I'll save you details on my first experience with British pizza, some 20 years back, in Manchester…read more Let's just posit that, as a general rule, I wasn't anticipating a good pie in the United Kingdom, period. Franco Manca blew away my terribly low expectations and managed to rank up there with some of the better pizza I've ever enjoyed.
A few basics, first. Lovely restaurant, much larger than it appears, good for groups in the back. The streamlined menu and seasonal specials amount to the selection of your average food truck: pizza, salads and sides, with great options for vegans/vegetarians, but you're here for pizza, that's your mission. Naturally, the beer/wine menu is simple as well, I enjoyed the Montepulciano. The crust on these sourdough pies are worthy of big smiles, soft and stretchy, a Neapolitan consistency. And because I could, I did: Described by our server as the "carb monster", I ordered the #3, simply because I really wanted to experience a pizza loaded with stilton cheese, potatoes and lamb sausage. And no, it wasn't great, but it wasn't bad, and it completely wiped away a terrible memory, 20 years back, of Manchester.