Ticino vs Franco Manca

It is necessary to say that Franco Manca, even if not everyone knows, is part of the chain PizzaExpress, and because of that it is only a brand, not a garantee for the quality.

I think we should all wait for Ticino to open and then compare their pizza and make our final ideas.

Sara, according to this article:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/9959288/Word-of-mouth-Giuseppe-Mascoli-Brixtons-pizza-king.html

the owner of Franco Manca has a former Pizza Express executive as a partner, but they're not part of the same chain, luckily :-)

Having tried Franco Manca in Brixton, Tottenham Court Rd, Chiswick and Northcote, I can say the pizza has the same (excellent) quality in all of those restaurants, at reasonable price. Definitely better than Pizza Express which is way more expensive and not comparable to a real italian pizza.

I hope Ticino is doing a good pizza as well. This means more choice, and possibly a competition that can be only good for us as clients.

sara foster wrote:

It is necessary to say that Franco Manca, even if not everyone knows, is part of the chain PizzaExpress, and because of that it is only a brand, not a garantee for the quality.

Do you have a source for this? I understood that Franco Manca was estanlished by an Italian Londoner with a background in the restaurant business who subsequently took on a former Pizza Express exec to oversee the expansion from Brixton onwards. I've never eaten there and have no connection etc etc.

Viktoria wrote:

I know from certain sources, that Ticino will make an exelent Pizza.
I know as well that Ticino's pizza will be done with the tipical italian ingredients, coming from small but autentical high quality italian manufacturers.

I would like to make this question to all of you: Would you prefer to eat a good pizza or you would prefer the usual food, that everyone in Bermondsay st. offer?

In answer to your question, I think there has been an undoubted gap in the market for a pizza based restaurant. Having seen Ticino spend a lot of time fitting out the premises (what seems like 2 years given planning difficulties), I would have thought that they would play to their dough based strengths - not just pizza but a retail outlet for their bread, perhaps related takeaway or eat in products for a cafe.

The items highlighted above by Mr O'Reilly don't play to any of those strengths and I wish them well in what looks like a crowded marketplace. If thy have deep pockets and have recruited the right staff, they may succeed but the restaurant game is very different from a long standing bakery business.

Anyone know when Franco Manca opens?

Ticino finally opened this morning, thought the breakfast looked lovely as I ogled through the window! Menu looks interesting and very reasonable, looking forward to trying it out. Sign in the window says 50% off lunch and dinner until the 23rd.

And in more food news, the chaps at Fine Foods lovely Italian deli on Long Lane tell me that they're revamping the back of their premises to turn it into a tiny restaurant. Deli remains upfront, but they're be serving proper food at the back. Work going on at the moment.

I'm happy to report my Ticino pizza was excellent.

The pizza was very good - could have been slightly crispier - but very fresh ingredients.

Will definitely be going back. A great addition to Bermondsey Street.

Less sure about the starters on the menu though - just too fussy for my simple tastes.