The Best Pizza Slice in Downtown Victoria
It is pretty cliche to say that your favourite food is pizza, but the reason that it’s got such a high ranking for so many people is because it is ingenious and delicious. It is hard to imagine a more portable food that also packs so many flavourful and unhealthy calories. Pizza is also really the perfect city food because you can grab it and go, just be careful with the sauce! Your ability to have this perfect urban food works in some cities better than others depending on the variety and quality of the pizza available. Victoria has some great pizza places for sure, especially if you are wanting to sit down or get it to go, but for that true urban pizza by the slice experience and selection, we are still quite limited, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t any. So for the first time, here is my list of the best, worst and likely all of the pizza by the slice places in downtown Victoria.
Well, actually I guess before I get into the pizza by the slice places, I should say what I think is the clear best pizza in the city and that is Standard Pizza in North Park Village. If you haven’t been, you should go. Their crust is so crispy and delicious and the dough has this amazing stretchiness to it. The toppings you can get are both unique and delicious, but the catch is that you have to order a whole pizza and likely wait for them to cook it. If thin crust is not your thing, I would also highly recommend Fernwood Pizza Company, a very doughy, but also very delicious pizza place in Fernwood Village.
Okay, back to slice places, as it sits right now there are two types of pizza by the slice in Victoria. There are what I used to call dollar slice places, but I guess they are just your budget slice places now. Then there are your proper pizza by the slice places which actually only cost a bit more. Normally I would say that a city would also have their gourmet pizza by the slice places, but as it stands we have one that I would maybe put on the border, but no others. Anyways if you have read my ramen or bakery posts, I am not going to do a top ten list just rather a listing and you can make your own mind up though I will say what my current favourite is.
Budget Pizza by the Slice in Victoria
7/11
Various locations downtown
I am not sure why I am including this, but when I asked on twitter it came up so I will say if you want a piece of pizza with all of the flair of a McCain microwave pizza, then this is for you. I don’t go here, but if you want some pizza while you also pick up a bus pass at the same time this option might save you some time.
Fresh Slice
1483 Douglas Street
This place is a relatively new addition to the Victoria pizza scene and they have managed the transition to the pandemic reality fairly well with a clean and simple in-door space. They are located on Douglas just south of Pandora. It is pretty decent budget pizza and I would say that they also do some interesting toppings like butter chicken. Personally I find that they don’t have enough cheese and if you get just one slice you are still going to be fairly hungry.
Second Slice
1680 Douglas Street
Second Slice has been a Victoria fixture on Douglas street for many years. They used to have two locations, one near Yates and a second one near Fisgard but since Covid, only the Fisgard one has been open. Compared to Fresh Slice, you are going to get a lot more to eat here with each slice. My biggest issue with them is that their crust is too thick and they could cook their pizza maybe about three minutes longer. Still overall a decent budget pizza slice place.
Fresko One World
642 Yates Street
More than any other, Fresko’s reminds me of the cheap buck a slice places that used to exist as you went into the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver when I was young. They may still be there, but the key elements are a group of people that seem to live there, potted plants, a pizza by the slice display and a feeling of confusion about how to order. Either way the pizza that I had was good for a budget slice and it feels like you would get good story to tell each time you went in. I have also heard amazing things about their Cuban food offerings, but have not had a chance to try them.
Standard Pizza by the Slice in Victoria
Ali Baba Pizza
775 Fort Street
Ali Baba Pizza has been around Victoria for a very long time, they have a couple of locations however I have only ever been to the downtown one. The pizza here is pretty thick on the dough and the toppings which is nice, you know you will be getting enough to eat with just the single slice. They usually cut a slice into two pieces because they are that big. That said if you are looking for something a little lighter or a thin crust this might not be the place to get your pie. Still it is a great choice if you are walking up Fort Street (though there are a lot of choices in this area).
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Brickyard Pizza
784 Yates Street
Brickyard Pizza has a special place in my heart as it was my first job in Victoria when I was going to University. I think I started there in the fall of 1996 and I have a lot of stories from those days for sure. Back then there were even fewer pizza slice places and Brickyard is the only one that has survived until now. Anyways I am certainly a biased observer of the restaurant, but I think it still cranks out some excellent pizza and the slices are big and usually go pretty quick which means that you can count on catching it pretty fresh. Pre-Covid days it was also a nice place to grab a pint and I believe that they may have reopened some of their inside sitting again now. When I worked here this was the epicentre of nightlife in Victoria, but all of those clubs are now gone so I am not sure that pre-Covid whether there was still the same bar rush as I used to work and I will say, it was quite the experience.
The Joint Pizzeria
1219 Wharf Street
The Joint almost counts as the longest running slice place in Victoria, the current incarnation has been there since 2001 and that was a takeover of Zombies Pizza that started in the 1980’s I believe. This was another night club eatery serving all of the places along Wharf Street which again was (and maybe still will be again) another centre for late night revelry Victoria. The pizza here is delicious, the slices are thinner but the toppings are great. Maybe the only thing that I would change would be to add a bit more cheese. At the moment I would say that this is my favourite slice place downtown. It is a fun little place to visit as well. If you get a chance make sure to drop in.
Pizza by the Slice Outside Downtown Victoria
If you move outside of the downtown core there are a few other options for slices of pizza. In James Bay there is Superior Pizza which is right next to Thrifty Foods. It is pretty standard but decent. There is also Pirate Pizza at Fisherman’s Wharf which is a nice thin New York style slice. They are a bit on the expensive side due to their location but are apparently open year round which is pretty cool given that location.
Moving over to Fairfield there is Hothouse Pizza in Cook Street which is very similar to Superior Pizza in style and quality. There also used to be an Oregano’s Pizza in Fairfield Plaza that served some of the best pizza by the slice in the city and certainly with some of the most creative toppings. Unfortunately, the Fairfield location is still closed since Covid started. You can still visit the Oregano’s location on Shelbourne Street near Cedar Hill X Road.
I hope I didn’t miss a place though if I did I would love to hear about it (and likely go and try it immediately!). I do hope that we start to see more pizza places around town that sell slices because like I said, along with hot dogs, it really is the quintessential urban food.
