Franco Manca Balham Reviews Summary

Food Quality

Pros:

• "Offers the best pizzas in Balham at a very affordable price."
• "All the ingredients are good quality."
• "Simply a perfect restaurant: incredibly consistent, great service, great pizza, cheap as chips."
• "Literally the best pizza I've ever had."
• "If you love pizza, this is the best in the area by far."
• "Pizza never disappoints super delicious menu and home made tiramisu."
• "Incredibly tasty sourdough pizza from a traditional wood fired oven."

Cons:

• "The pizzas seem to be getting less and less toppings too, and the bases thinner and thinner."
• "Also, the pizza dough is chewy with a weird aftertaste … I think franco manca goes back to the “no no” list."
• "Pizza was just ok, a bit too chewy and oily."
• "The pizza was well cooked, just a slight problem with the dough: I believe it did not rise enough, as I could taste some uncooked parts in it."
• "Ordered the new vegan no7 pizza to try via this store with uber eats... The vegan pizza is terrible, the base is dry with the lack of sauce, the cheese if you can call it that was non-existent."
• "There is not enough toppings on these pizza's and you must order additional toppings to be satisfied."
• "Ordered a pizza to be delivered by Uber Eats and it was very under baked and super doughy – the edges of the pizza were still totally white – with hardly any toppings."

Service

Pros:

• "Staff and service was really good and on point."
• "Lovely staff and good pizza."
• "Customer service at Franco Manca has been one of the best I've experienced."
• "A really lovely Franco Manca. Excellent service and the staff are so lovely."
• "The staff are lovely and the food was delicious. The manager could not have been more helpful and kind."
• "Great atmosphere, super friendly staff."
• "Delicious pizza and lovely staff that go out of their way to make you sure you are satisfied."

Cons:

• "With an almost empty pizzeria (only 3 tables, 2 already served ), we were waiting about ten min to place an order."
• "Don’t think there is a manager there as the service was awful."
• "The waitress never came to check back on me and since I was starving I ate it."
• "The waitress tried to charge for something we didn't have and when we asked to remove that charge, there wasn't an apology or anything."
• "Awful service in an half empty restaurant on a Sunday night."
• "We saw another table leaving for the same reason… there was no one taking our order."
• "So disappointing as the food is good but it's not worth it for the awful service."

Value

Pros:

• "Always great value, the Christmas menu is a particular highlight, 2 courses for £9.99."
• "Price was very affordable."
• "Bargin basement prices for one of the best in the business."
• "Food was excellent, prices were really good."
• "The lunch deal at 10£ for a pizza & drink is particularly exciting!"
• "Good pizza! Great value for money compared to some other restaurants in London."
• "The prices are surprisingly low comparing to other pizzerias."

Cons:

• "It wasn't a very nice place because firstly it's not halal and secondly I am not a big fan of sourdough bread. There is absolutely hardly any seating and it's quite expensive."
• "Offer on table not valid and didn’t tell us until we paid. Slow slow service. Rude response when asked for offer to be put on."
• "The food was delicious and arrived hot so no complaints there at all. However, it was very small."
• "Last night’s pizza tasted more like British food than genuine Italian."
• "It took between 10-15 minutes for the pizza to arrive on the table... OVERCOOKED."
• "Instead of looking after people currently eating they were concentrating on leaving large and medium tables empty to attract bigger groups."
• "I've ordered extra toppings for my pizza and yet it seemed like I didn't."

Ambiance

Pros:

• "I feel like at this branch they've just spent a lot of money on decor and making the place look good instead of ensuring the product and service are as good at others."
• "Almost all staff is italian, which makes it more authentic than other chains."
• "Great, simple sourdough pizza - cheap too, compared to other high street chains."
• "Cozy dining room and staff were pretty good."
• "Lovely lunch at Franca manca."
• "Enjoyable experience. Have been in love with Franco manca since 2017."
• "The atmosphere is incredibly warm, rustic but also of the highest level of taste."

Cons:

• "Was a little overcrowded and it felt cramped."
• "The place is also cramped and busy, leading to a negative dining experience."
• "Can be very crowded and quite noisy."
• "Sat at back of restaurant only to then move to the front as the stench from the toilets were unbearable."
• "Atmosphere is a little bit as in a buffet but that is very common for most of London's restaurant."
• "Simple yet modern design and overall welcoming atmosphere."
• "Bad management. People arriving as a group of 2 or 3 were squashed in a corner, no space for the waitress to approach."