Ace Pizza, 6003

By sights and sounds, you could compare Ace Pizza to a hip late-night pizza joint somewhere in NY. 'PIZZA CLUB' in green neon lights casts a rascal Goosebumps glow and sets you in the mood for fun and revelry. Or gorging and boozing, whichever way you want to put it.

"Black Doctor": Cynar, mint, lemon, Chinotto

The kitchen serves wood-fired rustic goodness of the Italian persuasion, plus some cheeky things like, Fried Mac n' Cheese bites, $7 and Tiramisu Donuts, $5. Blistered thin crust pizzas, with clever toppings, are pretty damn fine. Not as chewy or melt-away good as my favourite ones at Dough, but they still hit the spot. My pick is the Amalfi, $22; juicy prawns on a sensational tomato base, spruced with lemon, garlic, basil and jumbo salty capers.

What you must know is that Ace is so much more than just pizza. So much more. Get some Meatballs soused in pepperoni sauce, $12, and Chop Chop Beef, $14 on your bill.  Make sure you order something from the wood grill, too. Flat Iron Quail, $17 with charred orange, polenta chips and herbed aioli is succulent. And to cut through all that meat, try the wood fired beets n salted ricotta, $16.

The most fun you can have at this Beaufort St. establishment is with the Ace soft serve, $7. Its DIY dessert! A swirl of vanilla ice cream comes with nuggets of honeycomb, biscuit and squeezey bottles of chocolate and salty-sweet caramel sauce. The fastest way to lose your manners (and waistline) at the dinner table!

Back: Tiramisu Donut, $7. Front: Ace Soft Serve, $7: yummy, nostalgic, fun

Ace calls out for drinking almost as much as it does eating. The dark decoration, likeable staff and Americano-Italaliano cocktails with canny names, make you wanna stay awhile. And this place has that potential to become a late night eating and drinking institution.  I hope their existence will wake up this section of no-mans-land on Beaufort St.. Its fun, its delicious and its downright rad. Open 'til late 7 days a week means late night eating that doesn't involve a greasy kebab, is now at our disposal. Ace!

Eats: 4/5 (Bold, meaty, designed with cheek and flair. Eat like a kid!)
Vibes: 4/5 (Fun, hipster, troublemaker)
Service: 4.5/5 (Charismatic, sharp and food is served hot n' fast)
Bang for your buck: 3/4 (Desserts: $5-$7, Pizzas: $17 for simple -$22 for seafood)