The owner of a highly acclaimed Toronto pizzeria is getting a little fed up with irresponsible third-party delivery drivers.
In a recent Instagram post, since deleted, Descendant Detroit Style Pizza, located in Leslieville, fought back against certain one-star reviews being posted on Google about the restaurant—not from customers, but from what he called “a group of Uber drivers.”
Now Toronto published a recent article about the Instagram post and quoted it directly before it was deleted.
“I want to bring to your attention an issue we’re currently facing,” the post read. “A group of Uber drivers has been leaving one-star reviews for businesses because we do not provide food without a proper delivery bag. Recently, we received three one-star reviews from this group, and they are presenting themselves as regular customers. We believe that Google and Uber need to take action against this practice, as it is negatively impacting many small businesses. Thank you for your understanding and support.”
In one of the reviews, a reviewer claimed to have seen a Descendant staff member treating an Uber driver “quite rudely.” The reviewer wrote, “This driver, an Uber Eats partner, was struggling without a delivery bag, so I stepped in to help by offering my spare pizza bag. However, after completing my delivery, I found that your staff had reported me to Uber for not having a delivery bag, negatively impacting my rating. This is particularly concerning as I am a frequent customer of your restaurant and truly appreciate the food and service you provide.”
Another reviewer appeared to comment on the same incident, alleging that he witnessed a female server disrespecting a “poor delivery boy.”
In response to the latter review, Descendant punched back with a response that read:
“You delivery drivers are unbelievable. You deliver for a living and come in without a delivery bag. We do not give pizza without a bag, and then you give us a 1 star review and play the victim. This is getting old and it’s affecting small businesses.”
The pizzeria’s owner, Sotirios Tzakis, told Now Toronto that some third-party drivers had failed to bring their own hot bags for delivery orders. But Descendant’s rule is straightforward: no hot bag, no pizza.
“When we deny drivers without bags, their response often results in a one-star review,” Tzakis told the website. “Is that fair? We are simply trying to do our jobs and ensure our customers are satisfied.”
During the summer months, he said, his restaurant is more lenient with third-party drivers who don’t bring their own bags. “But this changes in the winter. Food cools down quickly during Canadian winters without a delivery bag.”
Descendant Detroit Style Pizza currently has a 4.7 rating on Google with 3,082 reviews.
The pizzeria, which has two locations in Toronto and a new U.S. store scheduled to open in Boston, also won Canada’s National Pizza Competition at the Restaurants Canada Show in April 2024. That event brought together pizzerias from across the country to compete in two categories—Traditional Pizza and Creative Pizza—with 24 finalists chosen to square off. First place earned a $3,000 cash prize and entrance into the International Pizza Challenge at the 2025 Pizza Expo.
Descendant makes its Detroit-style pies in traditional square blue-steel pans. Pies on the menu include the Electric Avenue (cheese blend, jerk chicken, pineapple, green onions, chives, curried lime aioli, Mama Lil’s peppers and Diablo’s Fuego Hot Sauce) and the Truff Guy (cheese blend, double-smoked bacon, caramelized onions, truffle aioli, cremini mushrooms, grana Padano cheese and fresh thyme.)
