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Pizza Pide
Categories: Restaurants Pizza Restaurants Turkish Pizza, Turkish [Edit]
949 Gerrard St EToronto, ON M4M 1Z1
Neighbourhood: Leslieville
(416) 462-9666
- Hours:
Mon-Sat 11 am - 10 pm
Sun 11:30 am - 9 pm
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Attire:
- Casual
- Price Range:
-
$
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- No
- Delivery:
- No
- Take Away:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- No
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Wi-Fi:
- No
- Good For:
- Lunch, Dinner
- Alcohol:
- No
- Noise Level:
- Quiet
- Has TV:
- No
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- No
27 reviews for Pizza Pide
Review Highlights
-
"As for the tomato/onion/parsley/lemon combo." In 7 reviews -
"made Fresh to order." In 3 reviews -
"It's a sampler of all the different pizzas on the menu." In 4 reviews
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27 reviews in English
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Review from Turker S.
Richmond Hill, ON
12/13/2011 1 Check-in Here
Best Turkish flat bread (Pide) place in Canada. Great owner, convenient location. Don't get fooled by the decor, the food is the best.
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Review from Lawrence H.
Toronto, ON
2/13/2012
1st timer when it came to Turkish Pizza...
This place seems to work well on the number system. I had the #1 Lahmacun (ground beef with peppers, onions) and the #16 Sebzeli (vegetarian and feta cheese).
I liked #1 the best, especially with the extra parsley, onion, tomato and lemon that you can wrap/fold up within the crispy dough.
Service was friendly. We did takeaway and it took about 15 minutes even though it was quite busy. I think I would rather eat in next time since it probably tastes best right out of the oven however there are only about 5 small tables.
Nice change of pace from the usual pizza. -
Review from Kevin C.
Toronto, ON
1/2/2012
I haven't tried everything on the menu, but what I've had, I've loved. We get the Lakmajan (#1), the Turkish sausage (#8 I think), Pepperoni (#9) and the combination (#18 or #19). Excellent taste and reasonably priced.
I don't know what I'm supposed to do with the garden serving of parsley, and the lemon, tomatoes and onions so I just whip up a bruschetta. My wife wraps it in the Lakmajan and seems to enjoy that taste sensation as well.
The people I assume are the owners are some of the nicest people I've ever interacted with. I think they took over a few years ago, and while they didn't change much, the place is much cleaner and run a little smoother. Everyone should give this place a whirl. -
Review from Imran N.
10/5/2011
Hell's yeah!
You gotta check this place out. Good pizza cooked the traditional stone oven, turkish way.
Almost everything is good.
A special shout out to the spinach and cheese, lamb and mix beef.
If you are eating it the proper way too, ask the owner for some pickled chili's to go with. Bite the end of the chili and pour the liquid contents onto the pizza. Bite into green chili, bite into pizza.
Enjoy.
p.s the owner is a really nice guy. worth the trek and supporting a local business. -
Review from Dynafrom W.
Toronto, ON
3/10/2012
Went here with a friend and I ordered the lahmacun. The dish was very tasty and had plenty of extra garnishes to add to it (try adding the peppers and rolling it up). Great service (owner?) and overall a pleasant experience.
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Review from Evan S.
Toronto, ON
11/17/2011
What a great twist on pizza. Not only is it delicious, but it is a lot less greasy than most pizza joints. The owner/operator who works there is very genuine and loves to see new people ee awesome and will help you navigate the peculiar menu. I recommend the variety pide for your first time there.
The standard pizza slices are good as well, really inexpensive. -
Review from Jennifer K.
Markham, ON
10/17/2011 6 photos
Turkish Pizza?
Lahmacun is really "meat with dough", is a traditional eastern item of prepared food of Turkish origin consisting of a round, thin soft piece of dough topped with spicy sauce and minced meat (most commonly beef and lamb) and straight leaved parsley. *
Pizza Pide is located right across from Gerrard Square. Not my usual area but I am more than willing to travel for food....
- Karisik ($9.99) different toppings on every slice on a thick crust dough
- Lahmacun ($6.99) ground beef blended with tomato, onion and spice on a thin crust
I was a little bit disappointed on the spiciness level. But overall, the food was fresh and made to order... If you need a carb fix, definitely order the Karisik as it was more bread like.
The fresh onion, parsley, pickled chili and a squeeze of lemon juice did make the "pizza" less heavy as I washed them down with a salted yogurt drink.
I was eyeing this #21, Ground Beef with 2 Sunny Side Up Eggs?? This strangely reminded me of some Chinese food...
Chinese Pizza??
* http://en.wikipedia.or... -
Review from Lucy N.
Toronto, ON
4/9/2012
Fantastic. Nothing else like it in TO.
-
Review from Elif K.
Toronto, ON
10/15/2011
GO HERE! Seriously...do yourself a favor and make the trip to Pape & Gerrard. Trust me, it's worth it.
I'm partial to the #11 on the menu (Sucuklu - Turkish pepperoni and mozzarella cheese), but they're all good. I might be a little biased because of my Turkish background, but any time I take any of my non-Turkish friends (which is a few times a year), they all LOVE it!
The owner is super nice and if you're a newbie, he'll always recommend that you try the #18 sampler, It's great because it helps you understand what your favorite is for the next time you visit...and there WILL be a next time!
Bonus: The ayran (yogurt & water savoury drink). It's definitely an aquired taste, but it goes so perfectly with your pide and worth the try.
You'll leave there with a happy, full belly and knowing you've helped to support a local business too. Win-win! -
Review from Heather M.
11/28/2010
Wow wow wow wow! This place is a veritable taste sensation! Who cares about the decor, the pides are so amazing that you just tune it out when you're eating.
We ordered the vegetable and cheese one, the ground beef one, the lamb sausage one, and a Turkish sausage one, and they were out of this world (my favourite was the ground beef). The pides come on a long plate along with some fresh onion, parsley, tomato and peppers. It was slightly daunting at first to be eating raw onion on these pides, but actualy they were phenomenal - not overbearing at all! Also, finishing off with some baklava (as well as something that looked like baklava which they called "green desert [sic] with pistachios") and accompanying it all with some of the lemon drink (which is not carbonated) is fantastic.
The guy working behind the counter is also super nice.
I will return. YUM.
Side note, although this is a small place, there were a few tables here - we came in a group of 5 and were surprisingly seated comfortably.
Also, each pide is only $9.99 - bargains! -
Review from Jennifer M.
Toronto, ON
11/23/2010
Well that was a surprise. Always ignoring this inconspicuous pizza place across from G Square, I never realized that in fact, it is not a pizza place at all. They do serve Pizza, but they also serve Pide, a Turkish Flatbread that is really, seriously good.
The SO and I popped in on Saturday between a trip to Home Depot and some grocery shopping. We chatted with the enthusiastic Turkish owner, who was happy to explain to us how everything worked.
I don't eat meats, so we went for a Spinach and feta Pide with ground beef on half. It was made fresh for us, and was ready in about 15 min. Served on a long plank, with parsley, lemon, tomato, raw onion and hot pickled peppers, the Pide is about a foot and a bit long and cut into manageable pieces. We doused it in (Sumac? Chili?) mysterious red seasoning and dug in.
It was REALLY GOOD. Folding in bits on onion and parsley just upped each bite. Delicious.
All sorts of drinks available as well, including a sour and salty Turkish yogurt style drink which I will have to try next time.
Total Damage $9.99 plus tax. lunch for two.
Bonus Points
- Really tasty unique food that is a welcome change. (extra star)
- made Fresh to order
- Really enthusiastic friendly owner
- Lots of options to choose from on the menu
- TWO of us ate lunch for $9.99 (extra star)
- Nothing else good to eat in proximity
- Super Close to my house
- You can call and order ahead of time
- Street Parking or parking for a few cars in the ally beside the pet groomers
- A Million Times better than Pizza.
Minus Points
- No frills, nothing to look at, no ambiance.
- No whole wheat
- Sketchy 'hood
4.5 Stars -
Review from Connie T.
Toronto, ON
7/4/2009 ROTD 1/14/2010
Holy crap. For this restaurant alone, I am so glad I eat meat again.
Meat-lovers, rejoice with me. You, too, can take their variety pizza home and spoon it in bed, as I did with mine.
LOVE.Listed in: Toronto: Meals under $10! (And…
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Review from Greg C.
Toronto, ON
10/13/2009
Awesomeness comes in canoe shaped pizza form! The Turkish style pizza (pide) is the only way to go. Order the #18 (the greatest hits) pizza to start. It's a sampler of all the different pizzas on the menu.
Bonus: a pound of parsley, tomatoes, raw onions and lemon wedges! Wrap them in your slice and enjoy! Big ups to this place. -
Review from Jonathan K.
Toronto, ON
2/4/2010
Pizza Pide. Say it with me. Pizza. Pide. These are two different menu items. The latter, which almost all of the reviews so far are about, is not pizza. It's folded bread stuffed with cheese and slightly-above-average-pizza-joint-quality meats.
The owner is exceptionally friendly. He's very enthusiastic about the pide and the customer's enjoyment of it. His genuine interest in which of the flavours of the #18 I liked best was kind of heartwarming. My favourite part of my pizza pide experience took place right after the 20 or so high school kids got up and left. I mentioned that there were so many students, and asked a few questions about how often they were there, how many would usually come, etc. The owner humbly pointed out that, sure, the high school is pretty far away, but the kids seem to come here anyway because this is the pizza they like.
The pide is pretty bland. It's just cheesy bread. The cheese was processed and flavourless (mind you, nearly all pizza joint cheese isn't actually cheese, so I don't know that this sets them apart). You'll want to take advantage of the condiments they have, which I avoided for hygiene reasons (I was eating the pide with my hands).
I wasn't a fan of the wait for my pide to finish baking, but it was nice that they were making my pide just for me. As other reviewers point out, this means that you can customize yours.
Of the five flavours in the sampler pide, the spinach/feta, sausage, and lamb were the best. If you're going, I would recommend getting the #18 with those three items, but straight up avoiding the "chicken" and spinach/ground beef.
As for the tomato/onion/parsley/lemon combo...sure? The onion and parsley were fresh and a nice side dish. The tomato was prettty hard and tasteless, though.
Overall, I've had worse. I'm not from this neighbourhood, so I don't know what the competition is, but for $10+, you should be able to do better. -
Review from Geoffrey W.
Toronto, ON
6/11/2010 1 Check-in Here
I only realized recently with Yelp's help that this wasn't a generic pizza joint, but rather their specialty is turkish 'pide', which isn't just a pun on "pizza pie", as I'd assumed.
I've been there a few times now, each time I've had a pide, and each time I've enjoyed it. It's a little different from pizza, but mostly in a nice way. There are a little more herbs involved, and some come with quite a few vegetables tucked inside. There's no tomtato sauce, and there tends to be less cheese (which I guess would make it lower-fat).
It's not haute cuisine by any means, but it's enjoyable, filling and made fresh. Because the pides are made to order, so it's slower than something like Pizza Pizza, but unless you're in a rush, that's probably a good thing. It's a nice change, and I'm sure i'll be back.
They do regular slices and pizzas as well. The slices look like they don't sell very quickly, so they rarely seem appealing to me. The pizzas look good, and they do a walk-out XL for $10, which seems pretty cheap. I haven't tried their regular pizzas, but I assume they'd be decent. -
Review from Jimi S.
ON
11/14/2008 7 photos
Pizza Pide sits on a completely unremarkable corner, in an unremarkable building, across from an unremarkable mall (see Gerrard Square above - they are trying though), YET, as you might expect from the sly repetitive word setup, they are, indeed anything BUT unremarkable. As you can see from the photos posted, their take on pizza is quite different than anything ive ever seen.
Aside from the different appearance, the dough itself is perhaps more pastry like - more like challah, like a blueberry bun (might be a bit too jewish of a reference but im trying to bring everyone together here...). This texture makes for a nice change of pizza pace. Moreover, fried eggs on pizza!!! Of course. It's even great to chomp on the fresh onions, parsley and tomatoes they include with your pizza. Now, don't be fooled by the photos because each pizza is probably the side of 2 calzones, but not as doughy.
Havent tried any other other turkish fare there other than the pizza, but no doubt these recipes come from tradition, family and love and you can feel it with each bite. So its just to say you wont have to twist my arm to feast on a kebab or two. The harder it is for me to pronounce the more i want it.
the only drawback, is the ambience, of which there is none. but hey, its a pizza joint. take it home and eat in bed.Listed in: My Neighborhood-Leslieville
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Review from Kathi C.
6/6/2011
This was my first taste of Turkish pizza- my friend and I took several buses and hiked through the snow to get here, and it was worth it. I had to try the #18, which was a sampler to learn what I liked. And what I liked was anything with spinach and the #11 Sucuklu, which is the Turkish sausage and mozzarella cheese. Simple, I know, but delicious. I've only been one time but it was certainly memorable, and I'd go back the next time I'm in Toronto!
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Review from Mark P.
Toronto, ON
5/17/2010
The turkish fast food place to enjoy. The only one close to Greek Town. Don't get me wrong, the place looks a bit bland with bright fluorescent illumination (should I say typically turkish?) and the kitchen takes up half the space of the bistro, but the Pide there is remarkable. You can choose various toppings and then you wait for 10 minutes as everything is made fresh in front of your eyes. Your creation then gets topped with surprisingly tasty hot green pepper and a few plain onion loops and a mountain of parsley but the flavors work well together. Just avoid the spinning pizza warmer, I think it's there to turn your attention to the fresh PIDEs.
It's obviously not fine dining but definitely takes a fresh spin on flatbread carbs...pick one up next time you're in the neighborhood. You won't regret it! -
Review from David M.
Toronto, ON
2/2/2010
I was looking for pizza in the neighbourhood in mid-January, and this place was recommended. I spied the prepared slices in a display case and decided to take a pass, so can't comment on the pizza here.
The house dish, a Turkish bread called "pide" (pronounced pee-da), stuffed with various ingredients and baked, is the way to go. I had the spinach, feta and mozzarella, and it was quite good. The pides are pizza-like, but contain a different type of dough and lack tomato sauce. If I was to have it again, I would probably ask for some sauce, and customize my ingredients like a pizza. Hopefully, the very friendly owner would go for that.
Greg C. makes a good suggestion with the bonus veggies. Alternately, you could just squeeze the lemon on the onion (and tomato) as was suggested by the owner, and eat away. They are mild white onions, and are delicious. Care is obviously taken with the fresh ingredients.
I was happy to patronize this independent local eatery, and probably will again.
edit. Went back today since Danforth Pizza House was closed. Asked for a bit of tomato sauce on my pide, added mushrooms to the spinach, feta and mozzarella, and liked it better.Listed in: Pizza
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Review from Elvis A.
12/23/2010 1 Check-in Here
Jeez this place has gone downhill. This was my go to Place for Turkish Pizza (Pide) then Alara opened and the Chef Mustafa moved there and I thought this would suffer but surprisingly this place was still better than Alara. But not after my meal there yesterday this place has suffered a lot and the stuff is just bland. I ordered my Lahmahchun (Pardon my spelling as I am trying to spell it phonically) and Sujuck Pide. First for the Lahmachun the dough was great as always but now for the meat topping it was bland and no flavor. Its like they only seasoned it with S&P and red pepper flake here and their thats it. Seemed like a poorly made at home attempt IMO of this addictive stuff.
Sujuck Pide was even a bigger disappointment. The Sujuck (Turkish Pepperoni I guess) was devoid of taste and fell flat. I don't know whether they have changed sources for it or maybe have westernized it for mass market this one was poor reflection of glory days of this place.
They didn't have the pastrama so I was not able to try it out.
Don't get me wrong Its still better than your average Pizza Joint by far. 3.5 Stars. -
Review from Mark A.
Toronto, ON
9/6/2010
Don't be confused with the decoration and location. At the end, what matters is the taste. It's been a regular stop for me at least for the last 7-8 years. Inexpensive, great taste, friendly service and always fresh. You should try the Dairy Fountain's Drinkable Yogurt with your "Pide". Make sure that you shake it very well before you drink it. I have tried all of them, and can't say which one is better. It's always good to try each time one of them. I do call them 15-20 min in advance and place my order for take-out or dine in.
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Review from Kelly A.
Toronto, ON
3/16/2010 1 Check-in Here
I love pizza pide! Pide is a traditional style Turkish pizza that is cheap, filling, and way better than a Pizza Pizza. Don't be discouraged by the sketchy exterior or trays circling "american" pizza slices. Simply order off the menu: the #1 Lahmacun ("lah-mah-joon") is our favourite. The only reason I didn't give it five 5 stars is the fact that the lahmacun guy doesn't work on Wednesdays and they often quote unreasonably long times for pickup.
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Review from Rich T.
Toronto, ON
1/17/2010
Well, I finally gave this place a shot tonight. The reviews are dead on when it comes to the decor. That said, I've eaten off the streets in Asia so I was not exactly freaked out. As for the pizza? I was disappointed. It was OK at best. While their pizzas are certainly unique in shape, they certainly weren't in flavour. I thought they were quite bland. Maybe it's my taste buds but I've eaten alot of pizza in my life and it was nothing to write home about. Had the #18 which apparently is the most popular (tasting menu) but I would say it's quite forgettable. As for service, the place is way understaffed...maybe they lost some help recently as the owner seemed to be training someone. +ives: nothing that comes out; -ives: slow service
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Review from Stephen B.
Toronto, ON
1/14/2010 1 Check-in Here
I'm a big fan. Good pizza, great price, nice owners, not a generic chain. All good.
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Review from Naya R.
North York, ON
1/21/2011
Awesome place! Try the sampler pide - it has a lil bit of everything. A little oily, but once in a while is not so bad :)
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Review from Jorge P.
11/25/2010
turkish pizza pide in an unasumming tiny hole in the wall (used to be a pizza pizza). Hella hella good.
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Review from Aaron B.
9/22/2010
I was taken here on a date with a Turkish girl so I could experience some real Turkish food (besides her cooking). I ordered the #6 because it uses fresh lamb instead of sausages or other dried meats. The pide that came out in about 10 minutes (others are faster) was a large portion for one very hungry person...and I wanted to leave room for baklava (which was excellent). I also tried some Turkish purple carrot juice (bitter, but not bad) and a yogurt drink (watery and salty yogurt = blech). The decor is plain and about what you expect from a take-out pizza place. This place is FAR from downtown by my standards so I won't come back often (or maybe ever), but I wouldn't hesitate to eat at this place again if I were around and craving some hearty, oily, lowish quality pizza-like food without cheese. Aside from getting a chance to practice speaking some Turkish with the owner there is nothing at all cultural about this experience.
