Franco Manca

Name: Franco Manca
Address: 4 Market Row, London, Brixton, SW9 8LD, UK
Telephone: +44 (0) 20 7738 3021
Rating: 8

Italian Restaurant in Brixton

8 / 10 from 1 review

Address
4 Market Row
Brixton
London
SW9 8LD

Map

History

Telephone
020 7738 3021

Cuisine
Italian

Region
Brixton

Nearest Station
Brixton
0.07 miles

Website
www.francomanca.co.uk

Opening Summary
Monday: 12noon - 17.00
Tuesday - Saturday: 12noon - 23.00
Sunday: 12noon - 22.30

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Brixtonians have been rubbing their hands with glee ever since the arrival of Franco Manca, a cheap-as-chips organic pizzeria run by Neapolitan-expat Giuseppe Mascoli back in 2008. Accolades and awards have been added in increasing numbers thanks to the pizzeria's use of the best quality ingredients sourced by the owner. The original in Brixton has gone from strength to strength, with queues regularly extending outside and around the corner; further branches have opened across London with gusto, although rumours of a turf war with Pizza Express have been firmly laid to rest by Mascoli stating "We can open only six or seven outlets a year at the moment so as you can imagine it’s not feasible". Here's hoping though ;-)

Franco Manca Picture Gallery

All In London Review

Simple, carefully selected ingredients make the best pizza

Pizzas have undergone something of a renaissance in the last couple of years, or at least they have in London, with new pizza eateries popping up claiming to have the best slow-rising dough and the finest buffalo mozzarella. Franco Manca has been enthralling food critics since opening its first outlet in Brixton in 2008, offering of course the best slow-rising sourdough (left to breathe for at least 20 hours) which is then baked in a brick oven made by artisans from the spiritual home of pizza - Naples. Not only that, but they use very specific ingredients like tomatoes handpicked from Salerno and cured ham from Gloucester Old Spot pigs - recently awarded protected status by the EU - for their seasonal menus. So successful has their venture been that a second branch opened in well-heeled Chiswick in 2010, and a third is set to open in Stratford’s latest mecca of consumerism, aka Westfield.
We’re within the confines of Brixton Market however, which seems a million miles removed from the upmarket Chiswick High Street or the mammoth indoor shopping mall, as we find it by walking past fishmongers and shops selling cheap bric-a-brac; the décor is certainly more market caff than restaurant. The menu has just six types of pizza which look simple enough, with combinations of courgettes, ricotta, mushrooms, ham, and anchovies at ridiculously low prices (between 4.50 ad £6.90). As soon as our choices arrive we know we’ve hit the jackpot. Slices of Gloucester Old Spot Ham, wild mushrooms, creamy ricotta (made by the owner himself, Giuseppe Mascoli, and cheesemaker Lloyd Green) and mozzarella cover one of them; caper berries, black olives, salty anchovies, mozzarella and liberal sprinklings of oregano sit atop the other more piquant version. Both are huge, have a thin dough and very soft crusts, which for once must not be discarded. The best thing (aside from the price) is how tasty everything is despite such simple combinations - to think places like Fire and Stone smother their pizzas with caramelized onions, bacon, sour cream and roast potatoes and call them things like the “New York” to try and make them more interesting.

There may be little in terms of wine with two whites and two reds, along with Sam Smith’s beer and soft drinks, but why spoil a carefully selected menu with too many choices? And in keeping with the food, the Dolcetto and Cortese wines on offer are organic and made with a minimum of sulphur, imported from a small vineyard in Italy. A tremendous little place.

Reviewed by Leila
Published on Sep 7, 2011

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In an area that throngs with delectable eateries Franco Manca stands out. Located on Brixton Market, you can often expect a queue but it’s worth it for the reasonable prices, sourdough base on every pizza and the traditional wood oven.

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Great eats, on the cheap...

One of the co-owners of Franco Manca used to be chief executive of Pizza Express, and this mini-chain has a strict rule of ensuring their most expensive pizza is always 50p cheaper than the Pizza Express margherita. This means their generously-sized pizza with organic southern Italian tomato, Spanish dry cured chorizo and their very own mozzarella is only £6.95.