Bigalora Wood Fired Cucina

Great, friendly, knowledgeable bar staff. They’re hard to beat. Excellent craft beer selection, huge liquor variety, and solid wood fired pizzas. Good people watching from the bar and excellent outdoor seating when the weather permits.

The food is amazing, but I went on Valentine’s Day with a big group of my friends and they had run out of pizza dough by 7:30pm! Other than that, the meal was great. We ordered almost everything on the menu, and I have not a single complaint about it!

The best pizza in Ann Arbor! I love it and if I want pizza and wings I go to Bigalora. Try the salmon pizza with capers and red onions, delicious. The food is fresh and just my style. I’ve never had takeout but I would imagine the dinning experience would be better than takeout.
Cons: It can get a little loud, the chairs are extremely unconformable. I sit on my coat. No booths, only tables.
Pros: Nice location. Great fresh food. Happy wait staff.
Nice job, I’ll be back time and time again.

The atmosphere and food were both excellent! It’s a fun place for family, date nights, or what I did, an outing with my roommates. We came for restaurant week and not only was the quality of the food amazing, but the portions were filling too! Two of us (who have above average stomach capacities) each ate a pizza until we were satisfied while my other roommate (with a more normal stomach capacity) took half her pizza home for lunch the next day. Not to mention the crust… Which is TO DIE FOR. Thinand slightly crunchy, but still chewy and savory. The homemade gelato was also delicious… I recommend pistachio!

I really wanted to like the food here. My husband and I got dinner to go tonight. Going in to pick up the food, the décor is beautiful and feels very comfortable. The staff was pleasant and helpful. The portions were a good size without being massive.
We got the wood fire sweet potatoes, spaghetti with meatballs, and chicken Parmesan. First, nothing was seasoned and was pretty bland.
The sweet potatoes were charred on one side (completely black) and I didn’t like the balsamic glaze.
The pasta was ok, but the sauce needed more depth.
The meatballs were dry and crumbly. I think they needed more fat to add moisture (they also lacked flavor).
The chicken was over-​cooked making it dry and the melted cheese was caramelized vs. melty
Perhaps eating at the restaurant would make a difference because the food doesn’t have to travel but especially for $ 35, I’m disappointed.

Unfortunately we did not like our experience at Bigalora in Ann Arbor last night! First of all they don’t take reservations for parties less then 8. Who doesn’t make reservations in this time and age?!! Oh well we decide to go there anyway. We get seated in a few moments. The waitress is brings water and instead of asking us if we want go order any drinks asks us, «is water good for you all?» Ok I guess water is good even though you have a full bar and cocktail menu… Guess she did not want the meal go get complicated! She comes back a few minutes later and we order the roasted chicken wings and navel orange salad for appetizer. She said she will put that order in and come back to take our dinner order. Great we look at the menu and decide what we want. She comes back and we ordered 3 pizzas and a pasta!
Now a few minutes later they bring our appetizers out along with small plates, we pass the plates put a wing each on our plate. Stuck a fork in our salad and voila our pizzas and dinner was there! I was visibly not happy and told the waitress it was too soon to bring the dinner we just got the appetizers… She was «sorry., should I take the plates away?» Like really!!! They needed room on the little table to put the pizza… So she took the small plates with our uneaten wings away and left the pizzas on the table! It’s like eat it when we want you to … Or not!!! The pizza was nothing to write home about… Lacked flavor and topping on the two white pizzas we ordered. A $$ pizza should have more flavor and the toppings should be a little more generous. Then before we were done she was asking for boxes to be brought and before we were ready she had the check without asking us for dessert! She asked us if we wanted to look at dessert menu when she brought the check out!!! This is Bigalora service! Too bad … Not going to go out and spend $ 100 on such substandard service and food!

This location needs some serious management and service training, Our sever Jennifer G was really a bad server. She was distracted and curt. She took the orders of appetizer and then took the order for dinner after 20 minutes but brought all the food together and then took the appetizers away as she needed place on the small table for Pizza for all of us. We never touched our $ 25 Appetizers. She only came around once to ask if we needed anything else at all. It was as she just wanted her customers to leave the place in a rush. Got the bill without even asking for desert and then said «Oh I can hold on to this bill and get the menu again if you want» I generally don’t like to give negative reviews but this one needed to go on Unilocal and Trip Advisor. Food was bland and subpar too.

I have been to the Royal Oak and Southfield Bigalora locations — one of them was back when it was called Pizzeria Biga, too — but never to the Ann Arbor one. Some Ann Arbor-​area friends and I decided to check it out today for the first day of Ann Arbor Restaurant Week and it did not disappoint.
Their lunch deal was $ 15 for a 3-​course meal — I chose the risotto ball, the funghi (mushroom + goat cheese) pizza, and the pistachio gelato for dessert. First off, the place is HUGE — when you walk in, there’s a large eating area, and then there’s an upstairs, and THEN there’s an enclosed, all-​windows area, with a garage door on one side (which I assume they open in the summer, as there’s a patio area too). We were seated in the «snow globe» area (all-​windows area) and it was quite nice, especially since today was a sunny day.
The food:
–My risotto ball was very good. Crunchy on the outside. Similar to Carrabba’s arancini appetizer, IMO, but a little better/​different.
–I originally was going to get the Bacco pizza, but I’ve had it before (sausage and peppers pizza). I thought the Funghi dish was actually pasta, but the waitress explained that it’s pizza with a garlic/​olive oil crust, so I tried that out and it was quite tasty.
–Dessert was very small, maybe the tiniest portion of ice cream/​gelato I’ve ever seen, but also very good. We all tried different flavors, too — one friend had espresso, one had chocolate, and I had gelato.
I’d like to come back to this place during the summer when it’s warmer out. Overall I’d give it maybe 4.5÷5 stars but what docks it down the half star is the easiness of finding the place — it’s in a strip mall on Washtenaw, and I actually passed it on my way there (going west, from the highway) and had to take a left onto Platt and go in that way. That’s the only way to exit the strip mall, too, since you can’t take a left on to Washtenaw. There’s also not a lot of parking, I had to park about a 3-​minute walk away … which doesn’t seem bad but the high today was 15 or so.
Other than that, I definitely plan on returning, as the food, atmosphere, and waitstaff were great.

I couldn’t be happier to issue a new review for Bigalora. Was dinner perfect? No. Was service excellent? Yes. I will, therefore, exclude minor details of this evening in favor of praise.
Bigalora seems to have embraced a new attitude, now favoring a more relaxed atmosphere — Staff sporting Bigalora t-​shirts and the tv playing tonight’s football game. An atmosphere appropriate for a restaurant that specializes in wood fired pies.
Now for the centerpiece… The pizza! The pizza is delicious — A thin crust fired for (as I learned tonight) 90 seconds in special ovens that are topped with select ingredients. The result is perfectly delicious, slightly charred crusts; or, in my case, slightly more black bits, since I prefer the bitter punch of a well-​done pie. The salads are very generously portioned, and are worth sharing. There are a couple wins on the appetizer offerings, and I highly recommend the carrots for a creative departure from the norm.
Overall, I am a re-​birthed fan of Bigalora, and will be back… Now more frequently!

Me likey!
This is my kinda pizza, straight up. Wood fired, thin — almost cracker like crust and fresh, interesting toppings. Before this place opened up my choice was to eat pizza I don’t really love brought by some pimple faced kid that smelled like weed and drives too fast down my street or go to Plymouth and wait an eternity or head all the way downtown to Supino.
This place has a really cool vibe but it’s pretty intimate. They stuff a lot of tables into a relatively small area so if you aren’t comfortable with your neighbor eavesdropping on your business you might want to consider getting some carry out.
In addition to the pizza their bar selections are impressive. I’m a big bourbon fan and if you are like me you will be pleased to know they have a lot of the hot bourbons right now that are elusive to those of us who don’t know a guy who knows a guy who has a cousin who has some but wants a kidney for it.
You will be disappointed to know however, that to get a taste you will have to part with about 5 pizza’s worth of ca$h for a single pour. But, you only live once right?!
Anyhow, I’ve had quite a few of their pies as well as the aranchini (sp?) app and the chicken parm and everything I’ve ever had was fantastic. My only gripe is I wish the pies were a little bigger or there was at least an option to get them bigger. I can crush probably 3 of these things solo but I never do because I don’t want to look like a fat idiot and embarrass my old lady so I perpetually leave less than full.
I also lied, I have a second gripe not related to anything they can control so, maybe it’s more like advice. Parking here can be a bitch so be prepared to potentially wait for a spot or be willing to park across the street and brave crossing Washtenaw.
If you are looking for a good pie or just a chill place to hang out and sip a few drinks I think you will really like Bigalora. It’s definitely one of the more unique places to get a wheel and a drink in A2. I’ll be back (Terminator voice).

I had a revelation the other day when I came to Bigalora – the same dish that I love at their mother restaurant, Bacco, is on the menu here. Yes, I’m talking the strozzapreti. Hand rolled pasta served with bacco sausage and truffle oil in a tomato cream sauce. HOT DAMN. I may have a problem on my hands now that I’ve figured that out.
Plus the pizzas here are damn good, the appetizers/​small plates are fantastic (love the the risotto balls, wood roasted peanuts in particular), they have a great wine and beer menu, and (while I love a fancy night at Bacco) the vibe is way more low key and casual than it’s fancier counterpart.
I’ve never had a problem with service and the place is huge. I also like that it’s outside of downtown Ann Arbor. That strip of Washtenaw can get congested but it’s nice to have a dedicated parking lot, makes it a more desirable destination when the weather is crummy. Plus – TAKE OUT!

First off, they kept bringing us bread when we asked which automatically makes this place a favorite.
The caprese was really good, the tomatoes were so fresh. The pizza was incredible, everything was so fresh! The patio is great in the warmer weather, and the wait staff is super nice. Would love to come back in the summer to sit outside. Make sure you don’t fill up on bread so you leave room to try everything else!

I came here for a holiday work function and didn’t know what to expect after a very dismal experience here a few years ago during restaurant week. We were put in the large room separate from the main dining area, and for how cold it was outside and will the all glass walls it was fairly warm. I really appreciated that they have heat lamps. Service was great! The waiters were all attentive and accommodating. Only negative that’s service related is that we were fed Italian family style, and the tables were small so it was a lot to have to fit in such a small space.
The food, unfortunately, was just how I remembered. The appetizer, a salad was fairly good. The meatballs that came after were completely tasteless. I’ll hand it to them that they weren’t dry, but they completely lacked seasoning and the accompanying red sauce didn’t help it much. The balsamic glazed carrots were cold! The two pastas (one red sauce and one white sauce) too lacked seasoning. I see a trend. Pizza had fairly good flavor, but crust wasn’t cooked enough to withstand all the sauce, cheese and toppings. The best part of the meal was dessert. The fried donuts with the raspberry sauce and hazelnut chocolate sauce were awesome. They had gelato too, but I didn’t get a chance to try it.
Overall, they did a great job for the event, just would have liked for the food to be a tad better.

Cool spot! This is a good place to bring a baby (though I haven’t done it yet!) since it is fairly loud. It has a cool interior and super expensive ovens that cook your pizza in 90 seconds! Crazy! I went with friends this past week and we tried three pizzas. The roasted veggie pizza was just okay. I wouldn’t get it again. It seemed so plain, and like there were hardly any toppings on there at all. The chicken pesto pizza was in second place… it was good, but not great. The HUGE winner was the cremini (I think) mushroom pizza which has feta on it. Oh my. That was reeeeeally good. We also shared a small app of the roasted carrots. WOW those were awesome! This is a good spot in A2 if you don’t feel like battling and paying for downtown parking, although on a recent Tuesday night, it was still a little hard to find a place to park! This is a good spot!
OH! and a GREAT tip. Tuesdays are half off wine bottle night… 3 of us split a bottle that was usually $ 24, so it was only $ 12! Total bargain! Enjoy!

Luciano Del Signore is not only a wonderful chef, he is a talented restaurateur. The Ann Arbor Bigalora Wood Fired Cucina is a beautiful, contemporary restaurant that serves as a great stage for Del Signore’s wood-​fired pizzas and Italian dishes.
I strongly recommend the meatballs and the clam pizza.

I’ve reviewed this place before and I’m going to up my review.
I came back here for pizza and LOVED it!
We also got a salad to share (the large portions are definitely enough for two people if you’re using it as an appetizer).
The gluten free crust is the best I’ve had (to back up what our waiter said) –you don’t feel like you’re missing out on the texture of the crust at all.
I definitely recommend the chicken pesto white pizza!
Amazing service once again and amazing food.

Disclaimer — I am Italian, I was born and raised and regularly travel there and I moved here a few years ago, so I think I know a thing or two about pizza.
I am appalled that this place has an average of 3 ½ stars. What are people thinking?
Having time on hand tonight, I decided to read a few reviews… oh mamma mia.
I found people giving 2 stars because the prosciutto slices were long, duh? A guy docking three stars ’cause he couldn’t buy seventy-​cents chicken wings anymore, really? The crust slightly burnt? oh you poor thing. And then dozens of people complaining about the brussel sprouts appetizer. Now, if you get brussel sprouts as an appetizer, you got issues.
This place is a pizzeria (e.g. stick to the pizza), with a wood-​burning oven, which is the only, I repeat only, way a pizza should be cooked. As far as pizza, it is as good as it gets — this establishment could sell pizza in Italy with no issues. They also maintained the authenticity with classics like Napoli, and Capricciosa, among others. Not having a pizza with pineapple or a dish with alfredo sauce another big plus and a sign of authenticity (although the spaghetti meatballs dish is a stretch… «So what? no freaking ziti now?»).
Bottom line, for all of you wanting an authentic pizza there is Bigalora, for everyone else there’s Piccolo Cesare (or Cesarino) further down on Platt.

We tried Bigalora after searching on Unilocal for a nice pizza place to try. The 4 of us all ordered our own pizza. They’re the perfect size for individuals. They came to our table very quickly. They can make a pizza in 90 seconds in their 900 degree oven. All of our choices were very good. The dessert sorbet could have been better. We ordered the raspberry-​lemon sorbet. All we could taste was a very sour lemon flavor with no hints of the raspberry so thumbs down on that but I’ll try a different flavor next time. (I believe it was a special flavor not on the menu). Our waitress was very nice and attentive and yes I will certainly return again to try another pizza.

Bigalora is a prime example of a pizza parlor done right. I’m in love with the ambiance here – the interior is spacious and well decorated, and the outdoor seating area is beautifully lit with string lights. The selection of appetizers and pizzas is vast, and even if pizza’s not your thing, there are plenty of salads and pastas to choose from. In a classic Italian fashion, our meal was also served with complimentary bread, which helped distinguish Bigalora as a more upscale pizzeria and Italian eatery.
I tried the crispy brussel sprouts appetizer here and it is phenomenal. I’ve never liked brussel sprouts before, but as my friend put it, they were «better than McDonalds.» It’s high praise for veggies, but I have to say that it’s completely true. I ordered the bacco sausage pizza and loved that as well. The pizza has a sweeter flavor to it because of the onions, but the sausage adds a subtle spiciness. These were two of the most popular items here, and I would highly recommend them as well.

This first time we went to Bigalora, on a Sunday afternoon, we had a great time. I wrote: «Traditional thin-​crust pizza as it should be. The key is Bigalora’s long-​rise dough combined with a very fast trip through a 900 degree wood fired oven. The result is a light, flakey, crisp crust with a bit of smokey wood flavor.» The pizza was indeed delicious, the ambiance was pleasant and the staff was friendly and helpful.
Then we went back on a Saturday night. This time, the noise of people trying to yell over each other just hammered at me while we were trying to eat, and to make it worse, they had music on the PA, which made people talk even louder. And the server mixed up our orders with the people next to us, which meant three of the four pizzas had to be remade. That should have at least earned us a small comp of some sort.
As for the food: The crust at Bigalora is excellent, and the baking is done perfectly, but with the exception of the Pizza Margharita, which has fresh mozzarella, they flood the pizzas with way too much of their mozzarella «blend,» though I suppose people who grew up on Little Ceasar’s like that. The pizzas also lack seasoning– they’re drizzled with a ton of cheap olive oil, and neither the sauce nor the pizzas have much in the way of flavor. We also ordered a calamari with marinara, which was bland. The squid rings were soggy, not crisp, and had no seasoning whatever, and the marinara sauce– the same thing they put on the pizzas– was almost tasteless.
The simple pizza– the margharita– is still a pretty good choice, especially for only $ 12, and they offer a large variety of interesting toppings, although some of the more intriguing ones I saw on my first visit (duck prosciutto, for example) are no longer on the menu– I get the impression that management is trying to cut costs. The basic pizza is still good, but they need to work on the quality of their basic ingredients.