Chef behind rare and offbeat dinner service teases new locations in the GTA
Published September 26, 2025 at 10:51 am
A Toronto institution, renowned for its dynamic six-course dinners and exceptional pizza, has spilled some of its secrets.
Beast Pizza — a sought-after culinary experience just off King Street — has been rocking the downtown core for well over a decade.
Originally known as Beast, the location shifted gears in 2022 to become one of the best players in the city for flavour-forward pizzas, alongside other American-Italian fare.
The location’s namesake denotes one of the city’s top culinary signatures, as Beast Pizza specializes in ‘whole animal dinners,’ an event where chefs build five courses and one dessert around one animal selected by patrons.
Lamb ribeye, spiced crumb, with poblano, yellow, and red pepper sauce
The event has made such a name for itself that Beast Pizza has laid the groundwork for a new location just outside of Toronto, and beyond that, has even teased a potential by-the-slice location within city limits in the future.
But first, to understand how the sausage — of every variety — is made, yourcitywithIN.com sat down with Chef Nathan Middleton to learn more about Beast Pizza, its legacy, and a little bit about its future.
“We pride ourselves on being a neighbourhood spot first and foremost,” Middleton told yourcitywith.com. “We have a massive sign hanging over the bar showcasing the whole animal dinner, where it lists all the animals and invites the guest to ‘choose their own adventure.’”
Middleton went on to note that the juxtaposition between being a neighbourhood haunt for locals and a venue for extravagant coursing is a huge part of Beast Pizza’s identity, as it can shift seamlessly between both experiences.
Elk pasta, paired with tangerine, watercress, and soy sauce beurre blanc
“We’re an open kitchen, and the whole reason why I got into cooking was to be able to cook with freedom, and the possibility with the whole animal dinner is to have that kind of freedom,” says Middleton.
As for the process, while intimidating at first, all six courses invite you to put your trust in the chefs and pick a protein, whether that be birds, beef, duck, bison, fish, or any of the other 10 options.
“We open every dinner, and guests get to take a shot with me and the team, so the whole experience has everyone embracing it with open arms, because it’s fun, it’s adventurous for all of us, and it is a great way of spending a night out.”
Adding to the allure of adventure, Beast Pizza has designed the whole service to be as accessible as possible, and the invitation to ‘choose your own adventure’ is more of a guarantee than a suggestion.
When booking, guests can pick from three options: low adventure, medium adventure, and high adventure.
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Since no two dinners are the same, regardless of selection, these options give Middleton a north star to work with, in terms of how many parts of the animal to experiment with when prepping for service.
When asked about some of the high-adventure endeavours Middleton has embarked on, the results sound as ambitious as they do flavourful.
“When you get into high-adventure, I’m using hearts, livers, and kidneys. I love making a blood pasta, so maybe you’ll see a pig’s blood or beef blood macaroni, or if I want to make a chicken pot pie with the head sticking out, I’ll go for that,” says Middleton.
The adventure hierarchy is more of a sliding scale than a feat of strength, and most who book the whole animal experience do so by picking the medium-adventure option above all else, according to Middleton.
However, whatever culinary pursuit guests choose to embark on, one thing is for sure: that Middleton and his team are never bored, which in turn trickles down to the guest experience as well.
Smoked sweetbread, served with a morel snout purée and madeira port jus
“Every dinner we put on, I love them all. I think the easiest way to explain that is my background is in French cooking, and it allows me to express myself creatively, and that is where I’m at,” says Middleton. “I love it, it’s a lifestyle, it’s a rush when I get an idea, I contact my staff immediately, and I’m like, ‘we should do that.’ It’s something you can catch in the air and grab onto.”
When cornered into picking his favourite creations, Middleton, naturally, couldn’t narrow it down, as there were far too many. However, he did give yourcitywithIN.com a selection of noteworthy dishes to give the public an idea of what they can expect.
Selections include, but are not limited to, mochi gnocchi, duck breast served on a crown, and glazed with jerk sauce, and a dim sum-inspired cheung fung meat donut paired with burre blanc, and soya sauce — to name a few.
Shrimp mousseline, black vinegar/bone marrow, coconut milk, and garlic/chive oil
Beyond the savoury, the six-course dinner’s final application is a dessert that, you guessed it, has to be built entirely from the ground up from whatever animal was chosen.
A culinary hurdle that Middleton welcomes, as it puts the skills of him and his team to the test.
“When it comes to desserts, say they’re doing seafood on high adventure, I’ll do something along the lines of a trout ‘johnny cake’ with whipped cream and maple syrup,” says Middleton.
Middleton went on to note that when taking inspiration for desserts, he harkens back to the culinary greats, such as Joel Robuchon, the Roux Brothers, and even contemporary masters like Marco Pierre White.
“I know it is all about the guest, but I have to really enjoy it, so I look for something that I find interesting or I look for ideas from others in the kitchen.”
French toast, maple syrup, pandan milk, and cinnamon ice cream
While the whole animal experience at Beast Pizza has been a flagship occurrence, with bookings available throughout the year, the program, as of this week, has been put on a brief pause until the new year.
Standard service is expected to continue, and for those upset at missing out, fear not, as this little pause comes with bigger news.
“I just did my last dinner until January last weekend, because we’re opening a new place soon in Kitchener. So I’m fully in that mode,” says Middleton.
Middleton has said that the new Kitchener location will echo the Toronto location, however, leaning heavily on being a slice shop, where guests can also get a whole pizza alongside dinner service.
He also noted that if all goes as planned, Toronto may be seeing a second Beast Pizza location as well.
As for the future of the whole animal service, Middleton is taking the time while opening the new space to brainstorm ideas for the service in the new year, stating, “I’ll come back fresh in mind, and that — that will be exciting.”