Caniglia's A Mano — Restaurant in Papillion

What an absolute treat this place is and probably one of the best experiences I've had since I've been to San Diego.

The owners were there and were more than happy to help us out and their charisma was just something you don't really see that much in the entire state of Nebraska. They had such a willingness to help, and their goal was to share an amazing experience as much as possible.

They went over the menu with us and gave us tips and tricks from other customers and ultimately we settled on slice orders of The Alfredo, Tony's Favorite, The Veggie, Spicy BBQ Chicken, Pasta Salad, and Two pieces of Cheesy Bread.

The cheesy bread came out and it looked fantastic, like it literally was rushed as soon as it came out of the oven, still molten and all. It came with a side of sauce as well which tasted great with it, but the bread itself seemed seasoned well enough that it didn't even really need it.

We tried the cheesy bread in some of the pasta salad "sauce" and it was absolutely incredible. Just dip it in there, I'm sure you'll love it.

When talking with the owners originally they described slices as a giant slice cut into two, which is exactly true. Two orders of slices as they stated comes down to about a half of a medium size pizza.

Moving on, the pizza was absolutely incredible. Not too stiff of a crust, but not doughy either. A nice crisp/crunch to it and each bite was just absolutely fantastic. I was actually upset at myself that I didn't order more, but they were topped perfectly.

When I say perfectly too, the Tony's favorite was just magical. To the point that I blanked out because my mind short circuited with the perfect flow of flavor. It wasn't just one flavor that was overwhelming, it was absolutely everything working together and I don't think I can describe it in better words than that. Get a slice of it, and just take a big bite into it and chew.

In the end, this is the kind of place that I wish I could somehow yell at Dave Portnoy and others just so they got the chance to try it out. We don't live close to it at all but if people were to ask us "Do you know where to go to get the best pizza in Omaha?" then there's no doubt in my mind I'll absolutely...

We visited last night for the soft opening.

We ordered carryout and were told it’d be 30-45 min. We arrived about 35 min later, and they were expectedly busy. We ended up waiting another 30 min for our food. The wait really didn’t matter, because they were right on top of the customer service. Despite the chaos of orders flooding in, they were striving to make everyone’s experience a good one and make up for the wait. Unfortunately when they got to our order they had just run out of the large crust they needed to make it. To make up for it, they made the large chicken alfredo pizza we had ordered into a medium instead and threw in an additional medium meatball trio pizza as well. This was a happy accident, because when we finally dug in that meatball trio pizza was by far the standout. I think I would have been a bit underwhelmed without it. But I would definitely go back for that one alone. The meatballs and thin sliced pepperoni had the perfect flavor and spice. The crust was the ideal pizza crust you look for - crunchy but soft, and the pizza sauce was fantastic. If you’re going to have a first experience with Caniglia’s, I would hands down recommend the meatball trio pizza.

The chicken alfredo pizza left a little more to be desired. The crust must have absorbed the alfredo because it was pretty dry. I think with a little less spinach and a lot (and I mean a lot) more alfredo, I think this would have been a good one.

The meatball sub ranked second after the meatball trio pizza. The sauce, meatballs, and cheese were heavenly. However, I think using the same oven for the subs as they do for the pizza chars the bread a bit too much. The burnt bread unfortunately overpowered the sub toppings. Additionally, the cheesy garlic bread was good, but not a standout, so probably not necessary to get again.

All in all, they’re still working out some kinks (as expected with any new restaurant), but with their customer service making up for any wait times or ingredients that sell out, we will likely stop back again to get another tasty meatball trio pizza. And to try the salsiccia and peppers sub we also had our eye on!

Be patient, and give them a shot! And get the...

They forgot my chips with my sub, which was a bummer - but not a dealbreaker.

To start, this was my first time visiting this establishment. I never even knew it existed, to be honest. I have fond memories of the old “Caniglias”, I miss it. I was elated when I heard the name again, as it’s one of those trusted Nebraska names. I knew they’d know their sugo, marinara, and any tomato based sauce. I was right. However, instead of pasta - it’s pizza and subs.

Overall, I enjoyed most aspects of my meal. Read below.

Full Order of Cheese Bread - I would pass on this next time. It was good, but not amazing. It seemed to be just one sub roll split in half, with lots of good cheese and seasonings. The sugo to dip was my favorite part.

Sicilian Sub - As stated, I didn’t get my chips. However, the flavor?! Amazing. The Sicilian Mayo was fantastic and set it apart from all other “Sicilian Subs” I’ve ever had . . . It’s easily my favorite menu item.

Meat Lovers - The texture of the crust. The taste of the sauce. The cheese. The abundance of meats. Yes. This is a winner. It all meshed so well. I really enjoyed the Italian Sausage.

Pepperoni - I didn’t try this, but my children seemed to like it.

Turtle Cheesecake - It was described as “double crusted” and it was. However, it didn’t remind me of traditional cheesecake. It’s almost identical to a sopapilla cheesecake, with caramel and chocolate on it. I enjoyed the addition of the whipped cream and cherry. However, all-in-all I’d probably pass next time.

Would I come again? Yes. I’d buy that Sicilian Sub in a heartbeat. Plus, the pizza is very promising. I’d try the Sicilian one next time.

Definitely give it a shot! A great shake-up to the pizza companies...