Il Centro in Calgary: Best Pizza in Town?

News flash: Fidel, the guy who used to own Trattoria d'Italia, is back making thin crust Italian pizza at Il Centro, 6036 3rd St. SW. by Home Depot. He's a total genius ... I just heard this and am essentially leaving work early to go check it out.

So Miles... what's the verdict? It's a long way for me to travel - like to hear what you think before i make the trek.

My vote goes to the wood oven baked pizzas at Calgary Italian Supermarket but the window of opportunity is very small. They only fire the oven up on Saturdays between 11am and 3pm. Their margarita pizza is the closest I've had in Calgary to what I loved in Naples, Italy. It's not exactly the same obviously but pretty darn good for these northern climes.

ever hungry

That must be a serious pie if you're leaving work early! Please provide an update when you've confirmed the validity of your rumour. Im tired of bad thin crust pizza here in town. Sorry peeps, but Pizza Bob's just doesnt stack up to good thin crust.

Boccavino (next to Lina's) makes a good one.

Pizza Bob's is one of the best pizzas I've ever had. And I've had pizza all over. I just find it too pricey.

further- if you want really horrible pizza, head to vancouver. how they can fuck up pizza so consistently is a mystery to me, but I'd go nuts if I moved there.

Yes living in Vancouver is like some sort of Pizza hell however that being said one of the best slices I have EVER had you can only get on commercial drive. If you haven't been down there on your vancouver trips do yourself a favour.

Gotta check out the drive next time I'm there!

Really? Perhaps i just had a bad experience. It was delivery, and the crust was soggy, and there wasnt any flavour to the sauce. The toppings were decent, but a pizza is about the whole combination, and the crust was ruined for me. Perhaps eating in might be better... but it wasnt that good the time i ate it.

And yeah, it's really expensive as well.

100% smoking environment so you know I got it delivered too!

Seriously, if you got a bad crust let them know- it was in fact the crust that I've fallen in love with at Bob's- amazing, clearly stone-baked texture.

It's not saucy, true, but sauce is used sparingly in pizza traditionally- of course, to each his own!

If I want "Calgary style" Greek pizza, I love Nick's (real kalamata olives, quality there) and Sophie's.

I'd try Il Centro but that's nowhere near where I live (in Bankview)- have high hopes for Fat Tony's about to open on 11th Street where California Pizza once was, owner promises "new york style," which is too much to dream- and if it sucks I'll just walk down to Uptown Sushi :)

Incidentally Yen- We were not very impressed by Tribune. I wrote a review and accidentally deleted it- long story short- nothing was outstanding (nothing was awful either and ambience and service were outstanding, but nothing we ate really stood out, aside from the amuse bouche and the bread, both of which were tiny servings of course).

Yeah, crust wasn't good - i did have higher expectations based on the positive reviews over the past few years, but it just wasnt what i expected. I'll give them another try... maybe pick up this time, and i'll eat a piece before it steams in the box.

For Calgary/Greek style, while Nicks and Sophies (former Spiro's owners for those who havent heard of it) are good, my favourite comes from Red Carpet Inn on Elbow and Glenmore. Im hoping Fat Tony's works out, as i liked the value of California Pizza, and the fact it's two blocks from my place :)

Funny thing, i felt the same way about Tribune when we went last night. Not trying to hijack the thread, but the service was good but a bit too pretentious at times (i actually thought the whole restaurant was like that at points.. not our server specifically, but the entire place. It might've just been the patrons), nice ambiance though im not keen on the basement dining room, and the prices were not inline with the quality of the food. I loved Andrew when he was at the Living Room, but Tribune wasnt great. The Amuse bouche (lamb tart for us) was decent, and the flatbread was good. I also had the Risotto (more oily than creamy, but otherwise ok), and the Escabeche as an appetizer. No depth of flavour - i much prefer ceviche. My friend had the Scallop Gratin, which was large, but a bit... fishy/gamy in flavour, and a bit tough. Not the soft, buttery texture I expected from a good scallop. For the price, i expected more.