I’ve never been to Naples – arguably the birthplace of what we now refer to as pizza – but on one of my recent ventures into town I discovered Franco Manca. A pizzeria as close to the real thing as you can get without hopping on a plane to southern Italy.

It’s a small independent chain of pizza restaurants started in 2008 and passion for their product is at the heart of it. From branding to interior design – it’s all about simplicity, no fuss and good honest, quality ingredients.

The secret is in the slow-rising sourdough base (a minimum of 20hrs) which is baked in a wood burning ‘tufae’ brick oven made on site by specialised artisans from Naples producing a heat of about 500C (930F) – the oven (!) not the artisans. This blast-cooking method locks in the flour’s natural aroma and moisture producing a soft, easily digestible crust.

I had a simple Margarita which I watched the chefs prepare and have to say I was amazed at the difference to any other pizza I’ve tasted in the past. It was perfect! The texture, the subtle smoky flavour of some burnt dough ‘blisters’ and the combination of tomato, mozzarella and basil. Heaven is a good pizza – why has nobody made a poster or t-shirt with that slogan yet!?

Their simple and honest concept also translates into their branding which is monochrome handwritten typography and a childlike logo squiggle of what could be interpreted as a pizza, or pizza throwing or a planetary system. Like all good concepts there is total cohesion between the product, branding and interior design which is simple and clean with a few rustic elements giving the wood burning oven pride of place at the centre of the space.

I loved the ‘ouch’ sign on my way to the restrooms, a simple detail that made me feel warm and fuzzy – discarding my natural cynicism for a minute and making me believe that somebody cares for my well-being, or at least wants to avoid a law suit.

A fabulous experience which was made even better when the bill arrived. In case you want proof I’ve included a shot of it below. Just leaves me to mention that sadly you can’t book but don’t worry they turn the tables around pretty swiftly so I hear there’s never a very long wait. Only problem is I can’t go back to our local now I’ve tasted the real deal. #modernproblems
 

NOTE: Check out Franco Manca’s website to read more about their passionate sourcing of ingredients.
 

 
MORE INFORMATION | Franco Mancha
PHOTOGRAPHY | all iPhone by yours truely 😉
 
Follow Stylejuicer with Bloglovin