Franco Manca (pizzeria) – London, England (8/10)
Jun 14th, 2009 by admin
Background:
People seem to really enjoy the pizzas at Franco Manca in Brixton Market, South London and I’ve read many a rave review. I must therefore be one of the last food bloggers to make the pilgrimage. When little brother told me that he regularly eats at Franco Manca and Wild Caper, FM’s tiny delicatessen and bakery, I thought I’d tag along one lunchtime and see what they were feeding him.
First impressions:
The legendary queues were another reason for delaying my visit for so long. However, we timed it perfectly, arriving at 2pm on a Friday and seated within a minute or two. Even though my brother knows the waiters, I’ll have you know that there was no queue-jumping involved! Franco Manca is split into two small locations, one on each side of the covered market, with a small walkway between them, but there is just one queue. There are tables inside as well as outside and people share tables quite happily, in order to avoid a long wait.
Menu:
Everything on the simple menu is made with organic ingredients, from the flour to the toppings and the alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks. There are just six sourdough pizza options and one daily special (on the board), as well as a few extra toppings at 90p each. Little brother chose number 2 – ricotta from Alham Farm, Somerset, organic pork and mozzarella (no tomato) – £4.90, so I went for number 3 – wild mushrooms, garlic and anchovy (seasonal, subject to availability) – no cheese – £5.20. People all around us were tucking into their pizzas with gusto, and soon we were doing the same. I preferred the ricotta, pork and mozzarella one, but mine was lighter and probably a better choice for lunch.
According to Franco Manca, ‘the pizza is made from slow-rising sourdough (minimum 20 hours) and baked in a wood burning ‘tufae’ brick oven made in Naples by a specialised artisan. The slow levitation and blast-cooking process lock in the flour’s natural aroma and moisture giving a soft and easily digestible crust. As a result, the edge (cornicione) is excellent and shouldn’t be discarded’.
The verdict:
I can’t say whether Franco Manca’s pizzas are the best in London or not, as I don’t eat pizza often enough to be able to make that comparison. Fellow food bloggers will hopefully be able to help me out here with thoughts on this subject. However, I can say with confidence that the sourdough base was delightfully crispy, not too thick and doughy, not too thin and floppy (I don’t normally finish the crust, but none remained this time) and the two toppings that I did try were excellent. Next time, I’m going to add more extras on my pizza and ’super-size’ it up a bit!
Two pizzas, a large bottle of homemade lemonade, small salad and service charge came to a grand total of £15.70. Not bad at all for lunch in London, considering everything was organic, and I was stuffed for hours afterwards.
NB A few doors down is Wild Caper. It’s a tiny place with two communal tables outside where you can enjoy tea and a slice of cake or lunchtime soup, made fresh daily. They sell organic fruit and vegetables, cheese, Sicilian olive oil, sourdough bread and other delectable products. It’s well worth a visit after Franco Manca, and I couldn’t leave without picking up some pimenton and jasmine silver tip tea.
Click here to see the entire set of photos from Franco Manca and Wild Caper.
10 – Perfection, 9.5 – Sensational, 9 – Outstanding, 8.5 – Superb,
8 – Excellent, 7.5 – Very Good, 7 - Good, 6.5 - Above Average, 6 – Average
All the London restaurant reviews on World Foodie Guide
Contact details:
Franco Manca
Unit 4
Market Row
Electric Lane
Brixton
London SW9 8LD
http://francomanca.co.uk
Opening hours: Monday to Saturday 12-5pm
Helen Yuet Ling Pang @ World Foodie Guide
From the pictures I see, it looks like one good pizza and for the price – a steal! The combinations sound great. One complaint I have about a lot of pizza places is they follow the adage that more is better and pile so much on you cannot taste the individual ingredients. This place certainly looks like they showed restraint.
No, you are not the last blogger to make the pilgrimage – I am! And, to make things worse, I live a twenty minute bus ride away. Shocker! They always look so amazing that I can’t wait to try them – I want the anchovy one for sure. I know you don’t really drink but the one good thing about everyone else having been there is that I know not to try the wine!
Hurray, you’ve made it to FM
I love love love the pizzas there and wish I could go back again and again. Indeed what they do get very right is the pizza base, crispy yet spongy.
Great shots – are they from the new camera by any chance ?
OysterCulture – you’re right. With these pizzas, you can taste each ingredient (and yet they work very well in combination). And because everything is organic, it feels healthier too!
Helen – OMG shocker indeed! I can’t believe you and Chris haven’t been yet. When you go, don’t forget to pop in to Wild Caper as well…
kang – I know you love love love the pizzas there. These photos are taken with the old Cybershot W300. The first Leica D-Lux 4 photos will be in the upcoming Rasa Sayang post!
Helen Yuet Ling
Although I enjoyed my pizza at Franco Manca, I didn’t have a vastly life changing epiphany. Perhaps it was because it was an extremely cold day (my toes went numb, sat outside), I was hungover, and the white wine was absolutely shocking. I should give it another go!
Looks delicious & the quoted price is amazing, so hungry now!
I still haven’t been either Helen – it sounds like it is worth the trip and good tip about the timing – a late lunch could be the best bet!
So glad you made the trip. I do think these are the best pizzas in London, and unbelievably well-priced. Sitting outside in the cold, though, wouldn’t be nice.
I still am yet to visit too, it’s a bit of a trek, and I’m generally quite a lazy person, have heard nothing but good things so really must make the effort sometime soon. The dough seems worth the extra effort, from what I’ve read, I’m not sure that there’s anywhere in London that can compete
When it comes to pizza, I am easy to please. Either the #2 or #3 would hit the spot for me. A sourdough crust sounds delicious!
Lizzie – it doesn’t sound like you had the best of lunches! I went on a warm sunny day and it was nice to sit at one of the ‘outdoor’ tables rather than inside by the oven.
Thomas – the prices are very reasonable!
Ollie – me too! I can’t wait to go back and try the other ones.
Boo – oh, you also haven’t been yet. If it hadn’t been for my brother, I also wouldn’t have made it. It was worth the effort!
Tangled Noodle – why don’t you come over and visit?!
Helen Yuet Ling
I think I must have gone the day after you. Really enjoyed it (and your review). Beautiful, textured photos.
D – thanks! The pizzas really were lovely. I’m not usually that keen on them, but I liked these a lot. Can’t wait to try the other ones!
I’m always a bit wary of over-hyped places but FM hits the spot ! I recommend the no.5 with 2 types of chorizo – unbelievable value at £5.90. On the minus side, the red wine is a bit rough.
Sung – oh that will be the one I’d like to try next then! I have heard the alcohol isn’t so good there. I don’t know much about organic wines and how they compare to non-organic ones…
Helen Yuet Ling
I am Italian so I like to think I know my pizza and let me tell you this is some of the best pizza you will ever try.
Just as good as some pizza I have eaten in naples.
Well worth the visit but please note this place is only open for lunch!
admin Reply:
August 3rd, 2009 at 7:33 pm
chris – thanks for your recommendation, that’s good to hear from an Italian! I hope it’s clear in my review that it’s only open for lunch – I mention the opening times at the bottom. Looking forward to going back for another pizza soon!
Helen Yuet Ling
Last time I was there the girl told me that they didn’t know how to store the wine before and because it contained no sulphits it was very fragile and turned bad quite easily, but she said they had found a way to store it now so it was much better. I didn’t try the white, but the red was great – dark and deep and earthy.
admin Reply:
August 20th, 2009 at 8:24 pm
AS – thanks for feeding back this information, most useful!