Just how bold do you get when you build your dream pizza? Do you get "nasty," too?
A new indie pizza spot has launched in Vancouver with a menu of "elevated classics" alongside what they call more "adventurous" toppings, plus they're making dips and can do all sorts of things to you crust, including making it "nasty."
Just Pizza is the first-time restaurant venture of co-owners Steven Che and Jan Natividad. Che is also Just Pizza's head chef.
Che grew up in Vancouver and travelled the globe along his culinary career path before returning home to Canada and has a passion for pizza.
Natividad told V.I.A. in a previous interview that Che built his knowledge base in Michelin-starred and award-winning restaurants in the U.S., Norway, and Australia, and wound up bringing his expertise to a recent role as a pizza restaurant chef here in Metro Vancouver.
"He really enjoyed working with pizza and finds a lot of creativity in the space," Natividad said of Che.
The result is a pretty creative opening menu of pizzas and pizza enhancements.
What's on the menu at Just Pizza?
Among the "elevated classics" is the Mr. Pep, which is loaded with plenty of little circles of pepperoni, tomato sauce, cheese, and oregano. On the "adventurous" side, the Chicken Tikka Masala is rich, smoky, and filling - kind of like having a full Indian feast in a slice (or two). The slices come out wide enough to fold in half for the journey to your face; you'll want to do this (or take the staff up on their offer of a knife-and-fork) because these are hefty slabs.
They also serve a "Filipino Breakfast" pizza, with house-made longganisa sausage, a garlicky white sauce base, fresh sliced jalapeños, and an egg. The egg was cooked onto one slice near the crust's edge, and the advice was to make it the "sacrificial" piece and let everyone dunk and scrape their slices to catch a bit of egg. This worked fine for those who were into the egg, but I luckily was the most egg-on-pizza enthusiastic and got to eat the egg-topped slice (minus a few dunks).
All three of the pizzas, which worked great as a meal for four, were enjoyable, with the Filipino Breakfast emerging as the best bite by a slim margin.
To go with the pizzas, Just Pizza has dips, like a creamy Garlic Parmesan or smoky, spicy Nashville Hot Chili Oil; the latter was a real crowd pleaser.
All of Just Pizza's pizzas are made on 12" sourdough crusts, which you can trick out with mods, like the addition of garlic and herbs or olive oil and za'atar, for a $2 additional charge. The most undeniable intriguing "Tasty Crust" option, which I filed under "try next time," is the Nasty Crust, which is spicy honey and cheddar cheese powder, aka KD powder.
Just Pizza also has a robust selection of plant-based pizza options on the menu.
Take-out and delivery (via Uber Eats) are available, but here are a few tables for dining in and a cooler with a few pops and canned Olé mocktails. Pizzas run $18 to $23 without mods or dips.
Just Pizza is located at 1629 Kingsway and is open Tuesday through Sunday from noon to 9 p.m. Follow Just Pizza on Instagram: @justpizzaplease.
Video: Checking out the classic and adventurous pizzas at Just Pizza
@forkingawesomevia Pizza Chem? 🍕🧪I’m in a situationship with a new Vancouver pizza spot. Just Pizza is a must-try! They’ve got creative toppings and all the classic favorites. Be careful, things might get a little messy! @justpizzaplease #forkingawesome #vancouverbc #pizza ♬ Bed Chem - Sabrina Carpenter
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