Toronto pizzeria was just crowned the best in Canada
A pizza restaurant in Toronto and its pizzaiolo were just recognized as the best in all of Canada.
As sure a sign of spring as the Toronto Blue Jays' season opener or the distressingly black snow banks holding on for dear life along street curbs, the Restaurants Canada show has come and gone once again, and with it, the show's annual pizza competition.
While the show itself brings together professionals from all corners of the Canadian restaurant industry, the annual pizza competition — a national final before the even larger International Pizza Challenge later this March — has become a hallmark of the annual competition.
As with every year, pizzaiolos and pizzerias from across the country flocked to the show's kitchen in an effort to earn nationwide recognition for their pies in one of two categories: Traditional or Creative.
After hours of toiling with wood-fired ovens, a victor emerged: Toronto's own Paulo Guerra, representing the well-loved, albeit at times beleaguered, Lambretta Pizzeria.
If Guerra's name rings a bell for you, there's a good reason for that: this isn't his first time winning big for his pies.
In 2025, Guerra earned an impressive ninth-place finish at the International Pizza Expo. Last year, however, Guerra competed with Bloor West Village's Gatto Wood Oven Pizza, not Lambretta.
It seems as though, regardless of the pizzeria he's representing, Guerra has the Midas touch of dough and mozzarella, leading to him, for a second year running, to walk away with top honours.
"It's always exciting to see someone you've collaborated with be recognized at that level. For us, it felt like a win for the team and for the Toronto pizza community in general," Lambretta owner, Celina Blanchard, tells blogTO.
According to Blanchard, it's Guerra's distinctive dough that sets his pies above the rest.
"He's meticulous about the process and proofs his dough for several days, which gives it that light, airy texture and deep flavour the judges commented on," she explains. "It's simple ingredients, but treated with a lot of care and patience. That approach really stood out during the competition."
Guerra is, expectedly, excited about the win, but, given that a first-place finish at the RC Pizza Competition means a direct ticket to the International Pizza Challenge, he's got his sights set on the next big challenge.
Guerra tells blogTO that he's been diligently working to make his dough the best it could possibly be.
"Vegas is a tough competition, and ideally I would like to do better than last year," Guerra says. The international competition takes place between March 24 and 26, so we won't have to wait too long to see whether Guerra's efforts worked.
Guerra and Lambretta Pizzeria weren't the only Ontario-based pizza-makers to win big over the weekend, though. Johnny McEvoy of Ottawa's Rude Pizza Co. also landed a first-place finish in the Creative category, with Meredith Egan from Kingston's Lori Anne's Pizza coming in second.
What's next? World domination. Or, recognition among the world's top pizzerias, at the very least.
blogTO
