I've lurked hopefully outside three of his restaurants: Northcote road, Brixton Village and Balham to no avail. The queue outside has always been far too long for someone who's at worst seriously impatient. However, when my friend Julia suggested going on a Monday night I leapt at the chance to see what the fuss was about.
Thankfully, Franco Manca was well worth the hype. The restaurant is small and crowded - think sharing tables and practically sitting on top of your neighbour. Happily, we managed to get a table for two.
The menu is minimal and authentic. The pizzas have little to no tomato on them. I chose gloucester old spot ham, ricotta, red onion and mozzarella. It was absolutely delicious and the ingredients were such high quality. The real star, however, was the sourdough base with the most intense flavour that only a dough that has been proved for a really long time can obtain.
We washed it down with some organic wine.
And the best thing about Franco Manca? The bill. My pizza and large glass of wine came to just ten pounds.
Beautiful food + cheap price = the ingredients for huge success. Why don't more restaurants cotton on to this fact?
Which is your favourite pizza restaurant?
PS I visited Richmond at the weekend and couldn't resist adding these photos.
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