UNA Pizza and Wine Calgary, AB - Tasty hand tossed pizzas with gluten free choices too!

Posted by Rating Service 8/10, Food 8/10

To a start of a whirlwind weekend, we met up with some of my boyfriend's old buddies for drinks and a bite to eat on a cold wintery evening located on the trendy 17th Avenue.  Thankfully, due to a recent whomp of snow dumped onto the poor unsuspecting folks of Calgary, who counts on their Chinook  to keep things relatively warm and low snow levels... we didn't have to wait in an atrociously long line up and was able to get a table within a few minutes of entering the restaurant.  Cheerful music lends a trendy pulse to this cozy small restaurant that greets you with a comforting smell of sweet tomato sauce, cheese and truffles and warmth not just attributed to the temperature difference from walking in.  Specializing in thin crust pizzas, offering up a decent selection of wines and imported beers you usually only see at specialty liquor stores, combined with passionate staff makes for a wonderful evening out... and made me wish I didn't have supper just prior to heading here!

We had a mix of people that just cam from dinner, to those that wanted fooood! so we focused on their pizza rather than the appetizers and mains (cutely labeled as "not pizza" on their menu) because we figured with a larger group, its just easier to share the grub.  Vegetarian and gluten free options were available (bakery few doors down makes the gluten free crusts).  First up was the the canard pizza topped with duck confit, pomegranate molasses, shallot, rosemary, tomato, and provolone.  I was curious to see if the duck would remain a buttery silky smooth or get dried out while getting baked, and I soon found out.  The crust was a delight - medium thin, it had a good balance of crispy exterior to a soft slightly chewy interior, and held up structurally to the ingredients it was topped with... I would have loved a stronger note of olive oil integrated into the crust, but it was an excellent base for the toppings.

None of us was able to taste the pomegranate molasses despite it being a usually easy to pick out flavor note - perhaps it was forgotten?, nice burst of sweetness came from bits of shallots intermingled amongst the provolone which I found a bit too strong, overwhelming the rest of the flavors.  My boyfriend lucked out and his slice had a few pieces of creamy silky duck pieces, while mine had a small dried out piece lol!

Friends that have frequented UNA several times recommended we try the Chef’s feature pizza which changes up daily and we weren't disappointed with the pizza featuring kale, grilled sweet peppers, and cheese (sorry forgot which kind).  Simple, rustic and satisfying rendition that brought out the sweetness of the vegetables and really showcased UNA's scratch sweet pizza sauce.

We were looking for something to round off the evening, so we were looking at the mushroom pizza with roasted crimini mushrooms, smoked mozzarella and grana padano cheese, fresh arugula, truffle oil, but than our eyes latched on the 4-maggi pizza.  The 4-maggi pizza was money with provolone piccante, friulano, fior di latte mozzarella and pecorino romana, finished with truffled honey.  Think molten lake of delicious four cheeses on a delectable thin crust and drizzled with a light touch of truffled honey that adds a wonderful touch of sweetness and the heady aroma of truffles.  If they topped it off with even more mushrooms.. wow.  No second picture because we were too busy enjoying the pizza.. NOM!

Overall, a great little cozy place to grab some vino or drinks and yummy thin crust pizza with passionate kitchen and staff.  The noise level ramps up into the evening, and its first come first serve, so be prepared to wait... unless you happen to head in after a snowstorm :)

UNA Pizza and Wine
Address 618 17 Ave SW, Calgary, AB T2S0B4
Phone (403) 453-1183
Hours 11:30am - 1am daily


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