Tag Archives: Franco Manca

Pizza Places in London

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After a summer spent in Italy trying the very best pizza places, I was inspired to comb London for what is on offer for pizza loving Brits. The burger craze seems to be taking a much deserved break, making room for European fast food, and pizza is top of the menu. Quick, easy and with so many varieties and styles, it is clear why pizza is so popular all over the globe.

Pizza Pilgrims: After thrilling the streets of London with their pop-up pizza van, the Pizza Pilgrims (brothers Tom and James) have finally opened up a restaurant on Dean Street, smack bang between Jazz Pizza Express and Soho Joe’s Pizzeria! They are using all the precious knowledge and experience gathered on their Pizza Pilgrimage across Italy to present Londoners with tasty pizzas and a fun retro café to enjoy them in. After an hour wait, we were ravenous and really enjoyed the Salsiccia e Friarielli and Nduja pizzas. Yum.

Franco Manca: Now with five branches across London, enthusiasm for Franco Manca’s sourdough-based pizzas is growing at speed. They are made with the best tomatoes, cheese, meat and vegetables and the taste has a Mediterranean freshness about it. I thought my pizza was the best, number 6: tomato, organic cured chorizo (dry and semi-dry) and mozzarella (£6.95) – a soft and airy base topped with peppery chorizo, rich in flavour and blissfully luxurious.

Santa Maria: This adorable little pizzeria is located in Ealing and is always heaving with hungry locals. The traditional Neapolitan is cooked in the wood fired oven giving a lovely taste and crisp base. Often voted as the best pizza in London, this fiercely authentic little restaurant is worth seeking out. There are so many delicious choices, but the Sant’Anna is a firm favourite with regular visitors.

Homeslice: Another new fixture on the London streets is Homeslice, a passionate company who spent two years serving from a mobile wood fired oven in the courtyard of London Fields brewery. Located in lovely Covent Garden, this pizzeria is ideal for a shopping refuel. You can either have a mega slice (roughly 20 inches) for sharing between two or three people, or a half and half 20 inch of two flavours of your choice. They are extra thin and topped with intriguing and wonderful toppings like pork belly, chimichurri and smoked onion… mmmmm.

Pizza East: Each of the Pizza East venues has an industrial but charming feel, providing a lovely place to relax and feast. I have been meaning to visit this modern pizzeria for a while and was glad to finally tick it off my list after eating at the seriously trendy Portobello branch. The place was very busy, and I observed the obvious enjoyment around me. Pizzas are piled high with vibrantly fresh ingredients, but be warned the prices are ludicrously high. We shared the Spicy sausage, mozzarella and broccoli and the Aubergine with tomato, buffalo mozzarella and pesto, and enjoyed the flavours but not the bill!

Pick your pizzeria of choice and gorge on Italy’s finest contribution to the British restaurant scene.

Franco Manca, Chiswick

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As a Chiswick resident I have always been intrigued by Franco Manca’s renowned pizza. The restaurant, which also has outlets at Brixton Market and Westfield Stratford, is filling a gap in the market to provide traditional artisan sourdough pizzas at very reasonable prices.

The atmosphere encourages guests to relax and unwind. Diners sit around the open kitchen, watching and smelling the cooking. Numerous friends have recommended this rustic and delicious pizza to me and I was delighted to be finally trying the Franco Manca food.

The Spring menu starters are simple and effective, and are served in cute dishes. Baked aubergine is layered with tomato and organic mozzarella, each component perfectly balanced and seasoned. My guest tried the Baked Gloucester Old Spot sausage with pecorino and tomato… it was wholesome and tasty though he ending up stealing half my starter – I always choose best. It became apparent very quickly that this restaurant puts a real emphasis on using the best local produce and organic ingredients. The recipes are simple but lovingly prepared which is shown in the high quality of food.

Our white wine was quaintly served in glass beakers, though I was a little disappointed with the lack of bottle cooler, a light and fruity bottle of organic white, refreshing and ideal on a breezy late summer evening. The pizzas are made with the best tomatoes, cheese, meat and vegetables so the taste has a Mediterranean freshness about it. I thought my pizza was the best, number 6: tomato, organic cured chorizo (dry and semi-dry) and mozzarella (£6.95) – a soft and airy base topped with peppery chorizo, rich in flavour and blissfully luxurious. We also ordered number 4 – topped with Gloucester Old Spot ham, mozzarella, buffalo ricotta and wild mushrooms. This was a combination of ingredients that worked really well. I found the pizza bases a little on the thick side, but then again they need to be quite sturdy to hold the generous toppings. There is little choice at Franco Manca, no Calzone is on offer and variations are limited… I prefer this limitation as I find choice too stressful but can see some visitors being disappointed with the lack of variety.

Italian desserts are irresistible: my tiramisu was divine, light and fluffy cream, addictive coffee soaked sponge and chocolate… too good to leave unfinished. The ice-cream was nice too but a little bland in comparison with my star pudding.

A good local pizzeria is a special find, and I feel lucky that Chiswick has such a winner on its high street.

Visit the Franco Manca website here for more information.