Cardiff has a wonderful array of doughy delights in the form of delicious pizzerias. From Dusty's to The Dough Thrower and Scaramantica to The Stable, we are lucky to have such a scrumptious selection at our disposal. And as of next week, we'll have one more to add to the list with popular pizza restaurant Franco Manca.
The much-loved sourdough pizza restaurant, which has locations across the UK, is set to open its first ever Welsh branch on Monday, October 24, on the corner of Church Street at number 11 - where Trinity Street meets the city's fabulous food-filled city centre street - in the former premises of Cornish Bakehouse, which recently moved its location to Queen Street.
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Feeding the hungry punters of Cardiff, Franco Manca will be serving up signature Neopolitan cuisine, recipes which honour the age-old ingredients and methods used by its founder Giuseppe Mascoli, who hails from Positano. Formerly loved in London as Francos, Giuseppe took over the pizzeria from his friend, Franco - of course - with pal and baker Bridget Hugo to "reshape the pizzeria" and opened the first Franco Manca - meaning 'Franco is Missing' in Italian - in 2008.
Franco Manca pizzas are made with slow-rising sourdough using a 'mother dough' dating back to the late 18th century. Its pizzas, made fresh on site, are then topped with fresh, locally sourced, seasonal ingredients. Its pizza menu also caters for allergens such as vegan and gluten-free diets and tailors to those who don't have quite as much of an affinity to the tomatoey, cheesey delight as us, with dishes such as salads, 'bites to share' - sharing platters with sourdough, olives, garlic bread and more - and "post pizzas" - aka, desserts. Cocktails, wines, beers and soft drinks will also be available alongside a kids menu.
Iain Cross, who is Franco Manca's operations manager, said of this news: “We couldn't be more excited to finally open the doors to our very first Welsh home in the heart of Cardiff. Cardiff is a truly wonderful city with a lively food scene, and we're so excited to bring our delicious sourdough pizza offering to the locals for the very first time.
"So if you live in Cardiff, or are just visiting, pop in, say hi, and try our delicious pizza topped with seasonal ingredients sourced from small businesses across Italy and the UK.” What's more is during its first week, between Monday, October 24 and Thursday, October 27, they will be offering a tasty deal of 50% off all food.
Franco Manca will open on 11 Church Street in Cardiff on Monday, October 24.
For more information, see the website.
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