AWESOME pizza at Hanni's Restaurant & Pizza

[Guillermo]

Let me preface this by saying that I am a HUGE pizza connoisseur, critic, and snob. I grew up in a city with a long, rich pizza tradition, and have travelled all over the US eating the best of the best. I've also eaten pizza throughout Europe and Italy... I'm very picky about pizza, and can pick out flaws in pies from even the most recommended shops.

Tonight we went to Hanni's Restaurant & Pizza (http://www.hannisonline.com) because we had a Living Social voucher. I had never heard of Hanni's before, and to be quite honest we were just expecting "run of the mill" Greek-style pie like you find at the older neighborhood pubs and restaurants across Calgary. We ordered the S.M.O.G. pizza (talian sausage, mushrooms, onions, green peppers), and MAN were we surprised - this is OUTSTANDING pizza. HANDS DOWN the best Greek pizza I've had in YYC, and equivalent in quality to the best pies from other genres including Il Centro, Rea's, Tom's, Pizza Bob's, Gondola,Pizza d'Vogglio, etc.

This pie has a crunchy fried rim that somehow isn't greasy, a thick bold and spicy sauce that is applied VERY liberally (perfect - i usually order extra sauce but they have nailed it), a very meaty italian sausage that reminded me of the meat they used to have on the "Hoven" pizza at Rocky Mountain Flatbread Co. in Canmore, and a very thick layer of top-quality cheese. (This cheese is actually STRINGY, something that you don't see in many pies these days as many shops use cost-cutting processed cheese food.)

has anyone else been to Hanni's? If not, you need to make it ASAP because you're missing out on one of the best pies in YYC.

[darthVWader]

I used to go all the time when it was Yanni's. After the new owner took over it went down hill fast!!! Then the new owner got smart and started to make the pizza the way the old owners made it. It is a truely great pie!!!!!!

[Guillermo]

^^are you thinking of a different place dude? Hanni's has been run by the same family for like 30 years, and in fact, the owner's name is Hanni. He was there last night. :thumbsup:

[dino_martini]

Originally posted by Guillermo
^^are you thinking of a different place dude? Hanni's has been run by the same family for like 30 years, and in fact, the owner's name is Hanni. He was there last night. :thumbsup:

Nope definitely not. I have lived up the street from that place for over 20 years. And while the same person may have owned the building, I know it has changed hands atleast twice. It used to be "Uncle Georges Pizza" about 15 years ago, then that family moved down to Ingelwood and started Ingelwood Pizza which is a fucking wicked pie. Then it was Yianni's for a little while and then it changed to Hanni's. He does make a good slice though. And he has hooked me up with some free pizza dough to make my own pie at home.

[darthVWader]

http://www.profilecanada.com/companydetail.cfm?company=2027112_Yannis_Restaurant_Calgary_AB

http://www.hotfrog.ca/Companies/Hannis-Restaurant


Yannis Restaurant
Address:4655 37 St Sw # 2,
Calgary AB


Hannis Restaurant
4655 37 St Sw, Calgary T3E 3C8, AB

[Guillermo]

On their website it says "It all started back in 1981 in Southwest Calgary, Hanni wanted to create something different, so he started Hanni's Restaurant and Calgary's Greatest Pizza, where the original location still stands..."

so are they lying on their website? :dunno:

Hanni was definitely there last night. It just seems strange to me that the website would be wrong, AND that a guy named Hanni would just happen to buy a restaurant already named Yanni's. Next time I go, I'll ask Hanni and see what he says.

at any rate, i guess it doesn't matter too much. they make EXCELLENT pizza. :thumbsup:

[gatorade]

Never had the pizza here, but I've been here before for a birthday party and it was literally the worst food I've ever eaten at a restaurant.

For example my spaghetti all watery, I'm guessing because it either came out of a can or was previously frozen. My so called triple A steak was well done instead of medium rare, and the quality of the steak was garbage. The rest of my friends were also bitching about the food saying it was complete shit.

The excuse they used was that it was busy, which it actually wasn't unless you define busy as 50% capacity, other than our group there was only two other tables.

I will never go here again, but who knows maybe their pizza is good.

[Kritafo]

We actually went tonight...place was packed we had to wait to be seated but since we drove out of our way we waited. It just kept getting busier and busier. We had the Hanni's special it was so good. The cheese was amazing and my husband could only eat two slices no shortage of toppings.

But Wednesday is our pizza night, whether we make it ourselves or go out or take out...we will definitely make Hanni's in our usual places to order from. Thanks for the heads up.

Went back for a second trip tonight. IT was packed again at 7, got the SMOG and Hanni's special. Outstanding again, lovely servers, and spoke with the owner. Laughed at the new found fame Hanni's has had in the past few week. One of them said they had a livingsocial coupon, so I will be on the watch for more. We have tons of leftovers which I am sure will be first choice over the turkey leftovers.

[Guillermo]

^^great to hear you made it out, thanks for posting your comments! :thumbsup: I've actually read similar things on urbanspoon about the service - a lot of people saying it kind of sucks. I've only been once and it was about half full, so the single waitress wasn't too busy and we actually had great service. We're going back this weekend so i'll get another chance to see how the service is.

[xnvy]

Went there today for dinner, had the S.M.O.G. and it was amazing, tandoori chicken pizza was pretty good to. I give Hanni a :thumbsup:

[2007RS4]

Guillermo: I am in the mood for a good pizza tonight. Where in the SW has the best pizza right now? Preferably in the Macleod Trail area.

[mugensix]

Not sure where in the SW, but there is this place called Seniore's . No clue where it was, I was a passenger texting so i didnt pay attention to the route. But, their pizza is so fucking good! i managed to murder 3 slices (HUGE) ugh lol i should of stopped at two!

[Guillermo]

Originally posted by 2007RS4
Guillermo: I am in the mood for a good pizza tonight. Where in the SW has the best pizza right now? Preferably in the Macleod Trail area.

Hanni's is GREAT and only about 5 minute drive from Glenmore and MacLeod.

There is also Tom's House of Pizza near Heritage and MacLeod, which is pretty good.

If you want take out, Gondola on Acadia makes a decent Chicago-style thin crust.

another excellent option is Urban Pizza on Acadia.

[know1edge]

Originally posted by mugensix
Not sure where in the SW, but there is this place called Seniore's . No clue where it was, I was a passenger texting so i didnt pay attention to the route. But, their pizza is so fucking good! i managed to murder 3 slices (HUGE) ugh lol i should of stopped at two!

NW Beddington

[mugensix]

^ thank you! Hmmm! Im hungry!

[pinoyhero]

hows hanni's for take out? only one type of crust right?

[Guillermo]

they just have the one type of crust. i've never had take out from there, but looking at urbanspoon it seems like people really like it. saw a bunch of people coming in for take out when were were there, too.

[pinoyhero]

Took out last night, great, will be a regular for me. Thanks for the rec

[Guillermo]

we went last night too. once again, outstanding pizza. this time we had the Hanni's Special which has chicken, banana peppers, basil, and feta. it was awesome, even though i'm not a huge fan of chicken on pizza. I think I liked the S.M.O.G. better though. The italian sausage they use is what makes it.

[Jackc]

I've been getting Hanni's takeout pizzas once a week for years. My favorite for sure!

[masoncgy]

Originally posted by mugensix
Not sure where in the SW, but there is this place called Seniore's . No clue where it was, I was a passenger texting so i didnt pay attention to the route. But, their pizza is so fucking good! i managed to murder 3 slices (HUGE) ugh lol i should of stopped at two!

Seniore's is pretty damn good, I must say. It was one of my favorite pizza joints in the North.

It's in Bedford Plaza... corner of Bedford Drive & Beddington Blvd NE.

[nagooro]

Originally posted by masoncgy


Seniore's is pretty damn good, I must say. It was one of my favorite pizza joints in the North.

It's in Bedford Plaza... corner of Bedford Drive & Beddington Blvd NE.
+1
Picked up a large donair pizza the other day, amazing.

[mugensix]

^ Tell me about it! They have a variant of the donair pizza with marinated chicken... Dare i say more? lol had it again a few days ago.. Mmmmm Heart burn

[bourge73]

Well I ll tell you where not to go. Seniores Pizza in the NW is brutal. I ordered their pizza special (2x medium and 1lb of wings) and I have had better Pizza from a High School Cafeteria . The Pizza and toppings are less than Pizza 73 quality and their wings are almost inedible, no meat and competely overcooked. Tried to call them to inform of the quality and the phone was busy for over 2+ hrs. :dunno:

[Guillermo]

Originally posted by bourge73
Well I ll tell you where not to go. Seniores Pizza in the NW is brutal. I ordered their pizza special (2x medium and 1lb of wings) and I have had better Pizza from a High School Cafeteria . The Pizza and toppings are less than Pizza 73 quality and their wings are almost inedible, no meat and competely overcooked. Tried to call them to inform of the quality and the phone was busy for over 2+ hrs. :dunno:

LOL, sorry to hear that man but your post is pretty funny at least! :rofl:

[JordanEG6]

Originally posted by bourge73
Well I ll tell you where not to go. Seniores Pizza in the NW is brutal. I ordered their pizza special (2x medium and 1lb of wings) and I have had better Pizza from a High School Cafeteria . The Pizza and toppings are less than Pizza 73 quality and their wings are almost inedible, no meat and competely overcooked. Tried to call them to inform of the quality and the phone was busy for over 2+ hrs. :dunno:

Really?! I think their donair pizza is amazing. Probably the best donair pizza I've ever had.

[01RedDX]

.

[masoncgy]

Originally posted by bourge73
Well I ll tell you where not to go. Seniores Pizza in the NW is brutal. I ordered their pizza special (2x medium and 1lb of wings) and I have had better Pizza from a High School Cafeteria . The Pizza and toppings are less than Pizza 73 quality and their wings are almost inedible, no meat and competely overcooked. Tried to call them to inform of the quality and the phone was busy for over 2+ hrs. :dunno:

Maybe substandard 'high school cafeteria' pizza is what you prefer? :dunno:

As you can see, Seniore's has a reputation for good pizza. Trust me. I am like Guillermo, super picky about pizza, the difference is I am not a connisseur, but that I actually find a lot of pizza really disgusting, usually because they use a horrible pizza sauce or put on too much of it. Most pizza sauces out there make me gag.

Seniore's = amazing.

[bourge73]

No not at all Lol. We ordered 2x family specials as there were 8 of us, all thought it was sub-standard Pizza and the wings were absolutley terrible, way over cooked and had no meat at all. Hey maybe it was an off night or it isnt a place to order delivery from. To each their own. I will give it another shot as I do want to try that Donair Pizza. Also going to try Hannis very soon.

[BlackRadon]

If you ever make it too banff, check out the the bear street tavern. Great pizza(wood fired oven) which is great because I'm a crust guy and love a good crust haha.

http://www.bearstreettavern.ca/