Pizza Banfi, named for famous Italian actor Lino Banfi, is famous in Forest Hill Village. The cozy down-home restaurant, owned by Giovanni Turano — known to all as Nino — has been a neighbourhood staple since 1988, and almost always has a line-up snaking out the door.
The popularity of this place is unparalleled in the area, evidenced by the number of guests sipping wine and nibbling on bruschetta as they wait for a table. “We don’t accept reservations but that doesn’t turn our customers away. On weekends, we serve between 150 and 200 people a day,” Nino says.
Why so packed?
It’s almost impossible to resist Pizza Banfi’s signature gourmet thin crust pizza that emerges from the open kitchen crispy and hot and even has customers rushing in for takeout. For those who stay to enjoy the food, there are comfortable cushioned chairs, stone tables and custom-made fresco paintings on the walls. Nino’s warm personality, as he moves through the crowd greeting customers by name, is also a big draw.
ASPARAGUS SALAD
Mixed salad, goat cheese, portobello mushrooms, extra virgin olive oil, balsamic vinegar and lemon dressing
BUFALA CAPRESE
Fresh bufala cheese with sliced tomatoes
CAESAR SALAD
With Banfis home made dressing
CAPRESE
Sliced tomato with bocconcini cheese
CHICKEN CAESAR
With Banfis home made dressing and shaved parmigiano cheese
ARUCOLA PARMIGIANO
Arucola salad with shaved parmigiano cheese, balsamic vinegar & extra virgin olive oil
BOSTON SALAD
Boston lettuce with cherry tomatoes, radish, fresh sliced pears, shaved parmigiano cheese, extra virgin olive oil, & read wine vinegar
BEEF CARPACCIO
Thinly sliced raw fillets of prime beef, parmigiano shavings, arucola and capers
FRUITS OF THE SEA
Mussels, clams, jumbo black tiger shrimp, scallops and calamari in a tomato broth
FAGIOLI RAPINI
Steamed rapini, sautéed with fagioli beans in extra virgin olive oil and lemon
CALAMARI
Sautéed calamari with extra virgin olive oil, garlic, spinach and red peppers
MUSSELS
White wine and garlic or in marinara sauce with capers, onions and chopped tomatoes
EGGPLANT PARMIGIANA
Oven baked eggplant, topped with fresh bocconcini, and parmigiano cheese, in a light tomato sauce.
OCTOPUS CARPACCIO
Thin slice octopus, with arucola onions, cherry tomato and capers, lemon extra virgin olive oil dressing
CAPELLINI
Angel hair pasta, with jumbo black tiger shrimp in a tomato sauce
FETTUCCINE CARCIOFI
Artichokes, portobello mushrooms, shaved parmigiano cheese, in extra virgin olive oil & garlic
FETTUCCINE PESTO
Served with the traditional genovese pesto made from fresh basil, extra virgin olive oil, garlic, pinenuts and parmigiano cheese
FETTUCCINE RAPINI
Garlic & extra virgin olive oil, with sausage, rapini & portobello mushrooms
GNOCCHI
In garlic and extra virgin olive oil with roasted red peppers, asparagus and portobello mushrooms
LINGUINI
With mushrooms and a round of goat cheese in a tomato sauce
PENNE
With chicken, sun dried tomatoes in a cream and pesto sauce
PENNE BANFI
Leeks, broccoli, shiitake mushrooms, reduced in vegetable stock
PENNE FAGIOLI
Extra virgin olive oil, garlic, romano beans & steamed rapini
SPAGHETTI
With clams in a white wine sauce
SPAGHETTI
With seafood in a tomato sauce
SPAGHETTI BOLOGNESE
With ground beef in a light tomato sauce
SPAGHETTI CARBONARA
With olive oil, garlic, eggs, prosciutto, cream, parmigiano cheese, white wine & parsely
RAVIOLI
Stuffed with veal in a light tomato sauce
MARGHERITA
Tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese
BOSCAIOLA
Tomato sauce mozzarella cheese, mushrooms, artichokes
VEGETARIANA
Tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese, roasted red peppers, broccoli, eggplant mushrooms and slice tomatoes
CANADESE
Tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese, green peppers, pepperoni, mushrooms
QUATTRO STAGIONI
Tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese, artichokes, ham, marinated mushrooms, green olives
GENOVA
Tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese, salami, onions, black olives
COCO
Tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese, shrimp, shiitake mushrooms
QUATTRO FORMAGGI
Mozzarella, gorgonzola, bocconcini, goat cheese
BANFI
Tomato sauce, bocconcini, prosciutto, black olives
CALABRESE
Tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese, prosciutto, salami, chili peppers
CAPRICCIOSA
Tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese, sun dried tomatoes, black olives, capers
AMERICANA
Tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese, pepperoni, onions
LONSDALE
Tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese, gorgonzola cheese, sausage, red onions
FOREST HILL
Tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese, anchovies, sun dried tomatoes, green olives
NANA
Tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese, chicken, roasted red peppers and pesto
ARUCOLA PIZZA
Extra virgin olive oil, arucola and goat cheese, chopped tomato
TOSCA
Tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese, portobello mushrooms, spinach and eggplant
PIZZA BUFALA
Tomato sauce, fresh bufala cheese, and basil
CIPOLLA
Tomato sauce, shaved parmigiano cheese, arucola, chili peppers, carmalized onions
DIAVOLA
Tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese, hot peppers, green olives, sausage, onions
LUCY
Olive oil mushrooms, asparagus, cherry tomatoes, chicken, garlic, carmalized onions, chill peppers
RAPINI
Tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese, rapini, sausage & goat cheese
PROSCIUTTO E FUNGHI
Tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese, portobello mushrooms & prosciutto
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