Restaurant Review: A Heavenly Spread: Fine food for friends & family at Franco Manca

Franco Manca has made a name for itself over the last few years as a major player in the London pizzeria scene, overtaking many heritage and household name restaurant chains as the go-to place for a pizza with friends and family. This rise can be explained by a few simple facts: they do the simple things very well, from their signature sourdough, to their hand spun bases, to their authentic stone ovens. As a result, Franco Manca has truly mastered the classics.

The restaurant got its start as Franco’s, an independent and much-loved neighbourhood pizzeria that was opened in Brixton Market during the 1980s, and soon became a popular hot-spot for locals. With queues often around the corner, before long the blossoming business was required by popular demand to open a second location. The rest, as they say, is history. Fortunately, Franco’s original location remains there to this day, serving as a piece of living heritage and testament to their philosophy of freshly made sourdough pizza.

This tradition can be tasted in every bite of their classic pizzas, from the organic tomato, mozzarella & basil margherita, to the roasted cured ham, mozzarella, ricotta & wild mushroom - both firm fan favourites. But, explore further afield on Franco’s menu, and you get a real sense for the passion, the love, and the regional expertise that forms the foundation of its tried-and-true menu. It was on this tasting journey that TheFork set out on, to learn the true ingredients behind the success of this icon of Italian cooking.

This pizza pilgrimage took us to Franco Manca’s beautiful Aldwych location. Well-placed in London’s famous theatre district, we took our seats and welcomed our opening act. Two beautifully laden sharing platters, the first made up of succulent cold-cuts - prosciutto, salami and bresaola along with rocket salad, and secondly a vegetable medley of bocconcini, Kalamata black olives, grilled artichoke, dry San Marzano tomatoes, roasted courgettes and piquillo peppers - both being served with toasted Franco Manca sourdough bread. Playing a supporting role to this divine double-act was the Burrata cheese - like a softer, fluffier form of Mozzarella - that was served on a crispy sourdough base topped generously with spicy, honeyed N’duja.

Every great play has its beginning, middle and ending, and with the next dish, we were fully into the meat of the action. Two of their best pizzas were brought to us, freshly hot from the stone oven. The first, a classic in the form of organic tomato & mozzarella with cured natural and Iberico chorizos, with a tasteful level of heat that certainly bought the drama. Alongside it, something a little different. Sourdough base with a traditional halloumi cheese that complemented roasted courgettes, mozzarella and marinated baby plum tomatoes with mint, and given an extra, optional layer of Italian flavour through Tuscan pork fennel sausage.

As though this wasn’t satisfying enough, we knew that this saga would close out with a rousing ending. We mustered our appetites for another wave of decadence in the form of dessert. Classic Italian Tiramisu arrived in an aesthetically pleasing stack of fluffy, creamy, coffee perfection, sprinkled in a delicious dust of cocoa that tasted very natural, giving the perfect bite of bitterness to the dessert’s sweetness. This was accompanied by a refreshing Affogato, a delicious scoop of ice cream with an espresso shot for you to pour over. The resulting concoction is a rich, tantalising and cooling entropy of flavours as the hot coffee mixes with the iced vanilla.

Giving a toast to this masterful performance, we raised glasses of Amaro - a pleasing little aperitif courtesy of our welcoming maitre d’, Domenico. We said a thumping cheers and drew the curtain on our three courses of perfect pizza theatre. The passion of Italian cuisine, and the spirit of Franco Manca’s founding chef Franco, runs through every bite of their fresh and flavourful menu. Salute!

BOOK Franco Manca, Aldwych