Santa Lucia Pizza

Santa Lucia Pizza

4 St. Mary's Rd

204-237-4134

http://www.santaluciapizza.com/index.html

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/santaluciapizza

Twitter:  @SantaLuciaPizza

September, 2013

I pride myself on being an honest and unbiased reviewer, so before I go any further into this review, I confess that I am a friend of one of the owners of Santa Lucia.  I will still try to be as impartial as I can but I would feel less-than-honest if I didn’t come clean first.

I first came here before any of the modernising renovations occurred.  It was never too busy and easy to find a seat.  Then after the transformation into a grand European looking dining room, this restaurant became one of Winnipeg’s hottest dining destinations.  Now that the rooftop patio is open, this iconic place is even a larger draw. 

As expected, the packed roof bustles with activity.  Considering how busy it is, I wouldn’t call the service fast, but adequate.  If you’re not in a rush, relax, enjoy the view and savour your drinks.

As an intro, I try the iconic Greek soup avgolemono, which is essentially a lemon-egg soup.  The broth is a bit too lemony for my tastes and I would have liked to see a bit more egg.  There is no shortage of meat however, as the generous chunks of chicken tastes plain but rich and savoury. 

For years, Lucia has been known for having some of the best pizza in Winnipeg.  To test this lofty notoriety, I want to critique their pies with the finest comb possible. 

I hate pizza joints that charge a lot of money for a “deluxe” pizza with 18 toppings, and one sliver of each ingredient.  That doesn’t happen here—you get plenty of each ingredient you order and you can’t help but get a taste in each bite.  The vegetables come raw, crispy and fresh.  I like raw vegetables on pizza; it gives an added dimension of texture and crunch.  I also like a bit of heat, but not cooked to death—no worries here.

Their pizzas also feature a generous coating of meat, again enough to cover the entire pie and give each bite a sampling of the meat.  All of the meats are pre-cooked well and add great flavour to the pizza.  

Lucia’s tomato sauce is sweeter than the average but not very well distributed on our pies.  Some areas have plenty of sauce and some are a little lacking.  Admittedly, I like tons of sauce so I often order extra sauce.  I forwent the extra sauce today to taste the pizza in its natural state. 

A great pizza should have lots of cheese, without being pooled in grease.  You should take the slice of pizza, take a big bite out of it, and have a plenty of pizza strings come off the bite.  There’s a ton of cheese here and no sign of the excess fattiness—absolutely you get the cheese strings coming off the bite. 

The only weakness with these pizzas come with the crust.  It’s a little thicker than I like and as a result, doughy, especially in the areas that are short of tomato sauce.  There’s also a corner (a corner of a circle?!) that’s a little burnt.  I can be a bit forgiving with the crust; pre-fab crusts are uniform in size and thickness.  Made-from-scratch isn’t always perfect and imperfections occur unless you have the Italian tosser who’s been doing this for 60 years.

So after the scrutinising, does Lucia make the best pizza in the city?  I did this analysis a short while ago (see:  http://pichonlongueville.blogspot.ca/2013/01/quest-for-best-pizza-in-winnipeg.html) and Lucia didn’t come up the winner, but they’re close.  They make a darn good pizza here and if I didn’t come in with a hyper-critical eye, I wouldn’t have found any limitations. 

Aside from the pizza, how are the other meals?  Bearing an Italian name, I expect good pasta.  The Spicy Italian Pasta is a common dish that you can find anywhere.  Lucia’s rendition has a nice rose sauce with enough sausage to satisfy without being overly carnivorous.  The peppers and onions provide the body and I love the addition of spinach, but I would like to see more mushrooms.  The pizzas come generously covered in mushrooms but I only see a few caps here and there.  This dish comes with a whole-wheat option, but we didn’t get that choice.  

If you’re just not into pizza, Italian or Greek, there are some pub grub kind of items as well.  The Fish and Chips come nicely puffed and crispy, but not oily.  The flaky haddock tastes wonderful and perfectly cooked.  The accompanying country cut fries are equally grease-free and flavourful.  After the fish, be sure to use the fries to finish off the delicious tartar sauce.

If by some miracle, you haven’t had enough to eat, the mains come with homemade garlic toast, and this is the thickest toast I’ve every seen.  I’m bursting—and I can’t stop eating this toast.  This bread has the perfect combination of crunch, butter and depth.  Being a garlic head, I would like to see chunks of garlic but I think most would declare this “the perfect toast.”

I can understand how Santa Lucia has become one of the favourite pizza places in the city, but don’t forget that they have other options—delicious options.  The dishes are prepared with care and if you grab a seat on the roof, you can enjoy it with a view. 

**** /5

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