Retro Gusto

Last summer, the folks behind Farinella branched out with a new restaurant called Retro Gusto. Also serving pizza, this one is a change from their metre-long Farinella pies. While it does have similarities to Farinella, Retro Gusto serves ultra thin-crust pizzas in a style that hails from Rome. I’ve been thinking about visiting for half a year and finally got around to it this month.

The menu here is very straightforward: eight appetizers and eight pizzas. Their pizzas come in three varieties: red, white, and yellow. I was intrigued by the yellow pizzas, which are also tomato-based using a sweeter variety of tomato, but ultimately was craving a classic margherita. Plus the person beside me had one and it looked so damn good.

After a salad and a bowl of chips (it’s fun and I love chips) I was over the moon when my pizza arrived steaming hot from the oven. As I waited for the pizza to cool down enough, I swiped a taste of the yellow tomato sauce with my husband, who ordered the Nduja pizza. It really was sweeter and had less tang than the traditional red sauce, but we both preferred the classic red. 

Sneak peek at the Nduja with yellow tomato sauce

That delightful red sauce on my margherita was super simple and applied with a very heavy hand. Probably the sauciest pizza I’ve ever had, actually. But I’m a sauce queen and I loved it. It did get a bit messy but I swear I could drink a good tomato sauce, and this was one of them. 

The cheese was also a highlight. The dobs of fior di latte were ultra creamy, salty, and even had a bit of a squeak that I appreciated. With this pizza, you could really taste the high quality ingredients with every bite. 

When I say thin crust I mean THIN

The crust was ultra thin and crispy with a bit of char. I found cutting it to be a pain in the ass so I ditched the fork and knife and folded it. Underneath the cheese and sauce, the crust stood up fairly well. There was only about a centimetre of super crispy outer crust that I had no problem with, but would never choose this over Neapolitan or New York style. I just appreciate a soft and fluffy crust over crispy.

Bottles of Farinella’s hot honey and chili oil were left at each table so you can apply each as you see fit. I didn’t find the honey to be enjoyable on this pizza, but I did go to town on the chili oil.

Overall this was a very tasty pizza. It’s not my top simply because thin crust isn’t my jam. But regardless, I thoroughly appreciated the high quality ingredients and you better believe I put away a whole pizza myself.

Cost wise these ones are fairly expensive. At $21, the marg was the least expensive. I toyed with the idea of getting a four cheese pizza that clocked in at $29, but ultimately felt it was a bit much for a personal-sized pizza. But sometimes you’ve gotta treat yourself.

I’ve rated Retro Gusto’s pizza six and three quarters out of eight slices.

What do you think? Leave a comment with your thoughts or ideas for my next spot.