Il Fornello.

Pizza Fichi

Il Fornello Tuesday Pizza Special!...  I was recently introduced to the tuesday $10 special for any of their pizzas and have been coming back regularly for the deal at the Bayview Village location in North York.  They have a large list of wood oven baked pizzas with a variety of toppings- normally ranging from $11-$17 each.  The one flavour that my friends and I regularly get is the Pizza Fichi, with tons of savoury and sweet toppings including mascarpone, prosciutto, figs, shaved grana padano cheese, honey and arugula.  That mascarpone base sauce is so damn good! Other pizzas featured here are the Pizza Prosciutto + the Pizza Gorgonzola.  The prosciutto pizza is covered with 2 giant strips of that tasty italian ham + artichoke hearts, black olives and peppers.  If you are looking for some INTENSE flavours, try the Pizza Gorgonzola, which is loaded with strong tasting Gorgonzola blue cheese and pears, caramelized onions + walnuts.  I would have preferred the cheese to be a little less strong as it masked some of the other awesome flavors.  Overall pizza tuesdays at Il Fornello is a great chance to taste their pizzas at an affordable $10/ pie.  They are really busy on these days, and do not take reservations on tuesdays because of this special.  Come early (6pm or earlier) and with small groups to avoid waits.

Il Fornello Restaurant
2901 Bayview Ave
Toronto, ON
M2N 5Z7 
(416)227-1271

Pizza Prosciutto

Pizza Gorgonzola

Amsterdam Brewhouse.

Brew pub... Checked out recently opened Amsterdam Brewhouse, on Queens Quay, the first venture into food service for Amsterdam brewery. First off, it's a big place! 800+ seats including a massive patio that faces Lake Ontario. Definitely a place to be in the summer patio months. 

Upon entering, you're greeted with The Tanks! These large brewing tanks supply the restaurant with seasonal brews, Amsterdam favourites and adventure brews. This is what really makes this place so unique and beautiful. Their beers are brewed in small batches and once they're gone, it's gone. That gives me reason to always go back to see what they're brewing. You can even submit your idea @amsterdambh!

If you're here for sports, like I was, they have a semi-horseshoe bar that seats about 30 accompanied by a huge TV. They also have surrounding flat-screen that are more effect than effectiveness. At first, their menu can be challenging to maneuver. They have their favourites, meaning the beers that they have and will always have, name 416, Blonde, Big Wheel, Boneshaker, etc. Then they have seasonal and adventure brews on a separate menu. They also have "From the Cellar" which are extremely expensive aged beers ($20+). If you don't know what you want, they also have "Flight Tours" for $8. You get to choose based on taste from Light to Strong Beers. Each Flight Tour gives you four 5oz glasses of their selection. It's a great way to taste different beers and at $8, it's really a great deal. All their beers are $7 flat for 20oz pint. They also have some beers by other local brewers but I didn't pay much attention to it. Overall, the food was good. We tried their 416 Fish and Chips, Lobster Rolls, and Potato Pizza. 

The entire second floor looks like it's dedicated to special events. It over looks the bar/restaurant much like Real Sports does. Overall, the beer and food was excellent. Service, which only reviews would suggest it to be subpar, was also good. However, we were sitting at the bar which tends lend itself faster service. 

Amsterdam Brewhouse
245 Queens Quay, Toronto
www.amsterdambrewhouse.com