One of the many things I’ve learned about eating in Montréal is the benefit of a recommendation. I’ve struck out on my own trying places that looked promising and more times than not, I’ve been severely disappointed. I’ve seemed to have cracked the code on good Asian, Indian, and Middle Eastern restaurants, however, one of my favourite cuisines remained an enigma. I had yet to come across a good Italian restaurant. Due to the price of cheese and testing out un-recommended Italian waters I had very little worthwhile experience with Italian food in Montréal. Guido and Angelina’s was slightly pricey and decent but nothing pulling me to return, and most pizza places were either grungy and expensive or lacking cheese and cheap, very unappealing. So when my co-worker recommended an amazing, affordable Italian restaurant I had to call my fellow Foreign Foodie and go test it out.
So the main selling point for Del Compari is its wood fire oven, the second plus are its owners, it is run by an Italian family, lastly, but most importantly, the pizza is well-priced and the portions are more than fair. As soon as the wood fire oven was mentioned I had images of Margarita Pizzas running through my head. Margarita pizza is my test of a good pizza place. It is simple, cheese, tomato, and basil, but in my opinion in truly showcases the cheese, the dough, the sauce, what pizza is truly about.
Upon arrival we were greeted by a large wood-burning stove and a man rolling out pizzas. The restaurant revolves around him and the stove. We were lucky enough to be seated with a great view of the whole process and were able to see our food being prepared as well as everyone else’s’! Calzones filled with meats and cheeses; pizzas hand rolled and generously garnished escargot in a gorgeous buttery sauce, etc...
The menu was varied, numerous choices of vegetarian pizzas as well as meatatarian pizzas. My beloved Margarita Pizza was one of the first choices on the menu and although I was tempted to stray and chose one of the20 or so odd other choices I was true to my vision and stuck with Margarita. As hungry as we were, we decided to get an appetizer. Laura had never had escargot so seeing the 6 dollar price; we decided to go for it! Our waitress was great and dissuaded us from the accompanying cheesy garlic bread. It would have been too much. I was more than pleased with the escargot. They came in the usual dish with a lovely garlic sauce and the added plus of cheese baked on top. Cheese does make almost anything better! The small rolls were lacklustre on their own but fulfilled their purpose as sponges for the garlic sauce the escargots left behind. Our hopes high, we headed into the pizza. It was the best pizza I’ve had in Montréal. The European touch was evident in the taste of the crust and the sauce. I was experiencing food bliss on a perfect spring evening in Montréal. Laura’s pizza came fully loaded with ham hiding below the sausage peeking out from beneath the cheese, amongst the peppers. Neither of us finished our pizzas. Our waitress packaged them up with a knowing smile.
So the main selling point for Del Compari is its wood fire oven, the second plus are its owners, it is run by an Italian family, lastly, but most importantly, the pizza is well-priced and the portions are more than fair. As soon as the wood fire oven was mentioned I had images of Margarita Pizzas running through my head. Margarita pizza is my test of a good pizza place. It is simple, cheese, tomato, and basil, but in my opinion in truly showcases the cheese, the dough, the sauce, what pizza is truly about.
Upon arrival we were greeted by a large wood-burning stove and a man rolling out pizzas. The restaurant revolves around him and the stove. We were lucky enough to be seated with a great view of the whole process and were able to see our food being prepared as well as everyone else’s’! Calzones filled with meats and cheeses; pizzas hand rolled and generously garnished escargot in a gorgeous buttery sauce, etc...
The menu was varied, numerous choices of vegetarian pizzas as well as meatatarian pizzas. My beloved Margarita Pizza was one of the first choices on the menu and although I was tempted to stray and chose one of the20 or so odd other choices I was true to my vision and stuck with Margarita. As hungry as we were, we decided to get an appetizer. Laura had never had escargot so seeing the 6 dollar price; we decided to go for it! Our waitress was great and dissuaded us from the accompanying cheesy garlic bread. It would have been too much. I was more than pleased with the escargot. They came in the usual dish with a lovely garlic sauce and the added plus of cheese baked on top. Cheese does make almost anything better! The small rolls were lacklustre on their own but fulfilled their purpose as sponges for the garlic sauce the escargots left behind. Our hopes high, we headed into the pizza. It was the best pizza I’ve had in Montréal. The European touch was evident in the taste of the crust and the sauce. I was experiencing food bliss on a perfect spring evening in Montréal. Laura’s pizza came fully loaded with ham hiding below the sausage peeking out from beneath the cheese, amongst the peppers. Neither of us finished our pizzas. Our waitress packaged them up with a knowing smile.
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