This is said quite often on London food blogs but this time I’m sure it’s true: I think I must be the last food blogger to make it to Franco Manca. I’ve just not found my way to Brixton market to try their pizzas, made with their renowned slow-risen sourdough. Last weekend though, this famed pizzeria opened a second branch on Chiswick High Road, only a short bus ride away from us. We visited on Tuesday evening.
There was a mix of smaller tables with benches for four and larger communal tables – we sat at the end of one of these, right by the beautiful tiled wood burning oven. The tables were set with the menus as placemats and cutlery and napkins were all bunged into big tins in the centre. I already liked the casualness of the place; service was friendly and eager to please. What struck me were the prices – they’re significantly lower than most of the well-known pizza chains and also cheaper than Rossopomodoro. And most of their ingredients are organic, with a lot of the non-perishables brought over from Italy and the fresh ingredients sourced locally. How do they do it?!
We started with a bottle of their organic homemade lemonade (£3.60 for a large bottle) and some filtered water (complimentary). Their lemonade was an odd colour – no lemonade I’d ever had was the colour of…orange squash. I think they must use golden caster sugar or some other more raw sugar for their lemonade to be this colour. It was refreshing and not too sweet but not lemony enough for us.
To offset the carbs we’d be consuming, we’d ordered a small salad (£1.90) on the side. This arrived before our pizzas: lettuce, tomato, cucumber, mint, alfalfa sprouts all in a honey mustard dressing. This was actually quite pleasant and we made short work of the bowl. Their menu indicates that salads do change based on the seasons and market availability.
A number 4 for me: tomato, garlic, oregano, capers, olives, anchovies and mozzarella (£6.20). I started cutting a slice out and as my knife went through the crust, the surface started making little crispy, shattering sounds. Brilliant. The tomato sauce was very flavourful and all the toppings delicious and just salty enough. The centre of the pizza did go a little soggy due to the sauce and cheese but it was something I’ve encountered before – not sure how to overcome this while keeping the crust extra thin (How do the pizzerie in Napoli do it?). Bottles of very moreish garlic oil and chili oil were set on the tables and made for excellent crust dipping.
For Blai, the meat special of the day: pancetta, rocket, wild mushrooms, parmesan, mozzerella (£6.90). This was a tomato sauceless (aka white) pizza, which was actually fine with me this time. I felt like I didn’t miss the tomatoes at all – the toppings were all so rich and flavoursome. The pancetta was sliced so thinly and became crisp after baking while the wild mushrooms were all fresh (not tinned!). These pizzas were excellent and I think some of the best Neapolitan style ones we’ve found in London (and possibly the cheapest!).
Two things would make this place even better: 1. Fritti like they do in many Italian pizzerie and 2. Dessert. But what they are doing, they’re doing very well so please don’t change that!
Franco Manca
144 Chiswick High Road
London W4 1PU
(Oy, Franco Manca! You’ve got to update your website with your new branch information!)
Fri, 18 Dec, 2009 at 21:40
Nah, I’ve never been to Franca Manca!
Fri, 18 Dec, 2009 at 22:30
I love neopolitan style pizzas, those look delicious!
Sat, 19 Dec, 2009 at 14:08
love the pizza, and w chili oil, it’s just the ticket.
Sat, 19 Dec, 2009 at 17:29
You aren’t the last – I haven’t been either!
Sun, 20 Dec, 2009 at 20:14
Another to add to the “to-visit” list! I just couldn’t take the thought of queuing up for pizza so this Chiswick branch sounds good.
Mon, 21 Dec, 2009 at 12:30
Wow – another branch? & open in the evening?
What I love about Franco Manca (well in fact one of many things) is that in Brixton you can have a delicious pizza in the knowledge that less than 2 minutes away is a Pizza Hut that’s far more expensive and not nearly as nice.
That’s what great restaurants are meant to be – great in all areas, including value!
Mon, 21 Dec, 2009 at 16:40
I haven’t been to FM yet…. I’ve been meaning to go for a long time but, having lived in and around Brixton, I am not keen to rush back. Although that pizza looks fantastic so I will probably be going very soon, thanks Su-lin!
Luiz @ The London Foodie
Mon, 21 Dec, 2009 at 19:16
I went to Franco Manca in Brixton but when I was a civvie not a blogger. The only thing I found fault with was the organic red wine. It was the roughest wine I’ve tasted for a long long time.
Tue, 22 Dec, 2009 at 09:55
I found FM in Chiswick enjoyable but was troubled by a few things. I too encountered the “orange squash” lemonade which I found far too sweet and the pizzas were far too salty, not to mention the foreign object I found. The pizzas are good, there is no denying it, but for me, the Brixton branch still has it at the moment.
Thu, 24 Dec, 2009 at 18:31
The white pizza, in particular, looks delightful! Even in the depths of winter, when rich, dark flavours appeal most of all, this makes me crave a pizza pig-out!
Sat, 26 Dec, 2009 at 21:21
kavey: Now it’s twice as easy to try it!
foodhoe: They are excellent!
shayma: But still no Roman pizza in London! Boo!
Foodycat: As I said above, now twice as easy to try it! If you’re around the area, do try it!
Wild Boar: I went again just before Xmas and it’s still quite easy to get a table! A few more customers though… they need to update their website.
Dan: There’s a Strada and Pizza Hut and Pizza Express nearby and I bite my thumb at all of them! And they’re all more expensive too, I think.
Luiz: Well, we’re visiting in January!
Mr Noodles: Phew – good thing I didn’t drink the wine!
tehbus: Yeah, I don’t think I’ll be having the lemonade again but I went back last Tuesday and it was still excellent.
Nightwol: I had another white pizza (again a meat special) on my last visit. They’re so good.
Fri, 1 Jan, 2010 at 22:26
Today, we went by pure chance to Franco Manca in Chiswick… found the venue very cosy, stylish and with very reasonable prices. We tried the lemonade (nice taste, strange orange squash colour) and the complimentary filtered tap water plus a nice glass of dry Italian white. The salad was freshly prepared by the waiting staff (!) almost in front of us…very fresh a little coarse in the leaf cutting. Unfortunately we had to return both pizzas (the chorizo one and the ‘neopolita’) despite the topping being nice and fresh and the size perfect, there was something wrong in the process of cooking the dough in the wood oven…it was raw on the inside and unpleasantly burnt in the outside and underneath. I don’t think we are fussy costumers but this time we had to say that we were not happy to pay for the pizzas. Manager was cool about it and did not charge at all. We are aware that they are only a few weeks running the restaurant there plus today was new year’s day so we’ll definitively give them another chance soon.
Mon, 19 Apr, 2010 at 13:50
We went a few days ago and I agree totally the pizza base that everyone seems to be raving about was nothing more than charred play-dough or overworked chewing gum. We were SO disappointed after all the hype. The pizzas might look authentic and the toppings are great but if you cant get the dough right don’t bother!
Sun, 17 Jan, 2010 at 00:49
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Sun, 24 Jan, 2010 at 16:22
vic: If you return in a week or two, they’ll have desserts and already they’re offering some starters. I had a lovely burrata the other day. Hope your pizzas are faultless the next time!
Mon, 22 Feb, 2010 at 14:02
[...] Su-Lin of the blog Tamarind and Thyme visits the new Chiswick outpost of legendary Brixton pizzeria …. Homemade lemonade is ‘an odd colour’ but refreshing nonetheless, while cutting into [...]