So, I have heard a number of people talking about Il Centro. I even have friends who love the place and highly recommend it. MrsInnersoul and I have been meaning to go for sometime but haven't had the chance. We went for lunch yesterday and I must say that I don't see myself going back any time soon.
I have heard good things about the calamari there so I gave it a try. It is described as lightly breaded with a spicy tomato sauce on it. The rings are actually quite large and thick. They are tasty but reminiscent of calamari found in the frozen food aisle. The sauce was actually very tasty I just wish that there was more of it. It was a lot of food for 2 people and would be better to share with 4. Because of the thickness of the calamari it isn't a delicate dish and becomes quite filling very quickly. (price $16)
The pizza scene in Calgary has certainly heated up over the past years, so there is stiff competition. Il Centro serves Roman style pizza. I would describe it as a hybrid, a mix between thin and thick crust. Pizza's come in two sizes: small or large. Our server described the small as 4 slices and the large as 8. In reality the small is about 12 inches (4 HUGE slices) while the large is closer to 16 inches (8 Large slices). We had the large Speciale (ham, artichokes, mushrooms, roasted red peppers) thinking that it would be good for two people given that it was 8 slices. Once again it would be cook for 4 people as 2 slices are quite filling. What really struck me is that the small pizzas cost in the range of $15 to $16 while the large are $28 to $32. It's an expensive pizza pie!
As the server took our order he asked if we liked spicy chilies. I said we did. I guess this constitutes ordering chilies as our pizza came with a side dish of roasted jalapenos. They were good, not really spicy and their flavour characteristics didn't fit with the pizza. Wasn't happy that we were charged $4.50 for something we didn't order.
The pizza was sub-par. There wasn't anything exciting about it. The sauce didn't stand out and the toppings, while plentiful, lacked any flavour. Kristen commented that it tasted much like a frozen pizza, there was nothing that stood out at all.
We washed our pizza and calamari down with a bottle of Peroni each. ($8.50 per bottle!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
) - the menu didn't have prices
Conclusions: To me Il Centro is average AT BEST. The food we had was marginal and lacked anything to warrant a trip back. The pizza really was a disappointing. One of the fancy pizzas from Panago would have been more exciting really. Our bill came to $72.50 before tip which is ridiculous in my mind. Won't be going back any time soon.
Prev
Linear Mode
