Mani Osteria & Bar

This is, hands down, my favorite pizza in town and also my favorite caesar salad. Delightful atmosphere with white subway tile, wrought iron, and hardwood rounds out the experience.
The pizza – beautifully thin and crispy around the edges comes in so many delightful combinations. (Sorry, Chicago, this is not for you!) The arugula-​topped pizza is a delightful combination of pizza and salad, and the cippolini onions marinated in balsamic is a creative option that won’t disappoint. I recently tried the sausage and peppers, which had notes of sweetness and spiciness.
The arancini are tasty, but nothing out of the ordinary. I love the grilled calamari and the pickled tomatoes. Mega yum. And do enjoy yourself a caesar salad: just the perfect presentation of romaine tossed with croutons and feather-​like parmesan, topped off with a breaded and fried poached egg with a runny yolk! I just love it.
I am still not a fan of the desserts, so maybe just have another tasty cocktail.

What we ordered (be prepared for a hefty bill):
Margarita Pizza — This was actually the better of the two pizzas. Very enjoyable even though I didn’t pay the extra 5 dollars for the cheese scoops. Would order it again if I had to revisit. 4 stars.
Pistachio Pizza — Sooooooo much potential here for this pizza and confirmed by all the pictures on their Unilocal page. Except guess what — this pizza is super duper über dry. Being a Persian, I picked this place simply because I was so excited about this dish and also because these Persian nuts are God’s gift to mankind. To my dismay, I tried to get over the dryness of the pizza and focus on the flavor of the pistachio. But it wasn’t there. What a waste, I’m simply biting into texture and swallowing meaningless calories at a high-​end Italian restaurant. Negative stars.
Steak Tartare: Very interesting and unique dish — this was a plus to me. If you’re Arab, then you’re familiar with Kibbe Niyya. This dish is similar to that, except with bits of steak made into an Italian salsa — extra emphasis on tomato flavor, of course. Bread that came with it is nice too. Lots of high quality olive oil drenched in this dish. 4 stars.
Forget the name — it was a small plate of 3 fried balls covered in sauce — not meatballs though (I think): I actually really enjoyed this dish. It looked like an Indian dish but without the heavy spices. I’d definitely order this again. 5 stars.
Fries– it’s actually a potato patty covered in a delectable creamy sauce. Could have used more salt in this dish + slightly increase portion size given they’re made from potatoes which are relatively cheap. 4 stars.
Blackberry-​Ginger Spritzer: Ginger flavor wasn’t too strong, garnish was pretty. However, I would have liked to have some blackberry chunks swirling around in my drink, especially when I’m paying up for a non-​alcoholic drink. 4 stars.
Olives: comes free with every order. Super duper über salty. I personally liked the sole red pepper that came with it the most. Rating not applicable.
PS: food is brought out as it’s prepared. Also try their chili flakes and super spicy sauce. Extremely spicy for a guy who can tolerate spicy!
1 star overall because the main attraction I looked forward to all day turned out to be a disaster that I paid $ 16 for.

We came for a late dinner after a graduation ceremony, were hungry, and ordered three pizzas: MARGHERITA, BURRATA & BALSAMIC, and RED ONION & PISTACHIO. All three of us liked the latter the best; the other two pizzas were OK. Service was friendly. The place was crowded. I don’t think I will ever willingly come back, their interpretation of «thin crust pizza» is not to my taste. Until then, I remain an addict of a White pizza by Tomatoes Apizza (unfortunately they have no presence in Ann Arbor).

My new favorite brunch place. We ordered the waffle ($ 12) and the shrimp and grits ($ 14) — both were ridiculously good. The waffle is topped with blueberries, powdered sugar, a light whipped cream, and syrup on the side (optional). It was light & fluffy and crispy at the same time with just the right amount of sweetness. The shrimp and grits was the complete opposite in taste — very rich and flavorful. I don’t even like grits that much but these were a game changer.
If I were to rate Mani solely based on its lunch/​dinner menu I would give it a 4 or 4.5, but its brunch has completely won me over!

Four stars is the average Unilocal review, and I think that this rating is just about right. We stopped in for lunch and ordered two Italian Jobs (a small arugula salad plus one main course, chosen from a restricted list, for $ 14 — including tax), plus a caesar salad. The caesar came with a flash-​fried farm egg atop the romain lettuce; it was especially attractive looking. We all enjoyed our meals and then walked a few blocks over to Comet Coffee for some post-​lunch drinks. I’d come again any time.

Tried the pickled tomato appetizer and it did not disappoint! As soon as I tried it I told the others at the table that «the flavors blew my mind.» Just try it.

Great place for craft and flavor packed pizzas. Conveniently located in downtown Ann Arbor (meaning tough luck with street parking. Love their open kitchen. Our first visit, we were able to get seated near the kitchen and could watch the chefs do their magic with their wood-​fire sidekick.
Our favorites are the «Red Onion and Pistachio» followed by the «Arugula and Prosciutto» pizzas. We love the roasted pistachio on the pizza as it adds a rich nutty texture to the pizza. We usually pair these with a glass of sangria. We come here every few weeks and love their service and the ingredients always seem fresh. It can get pretty crowded on weekend nights but the staff has always been accommodating.
Better to come with 4+ people to try more pies. With 2 people, a pie plus an appetizer (my favorite is the brussel sprouts) is more than enough with a couple slices leftover for a snack later, but with more people, you can order at least two pies. Great place!

Good flavorful pizzas, but small and skimpy on the toppings. $ 16 for a 12 inch thin crust with half the toppings of a Domino’s for $ 6. You can rant all you want about fresh, organic, blah, blah, blah. It is over-​priced… period.
Over-​priced booze, appetizers, and the water is served warm. WTF.
Ann Arbor is filled with pompous places like this, so come, spend your hard-​earned money and feel cool like the rich kids.

Nice place. Pretty crowded. Their menu is small but all the items we ordered was delicious.
Definitely try the Arancini, it comes with a spicy nutty sauce. If you are a big group be aware the portions might be small for one order.
The pizza was fresh and not too cheesy or oily.(For oil lovers, they give you spicy oil incase you want to add it on your pizza — and YEAH it is spicy, so watch out)
The servers were nice and ofcourse the place is a little pricy. But worth trying it out.

The food was pretty good. A little pricey, but good
What did we order?
sausage and pepper pizza-​which was so delicious, would def order this again
Supreme pizza — good but would like to try another one
Octopus this was ok
Pork belly-​it was ok. Not sure if I liked the flavor
Mussels –very good. The sauce was amazing
Would I come back? Yes. Service was good and the food was worth it.

SO good. We just ordered a bunch of appetizers and split them to sort of create our own tapas, and it was a great meal. I highly recommend the white sangria too– they even put the wine-​soaked fruit in it, which let’s be honest is the whole reason to order sangria in the first place.
The pork belly was really good, although it’s a very fatty cut of meat, so fair warning. Still, it was so tender it literally just melted in your mouth. My personal favorite of our selections was the fried cauliflower, which came with these little candied bacon bits that were actual pieces of heaven. Amazing. My date’s favorite dish was the brussels sprouts, which were also really good and came in some kind of glaze. We also ordered the risotto balls, but neither of us really liked those and we didn’t even finish them. They were basically just deep fried pizza balls, which was boring and just generally disappointing. Still, it was a hell of a meal and I will definitely be back!

Mani is my favorite Italian restaurant and the best restaurant I tried in Ann Arbor! It’s been a while since I’ve encountered a ‘wow’ dining experience.
The pastas are out of this world. I’m never a pasta fan (too much carbs), but this is unlike anything I’ve ever had. Made in house, it’s soft, light and airy. The sauces are simple yet fresh and flavorful. The ravioli is light pillows filled with soft, braised beef, topped with fresh tomato sauce. Pappardelle bolognese and the linguine were good as well. We also tried the Carbonara — very strong in shiitake mushroom flavor, just a tad heavier with the cream sauce compared to the other dishes.
Beef Tartare — the best I’ve had. fresh beef, love the way it’s made with onions, capers, olive oil, parmaesan. perfect texture and flavor. Excellent paired with the crostini.
I also tried the white wine mussels, proscuitto balsamic salad, pizza and pannacotta which were great as well. But I highly recommend the pastas and beef tartare.

Mani has been on my bucket list as a graduating senior soon to leave Ann Arbor. Our waitress was super nice and gave many recommendations. I like the vibe of this restaurant. We would have loved to sit outside, but unfortunately this spot only has 4 or 5 tables– Ann Arbor real estate for you.
At a table of 3, we started the meal sharing the Caesar salad and arancini. The Caesar was delish, but the rissoto balls could have used a bit more romesco sauce. Another waiter also grabbed the arancini from our table before we were done with them. They were tasty over all. We then ordered 2 pizzas, one white and one red. We tried the Tartufo and the Supreme. I loved the Tartufo (because pizza+truffles=ahmazing). I wouldn’t order the supreme again. The green bell pepper was overpowering on this pizza.

Mani had been on my list for quite awhile. I was excitted when my friend had time to meet me for dinner.
The ambiance is extremely nice. We sat at the front of the restaurant so we could people watch.
The lunch/​dinner menu is small, and consists of thin crust pizzas, salads, appetizers and a few pastas.
We started with the Brussel sprout appetizer. It was good. Plenty of sprouts that were glazed with a honey mustard and grilled. They were served with almonds and roasted garlic. I’m not much of a sprout fan, but I enjoyed these, especially the charred ones!
They recommend splitting a pizza, so we shared the margherita. It was great! Crust was nice and thin and the sauce was very flavorful.
In addition to the margherita pizza they have plenty of pizzas with unique toppings.
They have a full bar. My friend doesn’t drink, so I didn’t I didn’t imbibe either, but I had a fantastic blackberry/​ginger splash which consisted of Barrets ginger beer, and homemade blackberry ginger syrup. It was fantastic! Not too sweet. Not too tart!
The restaurant gets full, fast! Make a reservation or come early!
I can’t wait to visit again!

[4.5 stars]
Here for brunch this morning. Classy looking little spot. Or waitress was a blond whose name may or may not have been Cory but she was great. Bottomless mimosas for $ 16, always nice. Pretty good brunch menu options — waffles, pancakes, egg scrambles. We all ended up getting the breakfast pizzas. They range from about $ 13 — $ 17 but are pretty sizable. I was full and took a quarter of mine home with me. I had the sausage and egg which was delicious. Had potato shavings on top that added flavor without overpowering the other flavors. Also two eggs cracked on top before it was put in the oven. I don’t usually like yolks and was a little skeptical about it, but it didn’t destroy the pizza like I thought it might. Really good place and everything everyone else was eating looked just as good as what we got. Would definitely come back again.

Went here for lunch recently and still a fan!
My husband and I split their lunch special for $ 14 which includes a soup or salad (from a list they offer) and then either a pizza or a sandwich. I ordered their seasonal soup which was their butternut squash soup and we split the Margherita pizza but asked for the burrata cheese on top. I was glad I got the soup, though. We normally get the arugula salad because it is so, so good (fresh arugula, mushrooms, shavings of parmesan in a simple lemon vinaigrette), but their seasonal soup sounded too good to pass up.
The soup almost tasted like it might have been curried, but that’s what made it so good. It was topped with crème fraise, crispy kale (or swiss chard) and then some nuts (I think pistachios). The pizza was delicious as always but adding the burrata made it SO good. Super soft, melty and more delicious than the usual mozzarella they put on it.
Still think this place is a little spendy, but it’s wood-​fire pizza and it’s downtown Ann Arbor!

I came here on a Sunday afternoon and was greeted by a very friendly waitress who consistently checked in our experience. The pickled tomatoes were delicious! It was my first time having such a dish and I loved the punch of juicy acidity alongside he bread, tapenade and cheese spread. So good. We chose the bacon and egg pizza which was actually better the next day heated up. I am definitely coming back to try more types of pizzas but I appreciated the experience we had. The waitress was very attentive and I liked the atmosphere of the restaurant.

Tip: always call 20 mins before to secure a spot. They don’t take reservations so make sure to call.
This is super conveniently located in downtown Ann Arbor. It has a very hip and chill atmosphere and is a big enough place to get you seated fast even if there is a line. (you can always get a drink at the bar while you wait)
I’ve been here a couple of times and can say that they make delicious thin crust pizza. I’ve never ordered something I didn’t like. If you’re looking to take your friend to a trendy place with a completely reasonable price this would be your spot.
I found out that they had Sunday brunch with u limited mimosas. That was life changing. Their breakfast pizza — yum. Polenta — to die for. Oh and did I mention the mushroom toast. Don’t forget to check out my pics maybe they will help you make up your mind for Sunday brunch

Three and a half stars for Mani. I’m rounding up because of the service and lovely vibe. It’s a solid Italian restaurant in AA. Three of us came for dinner and it was packed. We sat at the bar, which was fun ’cause we watched pizza-​making and general merriment in the kitchen. We started with the steak tartare. It was alright. I’m a tartare purist and was disappointed about the lack of gooey egg. For pizzas, we shared the Tartufo (fontina, black truffles, and egg). It was delicious and salty and just so gooood. The mushrooms on the pizza were on point. The other pizza, Red Onion and Pistachio (goat cheese, garlic cream, rosemary, chile flake) was good but not wow. Too much pistachio IMHO, which distracted from the other flavors. I definitely will be back, and am excited to try their pasta.

My last review was focussed on price but I’m updating it to 4 star because I CRAVE the burrata and balsamic pizza ($ 18) about once every 4 months. The burrata is so creamy and the balsamic brings all the flavour. I also really enjoy the pickled tomatoes ($ 12) with whipped ricotta and tapenade — they sell it as a «build your own bruschetta» and I love it!
Service can be hit or miss — not everyone shares their pizza (example– the burrata is all for me!!) so the timing is important.