Franco Manca (Soho)

Soho outlet of a reliably good and ever expanding chain of pizzas in the Neapolitan style, started in 2008 in Brixton Market. Franco Manca make their own mozzarella – with other cheeses supplied by Neal's Yard – while the tomotoes used are organic, as are the wines on offer. The light and airy crust is made from a slow-rise sourdough, baked in a wood-burning brick oven, though be warned it gets on the chewy side if left on the plate too long. Opened in 2015. For the nerds, a piece of pizza history: A man named Franco started making pizzas in a tiny space in bustly Brixton Market in 1987. In October 1989 Franco taught sold the business to Egyptian-born pizza apprentice Sami, who in 1993 opened a second, much bigger and still-going very good pizza enterprise, Eco, in Clapham Common. The original Franco then opened up the now-closed Casale Franco in Upper St in Islington. In 2008 Sami sold Brixton to philosopher/economist Giuseppe Mascoli, who changed the name to Franco Manca ('Franco missing'). Since then the company has expanded exponentially, with dozens of branches in London and beyond.