Noble Pie – Calgary’s Best Pizza 2023?

Best Pizza in Calgary?

There are a ton of Calgary restaurants who are in the running for being the best pizza in the City. Noble Pie was a name that friends of King Calgary kept mentioning we needed to try. So we phoned up our finest foody friend and off we went to try to find this hidden away little gourmet pizzeria in the beltline.

The Best Advertising is a Good Location

The location of Noble Pie is either the best or worst thing about the place. It is tucked away near downtown back in an alley off 11th Ave SW Calgary, down in the Beltline area you might know as being near The Commonwealth or The Camera Store which has been there as long as I can remember. The entrance is quite literally around the building and in the back alley. This makes it a bit unique, a bit hard to find, and a bit quirky. Much different than most of the franchise restaurants which are located in every new subdivision on busy roads and in large modern commercial developments.

Quaint and Quirky Modern Restaurant

The entrance to the restaurant isn’t fancy, but the interior is nice and quaint. The kitchen is open to the seating area and the bar is in the center of the dining room. It isn’t a very large space and there are frequently patrons lined up to get a table at peak dining hours. When we arrived there was almost nobody there, but when we left there were a dozen people waiting for our table. We are down in this part of the city often, hitting up pubs or the Greta Bar Arcade.

Calgary Wine List Help Needed

The wine list at this little Calgary restaurant is short. A total of 5 wines, 2 of which are sparkling, and no reds at all on offer the day I was there. (Not sure if this is always the case or if the wine menu changes seasonally). Notably, the wines available didn’t seem to have any cohesive theme and none were ones I have sampled previously, they weren’t all Canadian or popular sellers or even recognizable award winners, so I cannot presume how they came up with the ones available or comment on if they are amazing. Maybe one of the more seasoned wine drinkers reading this can take a look at the list and give a better review on it.

Liquor and Beer

Other than wine, the beverage selection was also a very basic selection of atypical drinks. I had a Mexican Coke, which tastes much like the old Coke from your childhood back when they actually used real sugar in it, you can get it at any Wal-mart if you wish to try it. I enjoy the taste, but $5/can wasn’t a great price. The others in my group each tried a different beer on the list that they had never tried before, which they enjoyed but not enough to order a second one apparently.

Pizza, Just Pizza, Nothing but Pizza

The pizza menu caters to those who want quality over quantity, and the pizza selection is not extensive. The price for a pizza was typically $27, which is on the higher end for what most hungry diners would consider a personal pizza size. I did find it interesting that pizza was the only food item on the menu, no other options at all, not too many restaurants in Calgary go this specialized with their menu offerings. There was only 3 of us but we ordered 4 pizza pies because we wanted to try several of the flavours.

Calgary Restaurant Review

The pizza was okay. It didn’t really live up to the hype that I had been given about the restaurant, but it was alright. Super thin crust, good flavor, nice fresh ingredients on it, and quality and freshness was as good as possible. All 4 of the flavors were unique and delicious in their own way. One of my guests gave it a 5 star review based on the pizza taste alone. The rest of us, while we enjoyed the atmosphere of the place, scored the place a bit lower and definitely not our top pick for Best Restaurant in Calgary. (we will publish our choice in January 2023).

So….. What’s the Verdict?

The positives that I think make Noble Pie a popular choice with trendy downtown hipster diners is the cozy and quirky atmosphere, the peculiar and edgey back alley location, and the high quality of the Pizza. I totally get why some would love those things. The negatives for me personally are the location and back alley location, the short wine list absent of the most popular choices, the lack of any cocktail menu at all, no thick crust options on the pizza menu at all, and overall that pizza is the absolute only food option. I can imagine taking a group here and having at least one whiney friend who isn’t happy there isn’t other choices. Lastly, the price point of the place is above average. Overall, I agree it is a unique quality product and a nice place. I rate it a solid 4 star place, but not the Best Restaurant in Calgary for 2023.