Bar Mercurio, Toronto, ON

I received an email a couple weeks ago from Guiseppe (Joe) Mercurio inviting me this evening to the launch of the new “Love Our Pizza or It’s Free” challenge at Bar Mercurio (Bloor Street W between the Spadina and St. George subway stations) ... it's been around for 17 years.  Gord and I checked it out.

From July 9 to August 9, if you don’t love their pizza, it's complimentary.

They have a wood oven from Italy

They've won lots of local awards

Shaina and Hayley were friendly and informative and made sure everyone's glasses were always full of bubbly ... yum!

There was food coming out for the next two hours.  When the food was brought out, everyone scampered to take pictures of it before we tried it.

Here's what we were able to try ...

Tonna Ahi Al Nachos (one of Gord's favs)
Ahi tuna, crispy wantons, avocado relish, truffle aioli,
cilantro pesto and a spicy Kochujang sauce

Piccoli Torte di grancchio (one of Gord's favs)
Triptych of crab cakes - mango fennel sesame spaghetti garnish, saffron aioli

Pizza Maiale (one of my favs)
Tomato, cheese, cured and smoked pork belly, roasted fennel
and roasted red peppers

Polpo ai Ferri
Grilled octopus, chick pea and casava crisps

Pork belly, peppers and artichokes

Pizza Rapini
Sauteed garlic rapini, roasted tomatoes, buffola mozzarella
and extra virgin olive oil

Pizza Acquadauzano (my other fav)
Bianca Nuozzoli, Buffal Mozzarella and extra virgin olive oil

There's Joe!

Calamari Fritti Picante
Spicy pepporonata and pesto

Pizza Gorgonzola
Mozzarella, gorgonzola, carmelized onions, walnuts
and prosciutto

Plum tomatoes and artichokes

Pizza Gamberi
Pomdoro, Mozzarella, shrimp, fresh garlic and chili

Pork shoulder and goat cheese

Pork shoulder and goat cheese

Gnocchi Gorgonzola
House-made gnocchi in a light gorgonzola sauce

Tiramisu
I don't like coffee and Gord does ...
he doesn't have much of a sweet tooth but really liked this

Banana ice cream made in-house - yum!

Gord is more adventurous than I am and tried almost everything ... and liked it!  My favs were Pizza Maial and Pizza Acquadauzano.  The crusts on the pizza were light and thin with a nice crunch.

Joe is a friendly guy and chatted with everyone and answered questions.

I thought the signs on the bathroom doors were cute.

In addition to food, Joe's paintings are also on display for sale.

The food was good and the servers were friendly.  You should check it out.

Thanks for the invitation, Joe!