We tried the 'authentic' Manchester pizzeria that's perfect for an after-work dinner or long lunch

The humble pizza can be seen as something you stick in the oven on a Friday night when a weeks work renders you too tired to cook or if you’re fancy, maybe something you fire your pizza oven up for on a sunny day for some al fresco fun.

But done correctly, a freshly made pizza can be a work of art and pizza restaurant Franco Manca knows that only too well, recently adding not one, but four new pizzas to the menu.

These include the No.3 (traditional halloumi, roasted courgettes, mozzarella and marinated baby plum tomatoes with mint), No.8 (slow-cooked beef ragu, organic tomato, mozzarella, cheese sauce, crispy pancetta and fresh basil), No.9 (wild mushrooms, burrata, truffle pesto base, mozzarella and fresh basil), and No.10 (Tuscan pork fennel sausage, wild broccoli, pesto base, mozzarella and Franco and Cantarelli Grana)

There’s also a range of new sides and sharing dishes available, including Buffalo Mozzarella and marinated baby plum tomato salad, beef ragu al forno, and Tuscan pork fennel sausage bruschetta.

With such creativity on the menu we decided to go and try for ourselves.

Franco Manca is a sourdough Neapolitan pizza business operating around 70 pizzerias in the UK - there are two in Manchester city centre located in Piccaddilly Gardens and King Street - so naturally we chose the most upmarket of those destinations and headed over to the King Street part of town.

What was so delightful about the King Street branch was the lovely ‘outdoor in’ ambience - the whole front of the restaurant opening out onto the street via bi-fold doors, so my friend and I could get the best of both worlds, being inside the attractive restaurant but still feeling like we were dining al fresco, with gorgeous views of the pretty architecture of King Street.

As it was a warm summer evening, it was easy to feel like you had left Manchester behind and was elsewhere in Europe - maybe in the original home of pizza - Italy itself.

The chef may have been French, not Italian, but he knew his stuff and talked passionately to us about the menu - recommending dishes and wine including the comforting Aubergine parmigiana and a selection of flavoursome cured meat with fresh mozzarella, rocket and sunblushed tomatoes, which we enjoyed pre-pizza.

Our organic sangiovese we drank authentically served in drinking glasses as opposed to wine glasses.

The pizzas were fresh and filling - my friend opting for the No.9 (wild mushrooms, burrata, truffle pesto base, mozzarella & fresh basil) which tasted richly of the truffle and me going for my old favourite of generous salami - both came with a thick, soft, well-risen wood-fired crust with that lovely hint of smoke.

This is not fine dining - it’s simple, affordable fresh pizza in stripped back, contemporary surroundings. The atmosphere is casual, not intimidating and we noted a few solo diners and a lot of female heavy tables.

Sadly, our dessert was a little disappointing as the tirimasu wasn’t set when we ordered but we decide to soldier on and try it anyway - despite being warned. However, it wasn’t at its best and so we focused instead on the tasty chocolate and hazelnut cake with Madagascan vanilla ice cream.

The restaurant describes itself as: Radically simple, affordable pizzas made from honest ingredients and fresh, handmade dough.

And I would agree.

For anyone looking for authentic fresh pizza, in a casual setting without an expensive bill at the end Franco Manca is an attractive and dependable choice. Perfect for an after work dinner or a long lunch.

Franco Manca turned 15 this month and a new pizza, created by founder Giuseppe Mascoli, is currently on the menu until the end of the month - the pizza (the No 15) is topped with Galician sardines, organic tomato, wilted spinach, fresh chillies, roasted garlic with herbs, Kalamata black olives, capers from Salina, breadcrumbs and lemon.

As I also need to go back and have another go at trying the tiramasu - this seems a good enough reason to return.

Franco Manca: 37-43 King St, Manchester M2 7AT