Franco Manca, Northcote Rd | Brixton | Chiswick | Others

Brixtonites will be all too familiar with the name Franco Manca. Unofficially voted by foodies as London's best pizza year-on-year, this Brixton Market fixture was London's worst-kept secret for a long time. Indeed, the owners were surely missing a trick by maintaining just one branch and only opening at lunchtimes during the week. Supply was falling well short of the demand this place was attracting.

But fear not, branches soon popped up in Chiswick, Clapham Junction and Westfield Stratford and the doors stayed open into the evening. OK, so yes this is another quasi-"chain" restaurant that we have steadfastly steered clear of in the past, but this place is too good to leave out.

We could go on and on about how the sourdough base is left to rise for twenty hours before baking, or how the tomatoes are all sourced directly from Italy's Amalfi Coast and picked only during the months of July and August; but we would be doing the taste of these pizzas an injustice. You simply have to try these for yourself. 

The owners have managed to keep the Brixton Market atmosphere alive in all of its branches. Long, church pew-style seating and a strict no booking policy mean that yes, there are sometimes queues to get through the door; but once the smell from the great wood ovens has wafted through you will be salivating too much to notice the waiting time.

You won't want to spend all evening in here, and nor will the waiting staff allow you to as they rush to get customers through the door, but your short stay will be surprisingly calming and enjoyable despite the relative mayhem of the busy restaurant - making this the perfect place to begin a first date or meet for a quick after-work bite. We recommend wolfing down your pizza and cold glass of wine as fast as you can and heading onto The Draft House or The Goat to rest your full stomachs and revel in the beauty of this ideal relaxed date venue. You'll be pleasantly surprised with the price, too!