London based sourdough pizza pioneers, Franco Manca have finally launched in Piccadilly Gardens following a much anticipated build up.  After trying Franco Manca ourselves down in London earlier this year, we eagerly accepted our invitation to the new Manchester branch for a first look/soft launch meal, ahead of the grand public opening on Thursday Sept 26th.

Long before Manchester boarded the Neapolitan pizza train, the original Franco Manca was the first UK pizzeria to offer sourdough pizza back in 2008, with all dough being made freshly onsite every day.  The Naples sourced recipe used dates back to the 18th century, and was first procured by the company's founder, Giuseppe Mascoli. 

Today, the menu sports seven permanent pizza options including meat, vegetarian & vegan, along with some changing daily specials, and an array of sides, salads, wines, and cocktails.

On our visit we sampled a variety of dishes including; the classic Margherita, topped simply with English Mozzarella, San Marzano tomato sauce and basil, which was a solid rendition of the Neapolitan icon which formed what pizza is today, and is always a benchmark of any pizzeria's quality level.

Next was the 'No 4'; a Franco Manca fan favourite, topped with just a little tomato sauce, roasted cured ham, wild mushrooms and a mix of mozzarella and buffalo ricotta.  This was flavourful with a substantial yet light dough which in all honesty could of done with an extra 30 seconds in that 450c oven, but to complain about that would be picky on opening night, especially considering the bursting dining room.

Prior to our pizzas we also got a taste a selection of starters including delicious and spicy lamb sausage with potato and mozzarella, quality charcuterie in the form of wild pig fennel salami and a lovely aubergine parm.

Amazingly we still had room for dessert and have to agree with our charming waitress; the Lemon and Olive cake is the stand out post pizza offering. We loved the northern nod on the dessert menu, which is aptly titled 'puddings'.

We have no doubt that based on a lot of positive sentiment for the brand, a generally good quality product and large footfall in the area, Franco Manca will be a great success here in Manchester, and will without doubt give our long standing Neapolitan-style pizza slingers something to think about.

To celebrate their launch for the next two weeks (Thursday 26th September – Wednesday 9th October 2019), all dine in customers can enjoy their delicious pizzas for just £5, which is the price of the first Franco Manca pizza all those years ago.  As an added bonus, Franco Manca have also pledged to help local communities during their launch period by donating to local homeless shelters, charities and food banks, in the form of one pizza for every pizza sold. 

Head down to Piccadilly Gardens and see for yourself why Franco Manca has been so hotly anticipated in Manchester.