Santa Ana Pizzeria & Bistro — Restaurant in Winnipeg

This restaurant is in a strip mall but don't let the ordinary facade trick into thinking this is an ordinary pizza joint.

Located in the strip mall there is eay more parking than ever could be used. However there is a limited amount of seating inside so it would be prudent to reserve well ahead of the date you want.

Friendly staff sat us quickly. They have comfortable seats in a lovely atmosphere. They have decent sized menu starters, pasta, pizzas and salads etc.

They had 11" wood fired pizza and 15" stone baked pizza, which we could have had thin crust or the regular (we chose the regular).

Both pizzas were cooked right, neither being doughy/undercooked nor charred/hard and dry. Our loaded pizzas were just right.

The regular crust on the 15" was awesome. The crust wasn't greasy. The crust light and airy. It was cooked but neither doughy or tough. Even the edges didn't get hard or crusty, just the right amount of chew.

The wood fired 11" was very good, the dough handled the toppings without getting soggy and the crust wasn't burned or dried out.

The quality of the toppings were very tasty and the pizzas were very filling. Everything we saw that came out of the kitchen looked really tasty.

Don't let the exterior fool you, this is one great restaurant. We...

After reading nothing but positive reviews about Santa Ana's pizza I finally gave it a try. What an utter disappointment. Judging by the photos posted by other reviewers I'll concede that it must have been an off night for the cooks when I ordered. But I certainly did not enjoy eating around a crust that was so burnt it blackened my fingertips.

When I think of the best wood-fired pizza I've had (locally, Red Ember comes to mind), I think of everything Santa Ana is not: a thin crust with a crisp-yet-pillowy perimeter and a balance between the sauce and toppings that allows the pizza to be cooked very quickly - this is what distinguishes wood-fired pizza from pizza cooked on a pan in an oven.

Santa Ana's pizzs are so heavy on the toppings that they require a much longer cooking time, apparently so long that the crust burns by the time the middle of the pizza is cooked. I was surprised to see a diamond pattern embedded in the bottom of the crust - the pizzas are quite clearly baked on a pan. I had no sense whatsoever that I was eating a wood-fired pizza.

I would not order...

Great restaurant for pizza in St. Vital. Its a very small restaurant - so it fills up fast. Best to call ahead by 1-3 weeks and make a reservation if you want a specific date for your outing. We had an 11 inch woodfired pizza called the Roman. It had prosciutto, roma tomatoes, green olives and asiago. We also ordered a 15 inch Stone Baked Pizza - designed our own with pancetta, black olives, pineapple and cheddar and mozzarella cheeses. Both were excellent. Lots of choices on the menu for pizza lovers. They also had starters, pasta, and salad on their menu - though we didn't try any this time. Decent wine menu was available as well. The decor was quite nice - thought the table lights inside the bottles were interesting and worked well. Our server was friendly and took care of us very well. Takeout is available. Saw that they offer vegan and gluten free crusts as well. We will certainly go to this restaurant again to try more of their menu - this was our...