Pizzeria Franco Manca 4, Market Row, Electric Lane, Brixton London SW9 8LD
Reviewed on Saturday 16 May 2009 lunch time
Pizzeria Franco Manca
This was the third attempt to get a lunch at Franco Manca and we were finally successful! The first time we tried to go there was on a Sunday and this place is closed on Sunday because it is within Brixton Market (closed on Sunday). We managed to eat at the Ship Tavern then. The second time we went on a Saturday for 12:30 pm and the queue was so long that we did not have the patience to wait and instead discovered a new Japanese restaurant called Ukai Sushi which was good. This time we decided to camp there Friday night go there early on Saturday to be sure to avoid the queue so we managed to get there for 11:20 am. The pizzeria was already open and doing preparation, but not yet ready to accept clients. They told us to come at 12 when they formally open. We walked around the market area (watch your wallet…) and came back to the restaurant at 11:40 where we saw people seated! We jumped quickly on the few available seats to be certain to get one. We had to wait until 12 when they formally took everyone’s order. If you wish to avoid the queue, come early too because at 12 there was already a queue. When we left at 1, the queue was long enough to go to the street (see photos below).
The menu is quite simple: you have the choice between 6 pizzas and there is also a pizza of the day. We asked for the pizza of the day and a calzone. As drink we had the beer (Hepworth organic 330ml – £1.90) and a glass of red wine (Organic Dolcetto – £1.40 for 125ml but I think it was more 250ml than 125ml!). Franco Manca is known for their sourdough pizza base: “The pizza is made from slow-rising sourdough (minimum 20 hours) and is baked in a wood burning ‘Tufac’ brick oven made in Naples by a specialist artisan. This oven produces a heat of about 500 degrees c (930 degrees f). The slow levitation and blast-cooking process lock in the flours natural aroma and moisture giving it a soft and easily digestible crust. As a result, the edge (cornicione) is excellent and shouldn’t be discarded” as they explain on their menu.
Franco Manca is not your typical restaurant: in fact, it is more canteen than restaurant. Think paper serviettes, long tables, seating according to how many will fit (and you might have to get up partway to let someone in or out), and choose-your-own cuttlery from a tin in the centre of the table. One glass tumbler per person, to hold whichever drink you choose. So its as basic as you can get. Then there is the setting to consider – France Manca is inside Brixton market. In fact, it occupies small sites on both sides of the main alley, so there is a constant stream of people passing through. 2 metres away is a fishmarket – and yes, you do smell it. Sitting in the aisle of a market, you’re open to all the sights, smells and temperatures (no heating here). So is it worth coming? Read on and decide for yourself.
The pizzas were excellent! I really like when the base is crispy on the outside and slightly burnt while being still soft inside. For the Calzone the sour taste was a little strong but with the pizza of the day it was fine. We were not too keen on the drink. The beer was ok, but it could have been cooler. On the bottle they say to serve it at 5° and I believe it was warmer than that. As for the glass of wine, it tasted a little like cheese at the beginning and then it was ok (and there is no such thing as a wine glass here). It would be nicer to have more choice even if it would be more expensive. After the pizzas we got two espressos (£1 each). They were really tiny but excellent. One downside is the proximity of a fishmonger next door and we could smell fish from time to time depending on the direction of the wind. Since the restaurant is on both sides of the main alley in the covered part of Brixton market, it might be better to choose the side opposite the fish store – if you can.
Pizza of the day
Wood burning 'Tufac' brick oven
Glass of wine and organic beer from Hepworth & Co
Pizza Calzone
The two pizzas, and you can see the chilli oil
Getting busy...
The queue going to the street at 1 pm!
Cost and conclusion: for £16 (service charge not included automatically to the bill – we like that) the lunch was excellent. It is not just good value for money but it is also good in absolute. Until now our best pizzeria was the Rustica in Richmond (especially their Buffalo pizza) but Franco Manca is challenging it well. The two are pretty different by their surrounding (Rustica is in Richmond, Franco Manca is in Brixton market…) and setting which is reflected by the bill (almost half price here) but they share one thing in common: quality pizzas! The service was friendly and efficient. We will be back of course.
Italian restaurant and pizzeria Donna Margherita 183 Lavender Hill London SW11 5TE 0207 228 2660
Reviewed on Wednesday 13 May 2009
Italian restaurant Donna Margherita
We noticed this restaurant on the way to Clapham Junction after going to Ukai Sushi. They had some articles saying they were the best pizzeria in London displayed on their entrance so we were curious about it. We returned to eat a couple of days later. It was too busy at that time to get seated inside so we ate in the conservatory next to the footpath. It was becoming cold (it was after 8:30pm) but they put the heaters quickly and they were quite efficient We ordered two pizzas: a Capricciosa (Tomato, mozzarella, ham, artichoke, black olives, olive oil, parmesan and fresh basil – £8.75) and a Pizza Donna Margherita (Cherry tomatoes, buffalo mozzarella, olive oil and fresh basil – £9.10). As drink we had two beers (Moretti – £6) and ended the dinner with two Limoncello (£5).
The pizza base was amongst the best I’ve had in London – nicely crispy and light, with a very nice flavour. Donna margherita is not afraid to burn slightly the edges, producing that wonderful bubbled texture that all good pizza should have. The capricciosa topping was good – but not quite matching the best I’ve had at some other pizzeria. I put this mainly down to the ham, which came in thin strips, rather than in slices. Possibly a little heavy-handed with the artichokes also. The final result was a pizza base rivalling the best I’ve had in London, but topping not quite matching that promise. It still rates well, but has some way to go before it beats Rustica in Richmond. The pizza Donna Margherita was better, with the right amount of topping and a great tomato flavour coming from the cherry tomatoes.
Good Moretti beer
Pizza Capricciosa
Pizza Donna Margherita
The two pizzas
Chilli oil
Spicy oil on pizza
Cost and conclusion: it was £32.46 including a “discretionary” 12.5% service charge for the two pizzas, two beers and two Limoncello. The pizzas were good but we found the music a little too loud to be comfortable.
Pizzeria Sette Bello 8 Amen Corner, Tooting SW17 9JE London 0871 3327080
Reviewed on Monday 4 May 2009 evening
Pizzeria Sette Bello
Reading great reviews about this pizzeria, I tried to have a lunch there several weeks ago to find out it is mostly (only?) open during the evening. If it happens it is closed, you can always go to Limoncello located two minutes walk from it (review of Limoncello). They also have good pizzas.
Some huge bottles of wines against the wall
Back to Setto Bello now It is located five minutes walk from Tooting Broadway. The restaurant is made of one large room and is decorated with bottles on the walls and also pictures, including family photos. There is a great atmosphere and it is very family friendly. It is nice to find an authentic Italian restaurant in that area where curry restaurants are the norms. The prices are low compared to other pizzerias I know. Pizzas are aroud £6-£7, you can get veal with cream for about £12 and desserts were around £3 something. Unfortunately the receipt is not detailled. A bottle of a red house wine (a 2007 Montepulciano d’Abruzzo) was around £10.
Red house wine
We ordered two pizzas: a Calzone (ham, cheese, tomato) and a Fiorentina (mozzarella, tomato, spinach, egg, parmesan and garlic). The calzone was absolutely massive and it was not because it was the second time I was eating out today. It was good but the pizza base was too soft for my liking: it feels a little too much like bread. I like when it is crispy outside, soft inside. Still, the base was good and all the ingredients were good too. Next time I will just ask to cook it a little longer, even if it gets slightly burnt. The fiorentina had also the same little problem: too soft, no crisp at all. Toppings and the egg were good. The chilli oil was very nice and it was indeed spicy which surprised us as a real good spicy olive oil is becoming rare.
Fiorentina
The wine was good, dry enough and going well with the pizzas. We took for desserts a so-called strawberry sorbet that turned out to be ice cream (too sweet for us) and a vanilla ice cream with coffee and amaretto (nice, the coffee and amaretto were good at counterbalancing the sweetness from the vanilla ice cream). We ended with an espresso and a double espresso and they were fine.
Vanilla ice cream with coffee and amaretto. In the background the so-called strawberry sorbet that turned out to be ice cream
Cost and conclusion: two pizzas, a bottle of red wine, two desserts and two espressos for £33.95 (with optional service charge to add) is a good value for money. The pizzas were good but we feel they could have been exceptional if cooked a little longer so they would be crispy. They were not crispy at all. The service was nice but the single waiter was a little overloaded doing all the service so it took a good 5 minutes to get the chilli oil (through the owner who was helping the waiter). We will certainly be back.
Café Marco Polo 121 rue Saint Lazare 75008 Paris Tel 01 43 87 36 05 Reviewed on Saturday 25 April 2009 lunch time
Les galeries Lafayettes
Café Marco Polo is located right in front of the Saint Lazare train station and a 15 minute walk from the Galeries Lafayette on Boulevard Haussmann. I have been there several times and it was always good We ordered two pizzas: a pizza royale (14.90 euros) and a pizza soufflée/calzone (13.60 euros). As drink we had a bottle of their red wine of the month (14.90 euros). Not much to say beside everything from the pizza to the wine was good! The pizzas were crispy. The pizza royale could have had more cheese though.
Pizza royale
Pizza soufflée
Cost and conclusion: It was 43.40 euro service charge included. I noticed that lately France is really becoming an expensive country and it is not just because of the currency exchange pound-euro. Almost 15 euros for a pizza is quite a lot, compared to a steak etc. Well, still a good lunch and I am glad to live in “cheap” London!
Pizzeria l’Arlequin Route de la Roquette, 06370 Mouans Sartoux, France Reviewed on Thursday 23 April 2009 lunch time
L’Arlequin is a restaurant I used to go often, like twice a week when I was working for a start-up company in Mougins/Sophia Antipolis since it was just 3 minutes drive from the office. That was 8-9 years ago. Nothing fancy but a decent always updated meal of the day and a good range of pizzas. You can get a menu meal of the day + dessert for something like 11 euros. Pizzas are in the 9-11 euros range. I did not bother to take a photo of the menu since I was on vacation and this site is for reviewing restaurants based in London mostly 😉 It has been a long time since I was last there and I was nicely surprised that the owner still recognised me It was a nice sunny day so we decided to have lunch on the terrasse, protected by parasols. A waiter saw that Henri the boxer was struggling a little with the heat so he came quickly with a bowl of fresh water. That was very nice of him and I like restaurants in France or Belgium where dogs are welcome. The pizzas were fine but they were better cooked in the past. Still, the base is very thin and crispy. One special thing here is they have a pizza au foie gras et au foie de volaille (pizza with foie gras and chicken liver)! It is the only place I have seen such a pizza. It is a little heavy so the best is to share it with someone who has another kind of pizza.
Hot goats cheese
Pizza au foie gras et au foie de volaille
Pizza aux aubergines
Henri the boxer watching people eating
Please feed me!
Cost and conclusion: I did not pay for the lunch I recommend l’Arlequin if you have to eat something quickly in the area. If you want a better setting, go to Mougins or to Valbonne.
