Colonnade Pizza
Excuse me if I may be so bold as to say Colonnade Pizza is an Ottawa institution.
This pizzeria is a great example of the ever-polarizing Lebanese style pizza. For the uninitiated, Lebanese style pizza is an Ottawa staple. Forget your thin crusts and say goodbye to your dainty figure before you pick up a slice of this calorie-packed pie. Lebanese pizza has a super thick crust, toppings that hide under a hearty blanket of cheese, and is certainly not light on the grease. You can see why it so many dismiss this type of pizza, but when you find it done right, it can be a delicious treat.
Colonnade Pizza is a family-run local chain with six locations through Ottawa and Kanata. I can't say I eat at Colonnade too often, due to the richness and caloric density of the pizza, but when I do, I head to the Blue Heron Mall location on Bank Street. One weekend this month, after a five hour bike ride, I decided I deserved to treat myself to an old favourite at Colonnade.
Even at about 8:30 PM on a Saturday (after a Redblacks game) the Bank Street location was packed. Dine in was closed but take-out was still available. I called ahead for a large two topping pizza - onions and hot peppers - and a side of onion rings.
Please forgive me for neglecting to take a photo of the entire pizza, but after an exhausting day coupled with a late dinner, I had to dig in before my "hanger" took over. Kindly accept a next day leftover photo in its place.
Let's dig right into the details like I dug into that pizza the minute I got it home.
Colonnade's crust is seriously thicc but remains somehow fluffy and crispy at the same time. The outer crust gets its crunchy bits from some stray pieces of cheese that crisped up in the oven, and the rest of the dough held up well while staying slightly spongy. The toppings themselves get an A+ from me. One thing that drives me crazy is when pizzerias put giant chunks of raw onions on their pizzas that stay in half-raw-half-cooked limbo after an eight minute zap in the oven. Colonnade has clearly pre-cooked their onions, some of which are even slightly caramelized, lending to a great oniony flavour. The toppings are generous too (are they still called toppings if they're not on top?). Further, the cheese is both plentiful and salty. I've heard that Colonnade has their own custom cheese blend, and I believe it. It's saltier than your average mozzarella but I can't quite identify what it is. One place where Colonnade thrives where other Lebanese pizzerias fails is its ability to cook the pizzas all the way through. For some reason there are many Lebanese pizzas where the cheese is barely even melted in the middle, and that just doesn't work for me.
Overall Colonnade is a great slice for when you're reeeeally hungry or have earned a heavy meal. My party of three famished adults all ate just two slices each (plus a handful of onion rings), leaving an extra two for lunch the next day. At about $25 for a large two topping, Colonnade is not a steal, but worth the splurge.
Leave a comment with your opinion, or your thoughts on Colonnade, and let me know where I should hit up next!
Ciao,
Pizza Lover
This pizzeria is a great example of the ever-polarizing Lebanese style pizza. For the uninitiated, Lebanese style pizza is an Ottawa staple. Forget your thin crusts and say goodbye to your dainty figure before you pick up a slice of this calorie-packed pie. Lebanese pizza has a super thick crust, toppings that hide under a hearty blanket of cheese, and is certainly not light on the grease. You can see why it so many dismiss this type of pizza, but when you find it done right, it can be a delicious treat.
Colonnade Pizza is a family-run local chain with six locations through Ottawa and Kanata. I can't say I eat at Colonnade too often, due to the richness and caloric density of the pizza, but when I do, I head to the Blue Heron Mall location on Bank Street. One weekend this month, after a five hour bike ride, I decided I deserved to treat myself to an old favourite at Colonnade.
Even at about 8:30 PM on a Saturday (after a Redblacks game) the Bank Street location was packed. Dine in was closed but take-out was still available. I called ahead for a large two topping pizza - onions and hot peppers - and a side of onion rings.
Please forgive me for neglecting to take a photo of the entire pizza, but after an exhausting day coupled with a late dinner, I had to dig in before my "hanger" took over. Kindly accept a next day leftover photo in its place.
Colonnade's crust is seriously thicc but remains somehow fluffy and crispy at the same time. The outer crust gets its crunchy bits from some stray pieces of cheese that crisped up in the oven, and the rest of the dough held up well while staying slightly spongy. The toppings themselves get an A+ from me. One thing that drives me crazy is when pizzerias put giant chunks of raw onions on their pizzas that stay in half-raw-half-cooked limbo after an eight minute zap in the oven. Colonnade has clearly pre-cooked their onions, some of which are even slightly caramelized, lending to a great oniony flavour. The toppings are generous too (are they still called toppings if they're not on top?). Further, the cheese is both plentiful and salty. I've heard that Colonnade has their own custom cheese blend, and I believe it. It's saltier than your average mozzarella but I can't quite identify what it is. One place where Colonnade thrives where other Lebanese pizzerias fails is its ability to cook the pizzas all the way through. For some reason there are many Lebanese pizzas where the cheese is barely even melted in the middle, and that just doesn't work for me.
Overall Colonnade is a great slice for when you're reeeeally hungry or have earned a heavy meal. My party of three famished adults all ate just two slices each (plus a handful of onion rings), leaving an extra two for lunch the next day. At about $25 for a large two topping, Colonnade is not a steal, but worth the splurge.
I rate Colonnade Pizza seven out of eight slices.
Leave a comment with your opinion, or your thoughts on Colonnade, and let me know where I should hit up next!
Ciao,
Pizza Lover
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