Before I start this review, I would like to preface it by saying I live in the New York/New Jersey area (the land of plentiful, amazing pizza), so I'm used to have quite good pizza on a regular basis.
My boyfriend and I stopped into Franco Manca for dinner, as we were both drawn to the big letters saying "sourdough pizza" plastered on the walls inside the restaurant. I had wanted to try it, so we asked for a table. Right off the bat our dining experience started poorly because were sat at a very tight table. They need to either remove some of their tables, or at least rearrange them. I mean, our legs had to be squished against each other the whole meal.
The interior of the restaurant is quite pleasant, and we were seated next to a beautiful pizza oven, so at least the place has a nice and warm atmosphere.
Our server came up to us as soon as we sat down and asked if we were ready to order... I hadn't read a single thing on the menu yet so, of course we weren't? It's never good for staff to make the patrons feel rushed.
I ordered a basic margarita pizza and my boyfriend got one with ham, mushrooms, light sauce, etc.
When our pizzas arrived, I was astounded. They weren't cut into slices! I've never been to a pizza place that served whole, uncut pies. We had to awkwardly cut apart our pizzas, which was unfortunate since the middle of the pies were a bit soggy and tough to get through. I had to end up eating mine with just a knife and fork (a cardinal pizza sin). The fact that the dough was sourdough wasn't life changing either. And not such a great crust, it was mostly kinda doughy.
My side salad was also unfortunate, as there was barely any dressing, it was tiny and sad looking, and it was mostly just wet leaves.
I'm giving this place two stars instead of one because given the rest of the pizza options in the area, it looks better than most. Also the sauce on the pizza was decent, and I quite liked the interior. read more