Franco Manca

Franco Manca isn't in the most romantic of settings but that's not what you go there for. You go to stuff enormous pieces of their unbelievably chewy, tangy, soft, delicious pizza into your mouth as fast as you can – and wash them down with gulps of perfectly paired organic wine or home made lemonade.

There isn't a huge amount of choice on the menu, and some pizzas even come – gasp! – without tomato or cheese, but their special slow-rising sourdough base goes amazingly well with some very well sourced toppings, like home-cured Gloucester old spot ham and organic pecorino from Somerset.

Service is pretty abrupt though – I guess with massive queues to get in even on a late Sunday lunchtime, the staff feel they don't particularly have to coddle their customers. When I asked for a dash of milk with my espresso (I know, BLASPHEMY) – I was told by the horrified waitress that “we don't DO milk.”

However, with some of the best pizza I've eaten outside Italy, and a bill coming to about £10 per person with a glass of wine, I'll humbly queue and drink my coffee black like everyone else.

Let's put Franco Manca in perspective with other eateries. We are talking about quality of product, no frills, the real thing and value for money – for this they get 10 out of 10. But I take 1 point away because of the difficulty in reaching it and the fact that it is only open Mon-Fri at lunchtime only. The various Pizza Express, Zizzi, Ask and so on pale into insignificance, with the highest vote, when compared to Franco Manca, being a meagre 3 out of 10. This quality is only found in the better pizzerie in Italy and if Franco Manca (or rather Giuseppe Mascoli, the owner) wanted to become seriously rich, he would open a series of joints everywhere and, most importantly, open the shops evenings and week-ends. But one cannot have all from life so let's call a sicky at work and enjoy lunch during the week!.
Federico Spadafora