Falasca SPQR 2059 Yonge St. Toronto, ON

We have a joke that the SPQR stands for Sono porchi questi Romani, instead of “Senatus Populusque Romanus” but the joke falls flat at Falasca, because the service is excellent, and the SPQR has been re-worked to stand for “Specialty Pizza Quadrata and Round”, the two types of pizza served by the shop.  You can go at lunch and order your quadrata (or slice) by weight, instead of North American style, which is by slice only, or go at dinner to have a round pizza.

While not a Vera Nepolitana, the restaurant deserves a review, as well as a visit, so a person can decide which they prefer—the crispy, Roman style crust, or the softer Neapolitan style. 

Falasca has been open for about a year, the owners being Alessandro Buccianti and Alfiero Falasca.  Alfiero has a world pizza championship, so I have high hopes.

The interior is a stark white, with antique prints of Rome on the walls.  The only two things I would change are to install some sound proofing, as the sound bounces around the restaurant quite a bit, making conversation almost impossible, and to add some blinds to the windows. We went for dinner around 18.45, and the sun was blinding my Italian boyfriend (hey—if you’re going to review a pizza place, take an expert).

We start our meal by ordering a suppli a telephono, which is a form of a croquette, consisting of rice, mozzarella, coated in breadcrumbs and egg and then fried.  Ours is hot, beautifully fried, not too much so it’s greasy, but enough to be crunchy.  The mozzarella pulled out of the suppli in strings, thus giving the nickname “telephono”, it resembles the cord on a telephone.  Not that anyone uses a landline in Italy any more, but I digress.

Italian boyfriend ordered the special pizza of the night, an Imperiale, which consisted of sauce, cherry tomatoes, fresh basil and arugula, and bufala mozzarella.  His toppings were all of superb quality, fresh, and the cherry tomatoes’ sweetness complimenting that of the sauce.  I have the prosciutto, with fresh sauce and fior di latte mozzarella.  I don’t mind that style of mozzarella, but I prefer the bufala, which has a slightly more earthy flavour.  I have no complaints about the crust, which is perfect—crispy on the edges and charred slightly, soft in the middle.  I just can’t cut the damn thing, as the knives aren’t sharp enough.  Good thing no one is sitting next to me, because I would have brained them with my elbows see-sawing back and forth.

The beer choices leave something to be desired, as they only sell Italian beers.  Italians do many things well, but beer is not one of them. If you’re having a beer when you go, make sure you get the Costello, which is from the north of Italy and is at least drinkable. 

Service here is perfect—not too obtrusive, but always on hand when you need something and friendly. 

Cost of a pizza is between $9.25-$14.00.  We ate and drank for two for slightly over $50.

http://falascaspqr.com/

Rating—9/10.