Hailing from the Alberta city down under, UNA pizza + wine has opened their first location in Edmonton. Una is Italian for "a," so their name simply means a place for pizza and wine. Since opening in Calgary in 2010, UNA is a well-established name in casual dining. They have 5 other locations in YYC and 1 location in Saskatoon. People clearly love pizza. And wine. Or both.
The restaurant is located in South Common (a city planner's worst nightmare), right beside Blanco Cantina, another Calgary-based chain. Don't be confused like us. They actually share the same entrance, but split off in the middle with UNA to the left and Blanco to the right.
The restaurant has only been open for a few weeks, so it was a packed house when we arrived on a Sunday afternoon. Edmontonians like shiny new things. We ended up sitting at the bar since they were the only seats available. Being vertically challenged, bar seats are never my favourite since there's never a graceful way to enter and exit. But you make do.
The menu is conducive to sharing so we started off our meal with the arancini ($14.00). Arancini are Italian rice balls, breaded and deep fried. These in particular were stuffed with three cheeses and served with Parmesan aioli and basil oil.
These were delightful. They had a crisp outside and soft, melty inside. I do feel like the arancini would've benefited from a tomato sauce in addition to the aioli. Something acidic to brighten up the heavy, creamy bites.
We heard good things about the gnocchi bianca ($26.00) and they weren't wrong. The gnocchi were soft and fluffy, served in a white wine and garlic cream sauce. There was also no shortage of smoked bacon and cremini mushrooms.
For pizza, we went simple with the margherita pizza ($20.00). San Marzano tomato sauce, fior di latte, grana padano, basil oil, and Maldon salt. UNA's pizzas ares cooked on stone deck ovens. They do a thin crust style, with crisp bottoms and a slight chew. It's more than decent pizza, but I feel like fresh basil would've performed better than the oil.
With Winners and Homesense steps away, UNA pizza + wine was the perfect backdrop for our girl's day. Pizza + yap + shopping = priceless.
UNA pizza + wine
1708 99 St NW #102
Edmonton, AB
(403) 453-1183
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