When you think of where the best pizza is, most people immediately think of Italy. But there’s a pizzeria right here in Metro Vancouver that was just named the top pizzeria in all of Canada by Gambero Rosso, a content platform known as the global authority on Italian food, wine, and travel (essentially the Italian version of the Michelin awards).
Based in Port Moody, Pizzeria Spacca Napoli was not only named Canada’s top pizzeria but also received a corresponding three Spicchi ranking, making history as the only Canadian pizzeria to ever earn this prestigious ranking.
So naturally, when we heard the news of the award, we had to go and see what all the hype was about. And trust us, this spot is serving up some great pizza.
Dished spoke with co-owners Danny Pero and Davide di Giovanni about the shop’s beginnings, the recent award, and, of course, the pizza.
From humble beginnings
“Spacca was born about eight, eight and a half years ago, but it probably started in our minds at least, gosh, more than 20 or 30 years ago,” said Pero.
Giovanni shared that the duo were best friends from high school and went to university together, where he studied dentistry, and Pero went into financing.
“We’d always talk about this dream of opening up a pizzeria or restaurant, and that was something that we’d always dreamed of doing,” Giovanni said.
“We come from large Italian families. Of course, food is number one,” added Pero. “It’s always the most important thing in life. We’ve travelled all over to Italy a bunch of times, and I don’t think we ever go anywhere unless we find a food that we want to eat.”
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Canada’s top pizzeria
When the duo heard about the award, they were quite surprised and didn’t even think it would be possible.
“I didn’t think a Gambero Rosso critic would come out here,” said Giovanni.
For those unfamiliar, Gambero Rosso is the equivalent of the Italian Michelin stars. It’s an honour to even be mentioned, let alone to win three Spicchi, which is its highest rating.
Eventually, the duo would discover that Pino Posteraro from Cioppino’s was approached and asked about good pizzas in the area and that he directed them to Spacca Napoli, resulting in the three Spicchi rating that they received.
“It’s amazing that an international Italian organization that knows this food better than anyone acknowledges the effort and the particular nature and quality pizza,” said Pero.
The pizza
The magic behind the piazza starts with the dough, which is made with flour with a very low yeast content.
“It’s very slowly fermented over 48 hours. So it’s a very light pizza. It’s very delicate, and it’s cooked in a basically 850 to 900 degree Fahrenheit wood burning oven with very simple ingredients,” said Pero. Think of ingredients like San Marzano tomatoes and Fior di Lata mozzarella.
Marco Ovies/Daily Hive
“I just think you can individually taste every ingredient,” added Pero. People ask us all the time, ‘What’s in your sauce?’ and they are shocked when I say San Marzano tomatoes and sea salt, that’s all.”
During our visit we tried four different styles of pizza, from traditional offerings to some fun twists the restaurant has added to its menu.
Marco Ovies/Daily Hive
Everything on the menu looks deceptively simple, but the quality of each ingredient puts this pizza above the rest.
An immediate standout was the Margherita scostumata. Givoanni told us that scostumata means mischieveous and that this creation was their mischievous take on a Margherita pizza. You’ll find all of the classic Margherita pizza toppings on this pie, but just in different forms. It’s served with ricotta cheese-stuffed crust, basil pesto, extra virgin olive oil, and fior di latte mozzarella.
Another incredibly tasty option was the sorriso di parma, aka the “smile” of Spacca Napoli. Instead of cooking all the ingredients together in the brick oven, this pizza has its dough cooked first, folded, and then filled with ingredients like arugula, cherry tomato confit, 18-month prosciutto di parma, burrata stracciatella, and house-made basil pesto.
Marco Ovies/Daily Hive
But let us tell you, when you visit, you can’t just order one pizza — you need to make sure you order a variety. Hot tip: Try at least one red sauce and one white sauce pizza.
Pizzeria Spacca Napoli
Address: 2801 St Johns Street, Port Moody
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