Mani Osteria & Bar

Mani Osteria & Bar is a fantastic restaurant in downtown Ann Arbor. This review is long overdue, as I've been there several times since moving to the area. Each visit was enjoyable, with friendly and energetic servers. The bartenders were lively and even crafted a surprise cocktail for us.The food is excellent! I'm a pizza lover, and this place serves thin, wood-fired pizza that is simply delicious. We've also tried the pasta and several appetizers, and we have never been disappointed. Overall, it has a great atmosphere and remains on our shortlist of favorite restaurants in the area.

They don't take reservations here, we went on a thursday night and only had to wait about 25 minutes, for three people, which was great. I have heard mixed things because of the no reservation policy so if you can get in definitely take it. We sat outside, which I would recommend if the weather permits, otherwise the inside is very nice. We started off with the arancini and the meatballs. Both were great but would recommend the arancini over the meatballs; they were nothing too remarkable. We then got the arugula and porsuitto pizza, carbonara, and seafood pasta. The pizza was so good and served with spicy red pepper flakes and hot oil, for sure ask for the oil. The carbonara was good but a little too egg yolky so I would skip this. And the seafood pasta was a special, I believe, but if available I would recommend. So many of the pastas sound great that I would be comfortable and excited to explore those as well. Would go back and would recommend!

This place doesn't take reservations, so there was quite a wait, though we just walked around until they texted us. I requested an indoor table, they gave us an outdoor table at first, but were accommodating when we said we would wait for the next indoor table. The host staff were pretty friendly overall, as was our server. And the food all came out in a very timely manner. This place is not big on atmosphere, it's like a crowded, noisy bar. It's beyond lovely or boisterous, but it's really more about the food anyway. The arancini were good, the Brussel sprouts were excellent, and the pasta alla vodka was good too. The focaccia was not really focaccia, more like square, regular Italian bread. (Faux-not-cia?) Even my daughter whose favorite food is bread, barely touched it; it seemed kind of stale or reheated. But the whipped eggplant was mercifully served with pita instead. The arugula salad was fresh, but was bland without the prosciutto, which was an add-on. And they needed something to cut the bitterness of the arugula. Candied pistachio would have really elevated the salad. Instead they chose to put whole pistachios on the pizza, under the cheese, so it's a really weird textural surprise when biting into it. I assumed they would chop up the pistachio to top the pizza with, or make a pistachio pesto or something, but no, just whole pistachios for you to choke down. The Pizza Margherita would have been fine, but the crust was just not up to par, on either pizza. It was someone both charred and limp. You could just tell the pizza was not made by an expert. The oven was most likely too hot, and/or all the charred bits from pizzas past were not cleaned away, so it made for a really terrible texture to the crust. Definitely some hits and misses, but if they can't get Neapolitan pizza right, it's hard for me to want to go back.

Mani is a popular Italian spot located in downtown Ann Arbor. We arrived on a Friday night to a line out the door, but we were very luckily seated immediately! The restaurant has outdoor and indoor seating, and vibes were overall lively and fun! For cocktails, we tried the white and red sangria - personally, loved the white sangria as it was very refreshing. Had arancini and focaccia for apps which were yummy. We shared a pizza and a pasta - would highly recommend their pizza. We ended the night with espresso martinis, which are always a crowd favorite. Loved this for an Italian dinner!

Picture it...mid week, on the road, over a hour from home, it's 7pm and you're hungry. Rolling up to Mani was the tastiest most satisfying, on a whim stop we have ever made! As we entered we were warmly greeted at the hostess stand and seated immediately. We opted for outdoor seating as the strip was busy and we thrive on that sorta thing. Their indoor seating seemed adequate as well. We were seated at the last 4-top and considering we were on pavement, it was quite comfortable. Our waiter was kind and patient as we asked our questions to ensure we made thee best selection. We decided on the Carbonara and Cipollini. Every bite was better than the last and we were baffled, being the foodies that we are, that we hadn't intentionally sought out this place before. This one meal will bring us back to try more things very soon!

I haven't been to Mani Osteria since 2017 and I have heard their pizzas are the best in the area. Getting a table is pretty hard during dinner time since it's a popular restaurant. My friend and I ended up getting take out this past Sunday dinner, and the quality of the food was still pretty good.TARTUFO - 22Tartufo is one of their most popular wood-grilled pizzas and it's lots of mushrooms, fontina cheese, hints of black truffle and an egg? Great combination. I thought the pizza was so good, and lots of that earthy mushroom flavor. Fontina was a great cheese pairing. I wish the egg was better spread throughout the whole pizza (only two of our slice had egg), but that's my only complaint.CALAMARI - 14This was OK. The calamari was very thin so most of the time I felt like I was eating breading and not a whole lot of squid. The aioli and marinara sauces were great and made the calamari tastier (as it is quite bland on its own). Overall, meh.Again, solid pizza. I'll just be getting different pizza options the next time I'm back. And I'll for sure dine in next time!

My boyfriend and I have been loving Mani recently! It is our favorite date night restaurant. The staff are friendly and we like to get drinks at the bar while we wait for a table. The espresso martini is the creamiest and most delicious in A2. Our favorite apps are the baked goat cheese and shrimp scampi. For mains, the chicken parm is a must and a pizza! Pro tip: get a side of lemon aioli to dip your pizza in

This place was fantastic and the hour long wait on a Friday night was a dead giveaway! Fortunately, downtown Ann Arbor is such a walkable town, killing that time was a breeze!The restaurant is a locally owned family-friendly Italian restaurant, serving wood-fired pizzas, handmade pastas. The decor is simple and warm promoting a welcoming ambiance. Service was great, the food was amazing and also very reasonably priced. I would highly recommend this spot to anyone visiting Ann Arbor, you won't be disappointed!! This NYC born/ Las Vegas transplant foodie was very pleased

First time here. Exceptional and very friendly service. The winter soup and the Carbonara was tremendous. I could have just had the soup and been satisfied. A short time later I couldn't get enough of the main course. Truly superb. The downside? It's cold! The owner needs to come and sit at the bar or at a table near the stairwell railing, and try to enjoy a great meal with cold air wafting in (front doors) and up (from the stairwell) while he/she eats a great meal. Fix it! If ski resort restaurants can figure it out so can you! You got this

Food was 10/10 everything we had was excellent, including the expresso Martini which is served ice cold! We started with the BAKED GOAT CHEESE with SPICY POMORODO, PARSLEY, CHIVE, GARLIC TOAST, one the best appetizers I've had ! Followed with the Winter Soup, which was surprising another favorites as far as soups go, incredibly good!! And then we each had an pasta dish, WOOD-FIRED BAKED GNOCCI served with red sauce and baked. and the TOMATO VODKA (not pictured) Have already made reservations to try more menu items! Smaller restaurant with fewer selections which allows for better food quality