Once-closed hidden gem pizza restaurant makes grand return to Toronto
A hidden-gem Ontario pizza restaurant had to shutter its sole Toronto location in early 2025, but nearly a year later, it has finally returned to the city.
You could throw a stone at any Toronto intersection and hit a pizza restaurant that hits the spot, but that doesn't make it any less heartbreaking when a favourite closes its doors.
And for as many still-thriving pizza joints as the city has, there's a near-equal number of bygone favourites (I, for one, am still grieving the loss of Superpoint earlier this year) and, in January of 2025, Bello Pizza became one of the latter.
Founded in 2021 by former Soho House pizzaiolo Andrew LeBlanc and Hot Black Coffee veterans Jimson Bienenstock and Momi Kishi, Bello Pizza existed peacefully tucked inside of Halcyon Cafe during its four-year stint.
Though Bello never reached the heights of some of its pie-slinging contemporaries, it was a favourite across Bloor West Village, making enough of a splash to prompt the team to open another location in Collingwood just two years after launching.
It looked like Bello was firmly on track to become one of the city's go-to pizza joints until, in late 2024, their lease expired, and the Bello team decided that the once-fruitful Covid-era model of sharing the space with Halcyon cafe wouldn't support the long-term growth of either business.
"It was best for both parties," co-founder Andrew LeBlanc tells blogTO.
At the time, LeBlanc told blogTO that he and the team would "leave the door open if there is an opportunity that makes sense for us in Toronto," and, after nearly a year of focusing their efforts up north, Bello Pizza has finally returned to Toronto.
And where better to spark a comeback than Brant Street's stylish Waterworks Food Hall, home to local favourites like Harry's Charbroiled, Musoshin Ramen and Island Oysters?
"We chose Waterworks because of their commitment to quality and diversity," LeBlanc tells blogTO, "also how central they are made the most sense as we can be much more accessible to everyone."
Bello Pizza's new Toronto location officially opened at the food hall on Monday, Dec. 8 and is serving slices and whole pies seven days a week.
Waterworks Food Hall is located at 50 Brant St.
Bello Pizza
