Everywhere you look there seems to be a new pizza place popping up along Merivale Road.

As the main thoroughfare of Carlington—our neighbourhood—we’ve been fortunate enough to try out almost every single one of them. Recently, we made the excursion to Pizzalicious, opened in 2023, located across the street from Maple Delight Pizza, another new pizza joint in the neighbourhood we reviewed last summer.

I was greeted by the owner, who chatted with me as my order of two pizzas, nacho and vegetarian, were baking in the oven. Far from being competitors, he told me that him and the gentleman who owns Maple Delight Pizza are friends and immigrated to Canada around the same time. They’re both from Gujarat, a state in western India.

The pizzas were still warm when I got home. We tucked into the nacho pizza first. The layer of warm nachos gave the whole thing a distinctly almond-flour flavour. This experiment was certainly a success. The dough was soft and fresh and the generous drizzle of chipotle sauce gave the pizza a nice kick.

The vegetarian pizza was extra cheesy and hit the sweet spot. We were big fans of fresh vegetable toppings, including a generous portion of olives.

The real showstopper, however, was the garlic sauce. This was possibly one of the best we’ve ever had in Ottawa. Make sure to grab a few if you make the trek to Pizzalicious.

At around $30 for both pizzas the hit to the wallet was not bad either. We had leftovers for a classic pizza breakfast the next morning. Moreover, the owner has told us he plans to add new crossover pizzas to the menu in the coming months, including desi pizzas, which naturally made us very happy.

You can’t go wrong with choosing a pizza spot in Carlington. The best part? All of them have very distinct offerings. Make sure to stop at Pizzalicious as you tour the world of tasty pies of Merivale Road—and don’t forget to try the garlic sauce.