Adamo: Tony Campanelli’s excellent pizzeria in Saint-Henri

Why Adamo? “For my son. The Lili & Oli cafe is for my other two, Adamo wanted one for himself.” (Laughs)

In November 2014, Tony reclaimed the space across from his cafe, Campanelli. How did he get the idea to do a pizzeria there? “We were the Euro-Deli for 12 years, I needed to do a pizzeria,” he says, making his hands talk. So his “old-school boys” literally stepped up to the plate and helped him create ‘Adamo,’ the pizzeria that opened in September 2015 to celebrate the reopening of the Campanelli Shop right across the street at the same time.

Tony Campanelli is the guy with the beard, the shaved head and the tattoos. He’s also a dad, a husband and a savvy businessman. He was born in Montreal, but has Italian roots from Naples and Campobasso. Tony created places like Campanelli cafe and boutique a few years ago and is a partner of Courcelles bar; he has become an influencer in Montreal culture and created interesting businesses in the Saint-Henri neighbourhood at a time when few people were there.

Adamo’s Pizza – New York’s Italy in Saint-Henri

At Adamo’s, there is a cheese pizza, a pepperoni pizza, a mozzarella cheese, tomato and basil pizza, and several others – all New York style. This New York-style pizza appeared around 1900 in the Big Apple and is distinguished by a thin, hand-tossed crust, sold by the slice (here $3.75 for a slice almost as big as a third of the pizza, and $22 for the whole pizza), often with little tomato sauce and a crispy bottom, but a softer dough underneath the toppings that folds easily – the New York way.

At Adamo’s, everything is homemade; from the dough to the tomato sauce. A homemade pizza reminiscent of New York indeed, slightly sweet, just right, we could eat one on our own. Foccacia and square tomato pizza may come one day. His favourite at the moment? The pepperoni. We have a weakness for the mozzarella basil. One of the best pizzerias in town!

A very classic Little Italy New York decor; lots of wood, white painted brick, lots of vintage photos, a big establishment of pizza boxes, tomato sauce cans and flour sacks right in the middle. Adamo has no seats: you go in to say hello, eat a bite and leave. Beautiful, very good, cheap and very cool.

Buon appetito and bravo Tony!

Written by Sophie Monkman
Photography by Alison Slattery

Last update: October 15, 2021

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