Last week I went on a date with Breanna to Rosso Pizzeria at 8738 109 Street. Rosso has only been open for a few months and I’ve wanted to try it because it’s gotten pretty great Twitter reviews so far!
It’s a pretty dark space (at least for dinner anyway) and gives off a very ‘cool’ vibe (a.k.a. kinda hipster, suitable for the Whyte Ave.-ish area). Our server was very friendly and we also got to chat with Dave, the owner, who saw we had tweeted we were coming down and tweeted us back saying ‘be sure to ask for Dave!’ He was great.
Rosso feels Famoso-esque (not a bad thing, I love Famoso!), but isn’t a chain, and focuses on fresh, local ingredients, and even uses organic flour for their Neapolitan pizza crust.
Breanna and I shared the Trittico di Bruschetta to start. It’s bruschetta three ways – with marinated roasted peppers, with house-made ricotta, and with oven-roasted tomato & chevre-cheese. ($10) These weren’t the best bruschetta I’ve ever had, I don’t think the flavours really worked together, and none of the three really stood out for me, so I wouldn’t recommend this appetizer. Rosso had a bunch of other appies on the menu that sounded great though so I would try more when I come back for Round 2. :)
I also had a cup of their soup of the day (roasted tomato) to start ($5) and this was delicious. Creamy, cheesy, hot. And for $5 you get quite a bit. Good bang for your buck for the cup ‘o soup.
Rosso splits their pizzas into red or white. We had one of both. My pizza was under the red category – the Prosciutto Cotto – San Marzano tomato sauce, mozzarella fior di latte, Italian ham with roasted wild mushrooms ($16). I loved my pizza! When I mention above that Rosso has a Famoso-esque feel, their pizza does as well. The crust is thin for the most part, but has a poofy part near the end. It’s very much a roll-it-up and take a big bite kind of it pizza, and one that can fall apart pretty easily. But the pizza is definitely the star here. Everything on the Prosciutto Cotto worked!
Breanna ordered the ‘white’ pizza – Pera e Prosciutto Affumicato (we apparently like our prosciutto!) – the pear, mozzarella fior di latte, gorgonzola cheese, smoked speck prosciutto, toasted pecans and honey pizza ($16). Hers definitely sounded interesting – and you’re not sure if the combinations will work (pear? honey? meat and cheese?) but it really does! The cheese and meat balances the sweet pear and honey and the pecans add a great texture.
Overall we thought the pizzas were delicious, and the cup of soup was great. Bruschetta was meh. The atmosphere was nice and our service was great. While delicious, the pizzas aren’t huge. They would be enough for one person (Breanna ate all of hers and I could have eaten all of mine easily, but saved two slices for lunch the next day). The price point is just a bit more expensive than Famoso’s pizzas and Famoso’s are a touch bigger in size, but the taste was fantastic and I always have love for places that put an emphasis on fresh and local ingredients. I’ve heard amazing things about their breakfast pizza too – so that’s something I need to try! I’ll definitely be back to Rosso!
So have you been to Rosso?! What did you think?
* Correction: Breanna informs me that she apparently took two slices home as well. But I still think I could have eaten all the pizza by myself, easily. Lol
Linda