Which you can't. I liked that they look truly homemade. Jam-packed with chocolate, each bite seems to contain more chocolate than dough, which doesn't seem to be a problem. A perfect classic cookie. The ingredients at Maker Pizza are of a very high quality and I think that's a major reason why their product is so good. You'll find items like chili infused pineapple, Cheese Boutique Dutch Twilight cheese (a cheese exclusive to Maker Pizza), and pork shoulder sugo. You can also "be your maker" and create any pizza that you want using their impressive list of beautiful toppings. (If I was making my own? It would be a red base with chili infused pineapple, green olives, anchovies, and a sesame crust. Maybe toss some of that Dutch Twilight on there too. Great. Now I need that.) There are also a lot of vegetarian options at Maker which makes their product accessible to a wider range of people, which I appreciate. The prices might be a bit on the high side but with a motto which reads "it must be made perfect or it must be made again" you can trust that your money will be going towards a very high-quality and delicious product that you will love.