Manchester has some truly world class pizza. And in all style too. If you want a Neapolitan cooked in 60 seconds like it would be on a backstreet in Naples, you've got it. In fact, you've got a host of places offering up super-authentic Italian pizza.
Then again, you might be hankering after something more crispy, in which case, there try out the New York style slices coming from Nell's. Or then there are the square Detroit slices at Ramona, or the deep pan Chicago style from American Pies.
Basically, whichever style you favour, there's a slice in the city for you. So, here we go - here's the very best pizza Manchester has to offer...
READ MORE: Manchester's best Chinese restaurants
Ramona
Ramona, on Swan Street, city centre, is an exponent of the Detroit style of pizza, reputedly originating from the car factories of the Motor City, where it would be made in square oil pans. As such, this is a deep pan affair, with the cheese crusting all up the side of the pan to devastating, Homer Simpson-gargling effect. The Jabba, with fennel salami, and the Cali Pepps, with a huge ball of oozing burrata cheese dropped in the middle, are future classics.
Honest Crust
The daddy of them all, Honest Crust’s spot in Alti Market was a revelation when it opened, among the first to truly champion the sourdough Neapolitan style. Solid ingredients, inventive specials - within reason, no hoi sin duck or chicken tikka here - and passion for the craft, plus the theatre of the open oven, make this spot (and the Honest Crust outlets in Mackie Mayor and the Macclesfield Picturedrome) something very special. Hat's off.
Noi Quattro
Run by four chums, Elisa, Alberto, Daniele and Paolo (noi quattro means 'the four of us', awww), this super-authentic spot tucked at the back of the Northern Quarter is the real deal. Quite apart from the excellent pizza, there are fabulous stuzzichini (little starters) like fried calzones, fabulous foccacia and cold cuts to kick off with too. If you're down by the Bridgewater Hall, they also have an outpost at the Society food hall, so nice to have bases covered.
PizzAmmore Napoli
Every bit as good as the likes of Honest Crust and Rudy's - which has just opened nearby - this family run spot in Sale is an absolute neighbourhood gem. It may not have all the trendy bells and whistles, or the plans for worldwide domination, but - as well as first rate Neapolitan pizza - it has an fabulous line in Italian 'street food' too, including crisp and golden arancini, cute little pizza fritta (mini fried calzones) and crocche - fried, breadcrumbed potato dumplings with cheese. They also do 'pizza school' classes, and absurdly good value 'all you can eat' specials too.
Rudy’s
When Rudy’s opened its first tiny spot on Cutting Room Square, the queues became the stuff of legend. Throw in some authentic Italian aperitifs and, obviously, some of the best - not to mention reasonably priced - pizza in town, and they were clearly onto a winner. Now they’re spreading across the land, from Liverpool to Leeds to London (including local branches in Ancoats, Peter Street and Sale), and best of luck to them.
Ciaooo
Who needs a new Neapolitan pizzeria in Manchester? Well, Ciaooo has a couple of aces up its sleeve to separate it from the pack. While the pizza itself is solid - with a great level of all-important char on the crust - their line in fried ravioli and fried lasagna is pretty inspired, as is their pasta and the deep fried burrata, spiced with chilli honey. Also in Swan Street and just a 30 second hop from Ramona, you can easily nip from one to the other to compare and contrast.
Ply and Wild By Ply
Ply has been turning out Northern Quarter pizza on Stevenson Square for not far off a decade, making it one of the more stately slingers of slices. They also run Wild By Ply at New Century, a collaboration with Wildfarmed, who provide some of the purest flour around, biodynamic, free from pesticides, all that good stuff, and a dough that's proved for 24 hours.
Four Side
Leading the pack for vegan pizza in the city is Four Side, working out of Electrik in Chorlton and delivering all over town too. The base is deep, in the Detroit style, thick like sponge, but light and chewy, with blazing meat and cheese subs, including BBQ seitan and home-made ‘pepperoni’. With its tomato sauce painted on in stripes, it’s among the best looking pizza in town too.
American Pies
Lamentably, in the UK we largely only know about the Chicago style pizza from the freezer aisle. But the people behind Brewski are changing that. With a more ‘pie style’ base, these heart-stopping pizzas are heaped with a difficult to justify amount of cheese. Go to their base in West Mosley Street, city centre, and dive in (honestly, you probably could), with some bonkers sides of deep fried lasagna happening there too.
Corner Slice
Failsworth’s Corner Slice also worships at the alter of the Motor City pizza. Making a serious point of that crisp perimeter of cheese which crusts up the side of the tin, classics like the pepperoni laden Detroiter are countered by more off-beat offerings. The Vamos Pablo has ‘chilli smash’ and ricotta cream, while the Korean Cauli comes topped with Korean cauliflower, salt and pepper onions and sweet mayo.
Where's your favourite pizza place in the region? Let us know in the comments
Nell’s
Anyone who’s ever hankered after the giant, lorry wheel-sized pizzas every US pizza joint in the movies appears to sell has had their prayer’s well and truly answered by Nell’s, in Edge Street, city centre. Its huge 22-inch numbers truly are a sight to behold, and eschew the looser Neapolitan style for the crisp New York pie. Serving from Common in the NQ and The Beagle in Chortlon, and their own dedicated spot in Kampus, world domination is doubtless to follow.
I Knead Pizza
Proper Naples style pizza coming from two chums (Paul and Mike) in Reddish, I Knead Pizza is the real deal. Also serving out of Hatch of Oxford Road, the passion for pizza is clear to see, and with menu additions like the panuozzo sandwich (think an open calzone), they’ve got a few strings to their bow too.
L'Antica Pizzeria Da Michele
The stately L'Antica Pizzeria Da Michele, in King Street, city centre, has rather more pedigree than some of these new upstarts. This spot can trace its origins back to 1870, and the first Pizzeria Da Michele in Naples, and after opening outposts in London, we now have one on King Street. These lot have forgotten more about dough and mozzarella than some have yet to learn.
Read next
