Having grown up in Ottawa, I have to say that Gabriel Pizza is the place that has really given me my “template” for what great pizza is. A big, no huge, pizza with bubbly crust, a ton of cheese and toppings to boot – oh yeah – that’s exactly what I was in the mood for when we arrived in Ottawa.
Gloucester location (near Ogilvie Road & Blair)
Gabriel Pizza grew from a single location in the suburb of Orleans to a successful multi-store local chain that is always busy it seems. We frequented the one near Gloucester Centre, which features a dinning area as well as a packed take-out counter. That night, it seemed like the guy expediting the orders really needed a coffee break – he was trying to get orders out but clearly his drivers knew where the delivery locations were better than he! No worries, we were doing take-out, and spent our 15 minutes wait time at the Beer Store getting some drinks to go with dinner!
Chaos! Crazy busy take-out area
We got an extra large – there were just three of us – awesome.
You've no idea how good this box smelled!
One thing that I really miss about Ottawa pizza is the fact that they offered green olives, usually as the default. Brinier than the black ones, they add a salty punch to the toppings. This particular pizza also featured bacon, peppers, onions and mushrooms. Looks soooo good even now! Tons of cheese – it’s that classic strings of cheese that stretch from the box to your plate kind of thing!
Gabriel Deluxe Pizza (X-Large $27)
This is a seriously big pizza! It isn’t a deep dish, but it’s as close as you can get while still being baked in an oven in a shallow plate (not a pan). There’s a slight salt-water quality to their dough too; it’s nice and chewy, which I personally love – especially with beer and video games 
No "leoparding" here - this is a pan pizza!
We almost ate the whole thing. I was stuffed after 3 giant slices, but it was so good! I look forward to our next trip out to Ottawa just to get to have another one of these!
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Mmm.. I’m craving pizza now. I moved to Toronto for school and couldn’t find any Ottawa-styled pizza there. So sad! But whenever I came back home, we always ordered pizza from Lorenzo’s (my favourite) and Gabriel’s. I don’t think I’ve ever had pizza outside of Ottawa that is similar in style. It’s a shame.