Restaurant Calzone has been serving West Islanders for a quarter of a century now

Next spring,  Restaurant Calzone will celebrate 25 years of successful operations in Kirkland. This is a family-run business, with Tony Spinelli, his son Mike and son-in-law Shayne Fuller at the helm.

Located in a strip mall on St. Charles Blvd, the location is noted mainly for take-out and delivery. There are a few tables inside which can seat 16 and a gigantic menu on the wall. You will also want to check out the wall of fame, featuring framed photos of different celebrities who have stopped by. Frank Marino, guitarist and singer for the legendary rock band Mahogany Rush, appears in many, as he has become a good friend of Tony’s.

The locale opened its doors in April of 1998 and has been recognized as the Best Pizza on the West Island for a number of years running.  Here the dough, sauces and meatballs are homemade while the pasta is freshly cooked. In addition to pizzas,  they make calzones, hot subs, pasta and salads. The ingredients and recipes go back to the early 1970s when another successful pizzeria named Colosseo’s was being successfully run by the family in Montreal West. 

I was on my way back from Ottawa near suppertime when I pulled in for a take-out order, which I had called in a half hour earlier. Everything was ready when I arrived: a terrific 12-inch pizza, garlic bread, a 10-inch chicken sub with fries and an order of tortellini in a rosé sauce, which came with a soft roll and some butter. Now let me just share with you that I spread this order out over the course of three days.  I ate half of the pizza and some of the rosé in the car as I participated in a Zoom meeting for work.

The following day I enjoyed the sub and fries for lunch.  All of their subs are served with tomatoes, lettuce and some delicious house dressing. For the pizza, Tony recommended I heat up the remainder in the oven at 350 degrees. Well, I opted for the air fryer and in only two minutes it was as delicious and crispy as it originally came.

I was amazed at how busy the action was in the kitchen, with other members of the family as part of the team.

While they lost a lot of company lunch catering jobs during the pandemic, for the most part, business remained strong. “We appreciate all of the support we continue to get as a small mom-and-pop operation,” Fuller says. “What’s great is seeing kids who worked here years ago now coming back as customers with kids of their own.”

Restaurant Calzone operates its own delivery service, so no apps. On weekends they can have as many as seven cars out at a time. The minimum order for delivery (in the immediate area) is $15.

Restaurant Calzone is located at 3717 boul. St. Charles in Kirkland.  Hours of operation are 11 am to 11 pm Monday to Saturday and 11 am to 9 pm Sundays. For more information call 514-426-9000 or log on to www.calzone.ca