Amano Pizza Bistro

I live a block away from this place, it closed Jan 16^th. They lost the lease and they are likely to be torn down to complete a large commercial lot that can be developed. 3 huge farts for «progress».

Great local restaurant. I eat there all the time. Called today to make a reservation and the recording said they lost their lease and they are closed. This was a great local restaurant with really great food, affordable wines, great staff. I hope they open somewhere else.

Wonderful for date night. Delicious pizzas, wine, and amazing tiramisu! Staff was great, even when we were the last couple to leave the restaurant for the night.

Saying goodbye to our facorite restaurant. Amano’s closes next week. We will miss this place. The food and wine never disappoint.

Had dinner date here recently and although my hopes were high, I was let down by this place. There was no server /​hostess to greet us at the door, we didn’t have any silverware available once we sat down, we had to wait 10+ min to order wine, and the food I ordered (chicken in Marianna sauce) was under-​seasoned, if at all, and there were two or three gnats or fruit flies that surrounded our table and nearly ruined our night. Bad service, mediocre food and awesome location let for a unimpressive letdown. Go somewhere else.

So the first and only time I have dined here was amazing. A friend and I shared an appetizer that was so go and rich it made me wonder if I had room for the entrée. Then we shared the Italian seafood stew, which the staff informed us was only served occasionally. I wish it was a permanent entrée it was that incredible. I will be going again tonight for my second try. Hopefully it will be as good as the first.

We loved this «off the beaten path» gem! A great authentic Italiano experience. My mother and I recently returned from 12 days in southern Italy and we both agreed that Amano was definitely on par with the cuisine we had on our vacation. Three of us went and were all very pleased with our orders. We shared the caprese and the spinach, walnut goat cheese salads; for entrees we had Linguini Carbonara, the truffle & mushroom orzo, and Brandy Fired shrimp with risotto & roasted vegetables. All were fabulous, with unique flavors and great portion size. We shared a bottle of Sangiovese and when I asked Tessa for the «less dry» choice between that and the Barbara d’ alba she suggested the Sangiovese and was spot on. And finally because we couldn’t decide (and couldn’t resist) we shared the crème brûlée AND the rum cake, both were exception, truly EXCEPTIONAL! Also Tessa (our server/​the owner’s daughter) brought us a bit of their homemade caramel (with yogurt covered pretzels mixed in) and it was to die for, yummm. The location is not in your typical «restaurant row» areas like Mill Ave, Scottsdale or North Phoenix so venture a little south and treat your tastebuds!

Third time now. Got wow’d the second time and again tonight. Great meal. Good fellowship sitting at the bar. No fuss, no muss, just a laid back time with some great nostalgic music.

Always have a great time! Staff is friendly the food is amazing and a perfect date night spot or hang out with the girls!

The crème brule is to die for… portions could be a little larger

This place is so awesome ! I want to sing their praises but hate to think I couldn’t always walk in and get some perfect food — no matter my mood.
Love, Love, Love this little joint!

Amano’s is really very good. We had a lovely dinner and glass of wine. Excellent service and food.

I am not sure why there are some really negative reviews of this place… Sure, its not a super fancy 5 star place, sure its a bit more expensive than Applebees, but the quality is unmatched in South Phoenix.
Great wine options, many of which are reasonably priced between 6.5−8 bucks for a generous pour. I don’t think they have a draft beer system though, which is unfortunate. I would also add that there is almost too much on the menu with the normal menu AND a lengthily list of specials.
When we first sat down, the waitress brought us «a taste from the kitchen» of focaccia (great taste, nice customer service!). Ordered the antipasto platter for a table of 4 (again, great service, we were about to order the large platter when the waitress recommended the medium platter for a party out size.) Nice selection of olives, pickles, cheese, and the best artichoke hearts I ever had. I liked the green chimichurri. My only complaint is the plate would be better suited with crusty bread instead of dinner rolls.
Ordered 2 pizzas to share for the table. Both were very good and had a great crunchy thin crust.
Skipped dessert this time, but again we got a «a taste from the kitchen» of the most AMAZING caramels with a salted cookie crumble on top. If this is any indication of how awesome the other desserts are, we totally missed out.
The bill came out to about 22 bucks a person including the appetizer, 2 pizzas, and 3 drinks and tip and tax. Looking forward to coming again to try the entrees and dessert.

Won’t go back… between the 4 of us, we got the bruschetta, the fried cauliflower, 3 pizzas, (the sausage one, the salame one, and the artichoke one), the pork tenderloin dish, the crème brûlée, and the chocolate dessert. The bruschetta topping was good, but the bread was way too hard and crispy… when you bite it all the toppings come flying off and the toast cuts up your mouth, as opposed to the nice grilled bread it should be. The cauliflower had a burnt taste about it… the pies looked like they would be nice n crispy, but instead were doughy n chewy :/​the salame one had good toppings, the other two not so much. My friend said he enjoyed the pork dish, I did not try it. The chocolate dessert was good, but the crème brûlée was not set, it was custard on top and soup underneath :/​probably because of the deep coffee mug it was cooked in… cute, but not practical.
I would not have bothered writing this review had the bill been about $ 50 less… feel kinda ripped off. All this being said, the waitress was very nice and bubbly, the food is just an unfortunate let down.

Best pizza in south Phoenix! We frequently visit Cibo and Pizzeria Bianco and this is a great alternative not to mention closer to home. No beers on tap which is disappointing but good beer selection nonetheless. Had the prosciutto and artichoke pizza which was delicious. Tiramisu for dessert was a perfect end to the meal.

Another great dinner at Amano, this time with my wife’s parents visiting from Minnesota. Both enjoyed the meal and the ambiance of the place and wondered how we find places like this.
They had a split dish of the Chicken Masala and a split Caesar Salad, my wife had the angel hair pasta and cherry tomatoes. I opted for the sausage pizza and we a enjoyed it immensely. Great spot and with 5 check-​ins here I guess you could say we like it a lot.

My son and I had dinner here last night. I love it that it is less than ten minutes from our house, it seems to be family owned and run, and we had tried it once before and I remembered it as being good.
We started with an antipasto that had a nice selection of olives, some artichoke heart slivers, a few small pickles, two tiny fingers of cheese, a slice of some processed meat, a few sliced cherry tomatoes. and some thinly sliced prosciutto. The prosciutto was so tough it was inedible and slimy, rather like chewing a thin slab of heavily salted, cold, old flesh. The entire arrangement was dribbled with a green sauce that smelled and tasted of anchovies. I thought I had read that it was meant to be a pesto and did mention to our server that it tasted bad and that I made pesto frequently and had never used anchovies. She seemed mildly taken aback and returned to tell me it was a sauce verde and did include anchovies and greens. I guess the fact that I had presumed it was a «pesto» when in fact it was a «sauce verde» excused it from being foul tasting.
When it arrived I had asked our server, wasn’t there some nice, crusty bread to go with it? Our server seemed utterly perplexed and after some discussion did return with three cold, dried pieces of bread that they use for their bruschettas. Really? The bread they use comes in packages of pre-​toasted slices? They don’t have ANY bread they can serve with an antipasto?
I only wanted a salad for my entrée and I ordered one from the specials menu that sounded inviting. It arrived on a smallish oval dish and was mainly pre-​packaged field greens with a reddish tomato based dressing that was not at all complementary in appearance or flavor. There were little clumps of seeds on the top that reminded me alarmingly of the bottom of our love birds’ cage that turned out to be «marinated mustard seeds». There were a few slices of palm hearts and at the bottom of the dish buried under the greens, a smattering of dried cranberries. There was not a thing to recommend in this salad. It was such an unpleasant eating experience! Really, unusual combinations are great, but they are supposed to TASTE good!
My overall feeling about this restaurant is that the chef and/​or owner wants a European feel and for people who come there to experience a fresh and unusual approach to dining. But really, the bottom line in preparing food is that it should TASTE good, not just be unusual. I lived in Europe for four years, two in Germany and two in France. My husband and I love to prepare and cook food. The last salad I made used red leaf, romaine, parsley, thinly sliced red and yellow peppers, scallions, papayas, radishes, toasted pepitas, crumbled raw, organic goat cheese, crumbled smoked maple bacon and a dressing of braised garlic saturated EVOO, red wine vinegar and splashes of lemon juice. It was delicious. The salad at Amano was — awful.

We went for date night. I liked how small and quaint the location is. You don’t feel the restaurant chain or corporate vibe.
As soon as as walked in we were greeted by the a staff and the waitress sat us. The tables had diverse group of people and there was a duo playing live music.
The waitress suggested a specialty beer for my husband and he went with it although it was a bit different than what he normally gets.
The food was delicious and have no complaints on the fake or quality. Biggest issue was and seems to be the trend is that the wait staff is very very slow to refill you’d drinks. My mouth was dry and I really do good they fix this as I would have given them a higher rating if it wasn’t for that.

Let’s keep this simple. I purchased a LivingSocial voucher. The intention was to invite my best friend, Tamra. I waited until that last day to use it and Tamra couldn’t make it. So I decided to head to Amano Pizza Bistro on my own. It was busy but luckily for me, I took the seat by the corner wall at the bar. Ordered a glass of Malbec and took in the atmosphere until it was time to place my order.
Salad was delish and the Italian Sausage pizza was amazing. I also ordered pasta (like that last thing I need is more food!) — delish as well. The restaurant was completely busy and staff were kept on their toes — yet I received such great service and attention. First time here but it won’t be the last. I look forward to my next visit. Cheers***

A good place to go! I have found they have good food and good service. Tonight I had the linguini in a red cream sauce with prosciutto. It was a littl
I would recommend that you give this place a try because I think you will enjoy it.
When you go in — tell them that Chris from Unilocal recommended you go there. They will have no idea who the hell I am but it might provide some interesting entertainment and a good laugh or two!
Enjoy!