Pizza Il Focolaio
Pizza Il Focolaio is a wood burning oven pizzeria in Montréal that has been around since 1984. Taking inspiration from the old country, the pizzeria serves authentic Italian pizza with the freshest top of the line ingredients that are made daily. They also have a whopping 77 different pizza on the menu, giving customers plenty of options to choose from.
Ended up at this place because of my friend’s recommendation. She’s been to this pizzeria before and thought their pizza is amazing so she took me here during our Montréal trip. The place was busy when we went for a visit during peak lunch hour rush on a Thursday. There was even quite a long line forming outside the restaurant of people waiting for a table. We ended up waiting for about 15 minutes or so before getting a table. The waiting time wasn’t too bad to be honest. And if you don’t want to wait, you can always order to go and eat it at the park across the street where they have limited tables and seatings available.
The restaurant itself is not too small. There are about 46 seatings inside the restaurant and every table was occupied when we walked in (I took the pictures on this post after the lunch rush was over and when we’re bout to leave so it’s a bit emptier). It’s pretty loud inside with chatter from every table filling up the room. Most patrons looked like office workers who were enjoying their lunch breaks. There are also more seatings at the patio area in front of the restaurant that’s perfect for a good weather day if you choose to sit outside.
Caesar Salad CA$18.50 | 8.5/10
Romaine lettuce with cesar dressing*, croutons, Parmigiano-Reggiano. *Cesar dressing (contains anchovies, mustard, milk and egg in sauce)
For starters, we ordered the Caesar Salad to share. It was fresh and nicely seasoned. Not too salty or peppery or cheesy. Very balanced. The portion was quite generous too.
No.23 Campagnola CA$22.25 | 9.5/10
Sauce, mushrooms, onions, spicy pancetta (Italian bacon), mozzarella, black olives. Meat pizza.
I ordered this one and I have to say this was probably one of the best pizza I’ve ever had in recent times. The pizza was cooked really well with that wood burning aroma whiffing off of the crust that’s slightly charred on different spots. The texture was nice, chewy and there’s a slight bounce to the bite. All the toppings were also evenly cooked and sitting nicely on top of the gooey mozzarella. The portion is quite big and generous and I ended up not being able to finish the whole thing. But I did half eat of the pan before feeling really stuffed and so did my friend with her pizza order.
No.68 A La Griglia CA$22.25 | 9/10
Fresh tomatoes, mozzarella, grilled vegetables (zucchini, eggplant, onions, artichokes, mushrooms, green and red peppers), fresh garlic, Italian herbs, olive oil, Parmigiano-Reggiano. Vegetables pizza.
My friend actually ordered this one and I have the same comment about the overall pizza like the Campagnola. I think their pizza is really solid and you can just order whichever pizza that have the toppings that you like and I’m pretty sure you’ll enjoy it.
As I was editing the photos and vlog from this place, I was reminded once again on how good this meal was and ended up craving for this pizza again. And now after I’ve tried it, I can totally see why my friend likes this place so much. Their pizza is really THAT good. Next time I’m in Montréal, I would definitely come back to this place again.
Pizza Il Focolaio
Address: 1223 R. du Square-Phillips, Montréal, QC H3B 3E9, Canada
Telephone: +15148791045
Hours:
Monday to Wednesday 11:00 am—8:30 pm
Thursday 11:00 am—9:00 pm
Friday 11:00 am—9:30pm
Saturday 12:00 pm—9:30pm
Closed on Sundays
Instagram: @ilfocolaio
