Square New York-style pizza done Toronto — The Pie Commission makes New York-inspired square pizza with a focaccia-adjacent crust, generous toppings, and the kind of cheese pull that makes food photographers weep. The pepperoni cup pizza (where pepperoni cups hold rendered fat) has gone legitimately viral in Toronto food circles.
Neighbourhood: Various · Address: Various Toronto pop-up and permanent locations — check piecommission.ca · Hours: Varies by location — check website · Price Range: $$ · Phone: (416) 848-7424 · Editorial status: Not yet verified
If you crave unapologetically cheesy, thick-crust pizza with crunchy edges and toppings that actually cover every bite, this is your spot. Their viral pepperoni cup pie is one of those rare Toronto food fads that actually delivers.
The Pie Commission does New York-style pizza in bold, square slabs, not slices—think focaccia-light bases that stay airy yet crisp even under obscene amounts of cheese and meats. Unlike many spots, you’ll find the all-important cheesy edge, and they don’t skimp on the quality or quantity of toppings. The viral, charred pepperoni cups are the real draw, not an afterthought.
Detroit-style pizza (square, thick-crust, baked in a blue steel automotive parts tray, with cheese extended to the edges where it caramelizes against the pan wall, and sauce applied on top of the cheese rather than beneath it) arrived in Toronto's pizza scene in the mid-2010s and has developed its own following among people who find New York-style pizza too thin and Neapolitan too soft-centered. The Detroit style is the American pizza style most amenable to maximum cheese application.
Pepperoni cups (thick-cut pepperoni that curls at the edges when baked, forming a concave cup that collects its own rendered fat and becomes crispy at the rim) are the defining Detroit pizza topping — the cup shape is a function of the pepperoni's diameter and casing, and the fat rendering creates a concentrated flavour that flat-laid pepperoni doesn't achieve. The cups sit on top of the cheese (which is on top of the sauce), ensuring they brown and crisp without steaming.
The cheese pull is not incidental — the frico (caramelized cheese border formed where the mozzarella meets the pan wall) creates a structural integrity that allows a clean pull without the structural collapse of wetter pizza styles. A properly made Detroit pizza pulls from the pan cleanly, holds its shape when lifted, and shows the frico's dark caramelized edge as a visual quality indicator.
White garlic pizza (olive oil, garlic, mozzarella, fresh herbs, no tomato sauce) is the Detroit-style alternative that demonstrates the dough quality without tomato's flavour dominance. The thick Detroit dough (a focaccia-adjacent, highly hydrated dough with a light, airy crumb) shows its character most clearly without the competing acidity of tomato.
Detroit-style pizza is baked in a blue steel rectangular tray, producing a thick, crispy-bottomed, airy-crumbed square pizza. The cheese extends to the edges and caramelizes against the pan wall (frico), the sauce goes on top of the cheese, and pepperoni cups are the signature topping.
Pepperoni cups form when thick-cut pepperoni with natural casing curls at the edges during baking. The cup shape collects rendered fat at the center, basting the pepperoni from inside and creating a crispier rim. The concentrated fat creates more flavour than flat-laid pepperoni that loses its fat to the cheese below.
Frico is the caramelized cheese border that forms where the mozzarella meets the hot pan wall in Detroit pizza. It creates a dark, crispy, intensely flavoured edge that is considered the best part of the pizza — the cheese caramelizes rather than simply melting, creating a completely different flavour from the cheese in the center.
Several Toronto pizza operations have added Detroit-style to their menus alongside other styles. The style is particularly available in the downtown core and west end — search 'Detroit style pizza Toronto' for current best-rated options.
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