Franco Manca Pizzeria, Brixton, London
Since opening in 2008 few restaurants in London have created as much buzz as Franco Manca. The first pizzeria in London to really deliver a quality Neapolitan style pizza, it is obvious the people behind the place care about the food they are serving and unlike other pizza places in London, here the emphasis is on quality not quantity. Always busy but worth the wait, this is without a doubt the best place for pizza in London.
Bringing a true taste of Naples to London, Franco Manca is as original as they come. Using the traditional wood-fired oven method of cooking, the pizza is cooked in under a minute due to temperatures of over 260°C. As a result the base remains soft and chewy on the inside but crispy and charred on the outside. The same goes for the toppings, you can still taste the milk in the mozzarella and the tomatoes taste just like they did when they came out of the can.
The menu is simple, there are only six pizzas to choose from with additional specials that change on a weekly basis. All the ingredients are sourced from the finest producers across England and as a result everything tastes every bit as good as the pizzas you will find in Italy.
The restaurant itself is very simple, there are shared tables, beakers for the wine and the staff are always very friendly and extremely efficient. This means despite long queues especially at weekends, you will never be waiting for too long. The price is extremely reasonable too, a marinara costs £4.50, a margherita £5.50 and the most expensive pizzas are around £7. The fresh organic lemonade is excellent too and goes particularly well with the spicy salami pizzas.
Winner of the best Cheap Eats category in the 2008 Time Out Eating & Drinking Awards, Franco Manca has been so successful they have already managed to open a second, much bigger restaurant in Chiswick on the high street and if you want to avoid the queues and the busy atmosphere, I would recommend going here instead.
Franco Manca
Cost: £10pp
Address: 4 Market Row Electric Lane, Brixton SW9 8LD
Website: Franco Manca
Open: Mon-Sat 12pm-5pm
We went straight from Heathrow in April 10 because we heard nothing but raves. It was some of the worst pizza we have ever eaten. If I would attach a photo you would laugh just based on that alone. The pizza was tasteless and had the texture of wet cardboard. After eating Una Pizza Napolitana in NY and beleiveing Anthony’s pizza to be the best in the USA we really wanted to love Manca. Going to Rome and Naples o Monday to check out the scene there