{Review} Ciao Roma Pizzeria in Woodbridge

Website:  http://www.crpizza.ca/
Address:  28 Roytec Rd, Unit 12 A, Woodbridge ON
When I visited: May 2014, lunch
Rating: $, 3

It was a very roundabout way on how we ended up at Ciao Roma (@ciaoromapizza). My husband and I were running errands in Vaughan over the May long weekend and wanted to grab a quick bite. After checking out 3 different joints in the area, we were disappointed that the restaurants were closed (although their website said otherwise). Luckily, Ciao Roma came to the rescue and tweeted me to say they were opened. Yes, the power of social media drove us here and it was worth it.

Based on their website, I assumed it was a large sit-down restaurant. It was not. There was the main service counter and room for about 10-12 customers to eat along the side of the walls and windows. This was exactly what we were looking for since we wanted to grab a quick bite and be on our way.

The servers were friendly and were happy to explain and suggest different types of pizza and sandwiches to order. I imagine that they had received an influx of new customers after their restaurant was aired on Food Networks “You got to eat here”. We had no idea they were on the show, but we finally saw the episode.

Being our first time, we ordered a variety of items to try. For the pizza, we ordered the Affumicata with mushrooms and smoked provolone and the tartufona pizza with bocconcini and truffle oil.

What makes the pizza special is the crust! The owner brought back the popular thick and crunchy pizza crust from Rome after his travels to the beautiful city. The focaccia-like crust is unique and I have not seen this at other pizzerias in Toronto. The mushroom pizza was delicious but the Tartufona pizza with the truffle oil could have benefited with some fresh parmesan cheese, prosciutto or salt.

The sandwiches are a must. I’d recommend the Ripiena focaccia sandwich with prosciutto, ricotta, arugula and balsamic glaze, as well as the Amatriciana sandwich with hot salami, pancetta and mozzarella. The bread is crunchy and the combination of ingredients in the sandwich was flavourful.

Finally, we tried the mixed meat rice balls, as well as the mushroom and peas rice balls; the hot chunky fillings were a delight!

The price is charged by weight. Based on the items we ordered, it came out to $25 for the two of us which is reasonable.

If you are in the area, Ciao Roma is worth stopping by. They also deliver with orders over $50 to households in Woodbridge, Maple and Kleinburg.