by A.J. KINIK

Quietly, a storm has been brewing on St-Zotique in the exact location that once housed the notorious Chez Frank. A perfect storm. Take one of Little Italy’s most celebrated restauranteurs, Aniello Covone (of Il Mulino fame), add an ambitious son, chef Fabrizzio Covone (who travelled to Naples for a couple of years to apprentice in the art of making pizzas according to the exacting standards of the Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana), throw in the expert consulting skills of perhaps Montreal’s most talented bread-baker, James MacGuire (of Passe-Partout fame), to help guarantee a world-class pizza crust, then close the deal by shipping in an impressive authentic Italian pizza oven direct from the Old Country, and it’s safe to say you’re left with a lethal combination.

The results are not only impressive, they’re desperately needed. Montreal has a few unexplained culinary mysteries, but I’d never understood why pizza was such a relative weakness, with only a handful of even respectable pizzerias, and none of them living up to the standards that one finds in so many other North American cities, let alone European ones. Until now, that is.

The Covones have a wood-fired oven that reaches temperatures upwards of 850º F, allowing them to produce a light, crispy, perfectly cooked pizza in just a blink of an eye (a 90-second one). But as with all pizza, it’s the way the dough gets baked into a crust that really matters, so much so that the real test of a pizzeria is always their sparest pizza, their margherita, their marinara, or even just a simple dressing of olive oil and sea salt. In an era when thin-crust pizza has been fetishized to the point that finding pies with all the thickness (and character) of a cracker is not uncommon, Bottega’s crust is something of a revelation. Sure, it’s thin, and it arrives at the table blistered just so, like a true Neapolitan flatbread, but it’s surprisingly chewy, with no shortage of personality. And in spite of all rumours to the contrary, while the oven and much of the know-how here may be Italian, Bottega’s crust is uniquely and proudly Montréalais, the product of local expertise and local flour (Oak brand).

Understandably, Bottega’s flatbreads were the focus of a recent visit. Unlike some of the new breed of authentic thin-crust pizzerias elsewhere, where experimentation with local ingredients and contemporary flavors is de rigeur, the team at Bottega has opted to go classically Italian when it comes to their toppings. You won’t find Wolfgang Puck-style “California cuisine” pizzas here. What you will find are perfectly composed, perfectly balanced pizzas and calzones like the Romana ($12), with a simple arrangement of tomato sauce, fresh basil leaves and salt-cured anchovies, the Diavola ($12), with spicy sausage, the Provola ($14), with smoked mozzarella or the Tronchetto ($15), a calzone that comes stuffed with an assortment of cheeses and topped with prosciutto and arugula. Nothing is overwrought at Bottega, and my favourite pizza of the evening may very well have been the Caprese ($14), which came with tomato sauce, fresh basil leaves, DOC bufala mozzarella and cherry tomatoes. They allowed the mozzarella’s delicate flavours to shine by only adding it to the pizza in the last stages of preparation, instead of baking it into oblivion like they sometimes do elsewhere (Mario Batali’s Otto in New York comes to mind).

So the pizzas were top-notch—enough said. Bottega’s appetizers were also good (very good, in fact), but I found them just a bit bewildering. I mean, why offer a sausage and rapini appetizer ($10) if you’re going to offer a sausage and rapini pizza ($14) too (even if the combination is an excellent one, with the rapini cooked to perfection)? And while the homemade meatballs in tomato sauce were the best I’ve come across in Montreal—light and delicious, clearly the work of seasoned pros—personally, I would have rather seen them gracing a pizza or stuffed in a calzone than served in a bowl at $3 a shot. But we’re only talking quibbles here, and Bottega’s fantastic desserts—especially their luscious and sophisticated chocolate-hazelnut torte—more than make up for them.

Bottega
ADDRESS: 65 St-Zotique E.
PHONE: (514) 277-8104
HOURS: Tue–Sun 5 p.m.–midnight; closed Mondays
BEST FEATURES: Real Italian pizza!
ALCOHOL: Yes
WHEELCHAIR ACCESS: Yes
VEGETARIAN FRIENDLY: Yes
CREDIT CARDS: Yes
PRICE: $10–$15 for flatbreads
RATING: ***1/2 out of ****