Popular local pizza shop name-dropped on Law & Order Toronto

While it's commonly known for its cheesy pizzas, Pizzeria Badiali recently served as the backdrop for a tense police investigation— at least on television.

The pizza hotspot, which is arguably one of the best slice shops in Toronto, is renowned for its 16-inch New York-style pies that come in a variety of flavours, including favourites like the vodka pie, to more classic options like original cheese and pepperoni.

The shop was recently featured in Law & Order Toronto: Criminal Intent, which, similar to other Law & Order spin-offs, is a police procedural drama series that follows a squad of detectives who investigate high-profile crimes in Toronto, with some episodes inspired by real headlines out of the city. 

A clip from an upcoming episode shows detectives visiting the shop, located at 181 Dovercourt Rd., notably without its long lines that typically wrap around the block.

In the scene, Detective Sergeant Frankie Bateman (Kathleen Munroe) and Detective Sergeant Henry Graff (Aden Young) stop by the shop to ask about a Hawaiian pizza order placed during a specific time window.

@lawandorderto Hawaiian pizza: criminally underrated. Tune into an all-new episode of #LawandOrderToronto #CriminalIntent ♬ original sound - Law & Order Toronto

"Not too many people get Hawaiian," the staff member behind the counter says, to which Detective Graff responds, "Hmm. Critically underrated."

If you're a die-hard Pizzeria Badiali fan, you know that the pizza shop doesn't actually offer a classic Hawaiian pizza, but it does offer a spicy twist called "Capicola and Pineapple," which is topped with crushed tomato, whole milk mozzarella, red onion, pineapple, capicola, and Calabrian chili.

While some fans were delighted with the shop's brief cameo, others couldn't help but poke fun at the show's fictional elements.

"This is unrealistic. They would have had to wait in line for at least 30 minutes before getting to the front," one TikTok commenter wrote.

"First off, Badiali doesn't have Hawaiian pizza," one person noted, while another chimed in, writing, "The first crime was not ordering a vodka pizza from Badiali."

The exterior shot of the constantly busy pizza shop, which was curiously devoid of a line, also raised some eyebrows. "How the hell did they manage to film at literally one of the busiest pizza places in the entire city?" another user questioned.

Law & Order Toronto: Criminal Intent, which debuted on Feb. 22, 2024, and is currently in its second season, has already been renewed for season three. The next episode airs Thursday at 10/9c on Citytv and is also available for streaming on Citytv+.