What Is Windsor-Style Pizza? Shredded Pepperoni, Galati Cheese & the Cornmeal Crust Explained

Why Windsor-style pizza matters

Windsor, Ontario has a pizza style of its own, and locals will tell you it is the reason the city has more independent pizzerias per capita than anywhere else in Canada. Walk into almost any neighbourhood pizza shop from LaSalle to Leamington and you will find the same four signatures: a medium-thick crust with cornmeal on the bottom, a heavily seasoned sauce, high-fat mozzarella from the local Galati Cheese Company, and pepperoni that is shredded rather than sliced.

The style traces back to Volcano Pizzeria, which opened downtown on Wyandotte Street West in 1957 and, according to the CBC and the Windsor Public Library, was likely the first to shred its pepperoni, use canned mushrooms and put cornmeal under the crust. Volcano closed in 1986, but many of Windsor’s pizzerias still trace their recipes to it. By the mid-1980s the style was beloved across the city, and today former Windsorites have pizzas shipped to Regina, Calgary and Vancouver Island just to get it again. In 2024 a Postmedia poll named Windsor Canada’s favourite pizza city.

This guide explains exactly what makes a pizza “Windsor-style”, how to order one, and where to find the pizzerias that have been making it for decades. For the full picture of every pizza place in the region, see the Windsor-Essex pizza map or our best pizza in Windsor guide.

What makes a pizza Windsor-style

Shredded pepperoni

The most recognisable feature. Instead of round slices, the pepperoni is shredded so it covers every bite, edge to edge, and does not pool grease on top. A photo of it went viral in 2024 and started a national argument, which tells you how unusual it looks to outsiders and how normal it is here.

Galati mozzarella

Most Windsor pizzerias buy their cheese from Galati Cheese Company, a Windsor cheesemaker. Its mozzarella is higher in fat than typical pizza cheese, which gives the pie its soft, stretchy pull and a slightly richer taste. Locals can tell when a shop switches suppliers.

Canned mushrooms

Fresh mushrooms release water and scorch in a hot deck oven; canned mushrooms stay moist and bake evenly. Volcano used them for exactly that reason, and the habit stuck. Ask for “mushrooms” on a Windsor pizza and canned is what you will get.

Cornmeal crust

The dough is medium-thick, chewy and dusted with cornmeal on the bottom so it slides cleanly off the peel and picks up a faint crunch and sweetness. It is thicker than a New York slice and thinner than Sicilian.

Oregano-heavy sauce

The sauce is a simple tomato base seasoned hard with oregano and other dried herbs, so it stands up to the cheese and pepperoni rather than fading behind them.

The Super

The house order across the city. A Super is shredded pepperoni, bacon, canned mushrooms and green peppers. If you only try one Windsor pizza, make it a Super.

Where to try Windsor-style pizza

These are the pizzerias most closely associated with the style. Every one of them appears on WindsorPizza.ca with its own page, and several have multiple locations across Essex County. Order is alphabetical, not a ranking.

1. Armando’s Pizza

• Style / specialty: Classic Windsor-style; award-winning
• Must-order item: The Super
• Locations: South Windsor, Riverside, Walker Road, Downtown, LaSalle, Tecumseh, Amherstburg, Essex, Leamington, Belle River
• Why it made the list: Armando’s is the pizzeria that took Windsor-style to the world: its pizza placed third at the 2013 International Pizza Expo in Las Vegas, and chef Dean Litster was named Canadian Pizza Magazine’s Chef of the Year in 2018. With ten locations from Belle River to Leamington it is also the easiest place to try the style wherever you are in the county. Expect a textbook Windsor pie: cornmeal-dusted crust, generous Galati cheese, shredded pepperoni to the edge.

2. Capri Pizza

• Style / specialty: Classic Windsor-style, family-run chain
• Must-order item: The Super, or a pepperoni and mushroom
• Locations: Dougall Avenue (the original), Forest Glade (Tecumseh Rd E), Downtown, LaSalle, Amherstburg, Essex, Kingsville, Leamington, Belle River, St. Clair Beach
• Why it made the list: Capri is one of the names the Windsor Public Library lists alongside Volcano in the history of the style, and it has grown into the largest Windsor-style group in the county with a dozen locations. The original Capri Pizzeria & Bar-B-Q on Tecumseh Road is the one to visit for the classic sit-down experience; the neighbourhood locations are takeout-first and consistent from shop to shop.

3. Naples Pizza

• Style / specialty: Windsor-style, the county’s biggest local chain
• Must-order item: The Super
• Locations: Rooney Street, Dougall, Lauzon, Wyandotte East, Westcott, Prince Road, Tecumseh, St. Clair Beach, LaSalle, Amherstburg, Essex, Kingsville, Leamington, Belle River, Oldcastle, McGregor, Tilbury
• Why it made the list: With 17 locations, Naples is the pizza most Windsor-Essex families grew up on, and “naples pizza tecumseh” is one of the most-searched pizza phrases in the region. It is Windsor-style done at scale: shredded pepperoni, Galati cheese, canned mushrooms, a crust that holds up to a loaded Super. If you are outside the city limits, Naples is often the closest Windsor-style shop.

4. Arcata Pizzeria

• Style / specialty: Old-school Windsor-style, single location
• Must-order item: Pepperoni and mushroom, or the Super
• Location: 3021 Dougall Avenue, South Windsor
• Why it made the list: Arcata has been family owned and operated since the early 1950s, three generations and counting, which makes it one of the very few Windsor pizzerias that was already open when Volcano was shredding its first pepperoni. One shop on Dougall Avenue, ingredients bought locally, catering and delivery available. It is the place to send someone who wants to understand what the style tasted like before it scaled up.

5. Antonino’s Original Pizza

• Style / specialty: Windsor-style with a modern menu
• Must-order item: The Super, or their loaded specialty pies
• Locations: South Windsor, Riverside, LaSalle, Tecumseh, Leamington
• Why it made the list: Antonino’s keeps the Windsor fundamentals, shredded pepperoni and Galati cheese on a cornmeal crust, and builds a bigger menu of specialty combinations on top of them. Five locations across the county and a strong takeout and delivery operation make it a regular in the “Armando’s vs Antonino’s” debate.

6. Sam’s Pizzeria

• Style / specialty: Windsor-style; one of the city’s oldest names
• Must-order item: A classic pepperoni and mushroom
• Location: Sam’s Pizzeria and Cantina, Windsor
• Why it made the list: Sam’s is one of the pioneer names in the Windsor Public Library’s history of the style, established in the 1940s and serving pizza since the 1960s. It is as close as you can get to eating Windsor pizza history that is still open.

7. OG Pizza (Original Guys Pizza Pies)

• Style / specialty: Windsor-style thin crust, hand-tossed and stone-baked, with shredded pepperoni
• Must-order item: A large pepperoni, or the Large Pie Special
• Locations: Windsor (Banwell Rd), Windsor (Walker Rd), LaSalle, Harrow, Cottam, Comber, Wheatley, Kingsville, Essex, Leamington
• Why it made the list: OG started in Kingsville in 1991 as The Pizza Guys, run by two brothers and a lifelong friend who began making pizza at fifteen. It describes its own pie as Windsor-style: thin, hand-tossed, stone-baked, shredded pepperoni, with the dough still made at its Harrow base. It has won Best Pizza in the Best of Windsor Essex awards three years running (2023 to 2025), and with ten locations across the county it is the strongest Windsor-style option once you get south of the city.

Other long-running Windsor-style shops worth knowing: The Original Franco’s Pizzeria (plus Franco’s East and Franco’s LaSalle), Windsor Pizza & Pasta House, Roma’s Pizza House, Pizza King and Original Guys Pizza Pies in the county towns. Not every pizzeria in Windsor makes Windsor-style, though. Vito’s Pizzeria in Olde Walkerville, for example, is wood-fired Italian, and the city also has a growing Detroit-style scene.

Key characteristics and ordering tips

• Crust: medium-thick, chewy, cornmeal on the bottom. Thicker than New York, thinner than Sicilian.
• Sauce: tomato with a heavy hand of oregano; savoury rather than sweet.
• Cheese: high-fat Galati mozzarella; expect a real stretch and some browning at the edges.
• Pepperoni: always shredded. If it arrives in slices, it is not Windsor-style.
• Mushrooms: canned, on purpose. Do not ask for fresh unless you want a different pizza.
• Order the Super (pepperoni, bacon, mushroom, green pepper) the first time; it is the local benchmark.
• Sizes run big. A large from most Windsor shops feeds four; a “party” or extra-large feeds six or more.
• Shipping: several pizzerias will half-bake and ship pies across Canada for homesick Windsorites. Ask when you call.
• Find a shop near you on the Windsor-Essex pizza map, or browse by town: Tecumseh, LaSalle, Amherstburg, Essex, Kingsville, Leamington, Belle River & Lakeshore.

Frequently asked questions

What is Windsor-style pizza?

Windsor-style pizza is the pizza of Windsor, Ontario: a medium-thick cornmeal-dusted crust, an oregano-heavy tomato sauce, high-fat Galati mozzarella, shredded pepperoni and canned mushrooms. It originated at Volcano Pizzeria in the late 1950s and is now the dominant style across Windsor-Essex.

Why is the pepperoni shredded on Windsor pizza?

Shredding spreads pepperoni flavour into every bite and prevents grease from pooling in slices. Volcano Pizzeria started the practice because it was also easier to top, and nearly every Windsor pizzeria has kept it since.

Why does Windsor pizza use canned mushrooms?

Fresh mushrooms release water and burn in a hot deck oven. Canned mushrooms hold their moisture and bake evenly, which is why Volcano used them and why they remain standard on Windsor-style pizza today.

What is a Super pizza in Windsor?

A Super is Windsor’s signature combination: shredded pepperoni, bacon, canned mushrooms and green peppers. It is the most popular order at most Windsor-style pizzerias and the best way to try the style for the first time.

Who invented Windsor-style pizza?

Volcano Pizzeria, opened in 1957 by cousins Frank Gualtieri and Gino Manza on Wyandotte Street West, is credited with creating the style. It closed in 1986, but many Windsor pizzerias trace their recipes back to Volcano.

Where can I get Windsor-style pizza outside Windsor?

Windsor-style pizzerias have opened in Toronto and Calgary, and several Windsor shops will half-bake and ship pizzas across Canada. Inside Essex County, Naples, Capri and Armando’s have locations in almost every town.

Sources

CBC News, “Volcano Pizzeria: A look into one of Windsor’s most famous pizza palaces” (2016); Windsor Public Library, “History of Windsor-style pizza”; Windsor Star, “What makes Windsor pizza Windsor pizza?” (2017) and “Entrenched in our history” (2025); TVO, “Knead to know: Windsor pizza is a thing” (2017); National Post, “Who makes the best Canadian pizza?” (2024); CBC Docs, The Pizza City You’ve Never Heard Of (2022).

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