New York-style pizza done with obsessive Toronto pride. Big foldable slices, quality toppings, and the kind of tomato sauce that'll make you call your mom. Multiple locations but the original Kensington spot has the best vibe.
Neighbourhood: Kensington Market · Address: 693 Bloor St W, Toronto, ON · Hours: Mon–Sun 11:30am–11pm · Price Range: $$ · Phone: (416) 537-7700
North of Brooklyn serves up massive, perfectly chewy New York-style slices with toppings that go way beyond pepperoni. If you want real-deal pizza by the slice, the Kensington Market spot always hits the mark for post-bar eats or an affordable meal.
Unlike chains and most pizza joints that just reheat generic slices, North of Brooklyn actually fires each slice to order and loads every pie with local, high-quality ingredients (try the white pizza with ricotta and arugula). The tiny Kensington location still has that original cramped-but-welcoming energy — prime for people-watching and seeing your slice get made up close.
North of Brooklyn is one of those Toronto pizza spots that people keep coming back to because it actually delivers on the very specific promise it makes: New York-style slices that are big, foldable, a little greasy in the right way, and satisfying without trying too hard. It’s not pretending to be Neapolitan, it’s not trying to be a fancy tasting-menu pizza place, and it’s not interested in reinventing anything. It just wants to give you a proper slice of pizza with a good crust, a bright tomato sauce, and cheese that melts the way it should. That sounds simple, but simple is exactly where a lot of pizza places fall apart. North of Brooklyn got the fundamentals right early and has mostly stayed true to them since opening in 2011.
The original Bloor Street location near Bathurst is still the one that feels most like the “real” North of Brooklyn. Newer locations are fine, and some are better for convenience depending on where you live, but the Bloor shop has that worn-in, slightly cramped, always-moving energy that makes a pizza place feel alive. You walk in and usually see the same basic scene: people lining up for slices, a few regulars who already know what they’re getting, delivery drivers popping in and out, someone ordering a whole pie for a group, someone else standing there trying to decide if they should commit to a second slice or just grab garlic knots and call it lunch. It has the pace of a spot that works because people trust it, not because it’s trying to be trendy.
The crust is what keeps this place in the conversation. The dough is cold-fermented for 24 to 48 hours, and you can taste that it hasn’t been rushed. It has chew, but not in a bready, heavy way. The bottom gets enough structure to hold the fold, and the rim has just enough lift to make the slice feel substantial without turning into a pillow. If you’ve had New York-style pizza that came out limp or bland, you’ll notice the difference immediately here. It’s not crackery, it’s not floppy to the point of collapsing, and it doesn’t taste like something that was thrown together five minutes earlier. You get that little snap when you bite into the edge, then the chew, then the sauce and cheese, and that’s the whole point.
The sauce is probably the biggest reason a plain cheese slice works so well here. It’s made from whole peeled tomatoes, and it comes through bright, a little acidic, and properly seasoned without tasting sugary or heavy. A lot of pizza sauce in Toronto either disappears under the cheese or gets too sweet and dull. This one stands up. On a cheese slice, the sauce is doing real work, and it’s what keeps the slice from becoming generic. Add the low-moisture mozzarella, which melts into that familiar stretchy, salty blanket, and you’ve got something that’s far better than it has any right to be for the price. A cheese slice here can be one of the best quick meals in the city, especially if you’re in the mood for something filling that doesn’t cost like a sit-down lunch.
People absolutely do the slice-and-go thing here, but a lot of regulars also treat North of Brooklyn like a casual hangout spot. It’s the kind of place where friends meet because nobody wants to make a reservation, nobody wants to spend an hour deciding what to eat, and everyone can agree on pizza. During the day, you’ll see students, people on break from nearby jobs, and neighbourhood locals doing the quick lunch thing. Later on, it becomes more of a dinner stop or a late-night refuel spot, especially on Fridays when the room gets busier and the line starts to tell the story before you even reach the counter. The vibe isn’t fussy. You order, you wait if you have to, and then you either stand there eating your slice or take it to go and eat it two blocks away while it’s still hot enough to hurt your mouth a little. That’s part of the appeal.
If you’re ordering a whole pie, the BBQ chicken is the one a lot of people circle back to. It’s got roasted chicken, house BBQ sauce, red onion, and mozzarella, and it hits that sweet-savory balance that somehow feels indulgent without being messy in a bad way. It’s not trying to be subtle. It’s the pizza you order when you want something a little more loaded than cheese but still want the dough and sauce to do the heavy lifting. The Margherita, which is whole pies only, is the more restrained choice and a good test of whether a pizza place has confidence in its basics. Here, it works because the basil is fresh, the olive oil adds real flavour, and the base underneath everything is strong enough to support the simpler build. If the kitchen is having a good day, the Margherita can be the best thing on the menu because there’s nowhere for flaws to hide.
But honestly, the garlic knots are the item that most people end up talking about afterward. They’re tied pasta dough, brushed with garlic butter and herbs, and served with marinara for dipping, and they’re exactly the kind of thing you meant to “just try once” and then end up ordering again. They’re soft and savoury, with enough garlic to matter, and they’re especially good if you’re ordering with other people and want something to snack on while the pizza is being made. There’s a reason people say they’re worth the trip on their own. If you’re the kind of person who likes the edges of garlic bread more than the actual bread, you’ll get it immediately. They’re not trying to be delicate. They’re trying to be delicious, and they succeed.
Part of what makes North of Brooklyn different from other pizza places in Toronto is that it knows exactly what lane it’s in. There are plenty of pizzerias in the city that are doing excellent Neapolitan pies, wood-fired pies, Detroit-style squares, or big “Toronto takes on New York” things that end up overcomplicated. North of Brooklyn is much more direct than that. It’s focused on one style, and it’s confident enough to keep the menu from getting too clever. That makes it easy to recommend to people who just want a dependable pizza joint, but it also gives it a certain staying power. It doesn’t need a gimmick. It needs a hot oven, good dough, decent cheese, and a sauce that tastes like tomatoes. That’s the game, and they play it well.
The neighbourhood context matters too. The Bloor and Bathurst area sits right at the edge of a bunch of different Toronto rhythms. You’ve got the steady local traffic from people who live and work nearby, the Bathurst Station crowd coming in and out, people coming from Kensington, Little Italy, Koreatown, and the west end generally, plus the usual mix of students, night owls, and people who are just hungry and don’t want to overthink dinner. It’s not a polished, overly curated strip, which is part of why this location feels right for the brand. You’re not coming here for a special occasion in the formal sense. You’re coming because you need food, or because the night is still going and pizza is the answer, or because a cheap slice sounds better than whatever else you were considering. That kind of everyday usefulness is underrated.
If you’re visiting, the best strategy is pretty simple: know what you want before you get to the front of the line, and don’t overcomplicate your order if the place is busy. On a slower afternoon, you can take your time and order slices or a pie without much drama. On late Friday, though, it can get packed enough that you’ll want to move efficiently. The line usually moves, but there’s still a rhythm to it, especially when a bunch of people are ordering whole pies. If you’re with a group and everyone wants something different, consider ordering a mix of slices rather than waiting on multiple custom pies unless you’ve got time to kill. If you’re solo, a couple of slices and garlic knots is a very good meal and probably the smartest move. If you’re hungry hungry, go whole pie and don’t pretend you’ll be satisfied by just one slice, because you probably won’t be.
The honest reality is that North of Brooklyn is popular enough that you can run into waits, and the waits are most noticeable during dinner hours and late on weekends. That doesn’t mean it’s a miserable ordeal, but it does mean you shouldn’t expect instant gratification every time. The room can get noisy and a little tight, the counter can feel hectic, and if you’re ordering around peak time, you may find yourself watching people carry out fresh pies while you’re still waiting on yours. That’s just part of the tradeoff with a place that’s consistently good and doesn’t pretend otherwise. The upside is that even when it’s busy, it still feels like a pizza place doing its job rather than a restaurant trying to make a production out of lunch. Grab your order, find a spot, fold the slice, and eat it while it’s still hot enough to remind you why people care so much about this style in the first place.
If you want the clearest read on what North of Brooklyn does well, go with the classic cheese slice first. It’s the most honest test of the whole operation. If that’s good, everything else makes sense. Then move to the BBQ chicken if you want something more loaded, and don’t skip the garlic knots unless you genuinely don’t like garlic, which would be a strange position to take in this city. The menu doesn’t need a big explanation because the appeal is pretty immediate. It’s dependable, reasonably priced, and better than the average slice joint in ways that are easy to notice once you start paying attention. For Toronto, that combination goes a long way.
North of Brooklyn makes New York-style pizza — large, foldable slices with a thin but chewy crust (cold-fermented for 24–48 hours), bright tomato sauce, and good mozzarella. The crust has sufficient structure to hold toppings without sogginess but folds naturally for street-eating. By-the-slice and whole pies are available.
A classic cheese slice is the test and the essential order — if the tomato sauce and dough quality pass, everything else follows. The BBQ chicken pizza is the most popular whole-pie order. The garlic knots (pasta dough baked with garlic butter and herbs) are non-negotiable. For whole pies, the Margherita with fresh basil is the quality benchmark.
The original North of Brooklyn is at 693 Bloor Street West near Bathurst Station (Line 2). Additional locations have opened in Leslieville (Queen Street East) and other Toronto neighbourhoods. The Bloor Street original has the most established atmosphere; all locations serve the same menu.
Individual slices at North of Brooklyn typically cost $5–8 depending on the topping selection. Whole pies run $20–30. Garlic knots are approximately $8–10 for an order. It's one of the better value-for-quality pizza options in Toronto — mid-range pricing for a product that justifies it.
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