Pizzeria Badiali: The Pizza That Put Toronto on the Map

Judging by the line stretching out of and around the corner from Pizzeria Badiali, this place makes great pizza. If you haven’t heard of it yet, it’s time to discover this exceptional pizzeria.

A fine dining guy who just wanted a good pizza joint

Ryan Baddeley doesn’t have the typical pizzaiolo background. Before opening his pizzeria, he was working in some of Toronto ‘s sharpest kitchens — Nota Bene, Bar Isabel , Bar Raval , Osteria Rialto. He also interned at Gema in Montreal. The kind of summary that impresses foodies, but that says nothing about what truly drives him.

Because what drives him is much simpler than that.

Ryan lived in the neighborhood. He wanted a place where he could walk to the corner for a slice. Not an online-order pizzeria. Not a delivery counter. A real neighborhood spot, like the ones he’d discovered in New York that had obsessed him — those mythical street corners where everyone gathers around a slice of tomato pie.

Toronto didn’t have that. So he built it.

Badiali: the name, the story

The name isn’t made up — it’s Ryan’s real Italian family name, the one from before it was anglicized to Baddeley. By choosing it for the pizzeria, Ryan reached for something deeper than branding: he went back to his roots.

Spring 2021: opening in the middle of a pandemic

The timing was absurd. In the spring of 2021, Toronto was barely emerging from its second lockdown. The space at 181 Dovercourt became available. Ryan, along with his two partners Nick Halligan and Owen Walker (the co-founders of El Rey, whom he’d met in 2013 at Bar Isabel), went for it: this was their spot, they could feel it.

And it worked immediately. Not because the timing was right — it wasn’t — but because the product was flawless and the neighborhood was thirsty for exactly this. Exceptional pizza. 

The pizza: simple, uncompromising

The menu is short. That’s intentional. Every pizza is 16 inches, New York style: thin crust, crispy, foldable. The cheese blend — pecorino, grana padano, whole-milk mozzarella — creates that golden, crackling layer that is the Badiali signature.

If you ask Ryan what to order, the answer is straightforward: the Margherita (fior di latte, fresh basil, that’s all you need) or the Pepperoni (the classic, executed to perfection). And if you want to step outside your comfort zone, the Cacio e Pepe — silky cacio sauce, fior di latte, pecorino, black pepper — is a quiet knockout. The kind of slice that makes you close your eyes.

Everything is made in-house or sourced with the rigor of a fine dining chef — because that’s exactly what Ryan is, even if he’s traded porcelain plates for cardboard ones.

The space: no frills, plenty of soul

Ryan designed the space himself. The interior is small, deliberately so. A narrow wooden counter runs along the front window. The kitchen is open — you see everything, because there’s nothing to hide. Exposed brick bleeds through the walls, old stained-glass panels crown the windows. A few stools, and Trinity Bellwoods Park two minutes away to sit down with your slice.

The experience is the line, the first bite into a still-scorching pepperoni slice, the conversation with the person next to you waiting for theirs. It’s communal by design.

32nd best pizza maker in the world

In 2024, Ryan Baddeley was ranked 32nd on The Best Chef Pizza world rankings — among Neapolitan legends. In 2025, he held at 51st, praised for his “refined yet nostalgic” approach. He is the only Canadian to have ever appeared on this list.

For a neighborhood slice shop that opened during a pandemic, that kind of recognition says it all.

You come here because Badiali isn’t trying to be the fanciest restaurant in Toronto. It’s trying to be the best corner spot. And it is. It’s the kind of place that turns an ordinary Tuesday night into a perfect moment. Long live Badiali!

Written by Daniel Neuhaus
Photography by Scott Usheroff

Updated on July 18, 2026

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