Rating: 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌕
Not only does this restaurant offer affordable prices for students, it’s also a lovely spot to have a homemade Italian dinner.
The aroma of freshly prepared pizza dough and margarita sauce drifted over as I opened the door of the newly built Franco Manca in Cheltenham. The buzz of the room struck me the most, with the number of customers that were seated in the restaurant, yet can you blame them? With student-friendly prices and freshly sourced and prepared pizza, it’s no wonder that Franco Manca has become the newest hotspot in Cheltenham.
As the waitress sat my boyfriend and me at a table, I gauged the décor. Chefs were in the public viewing, preparing pizza in a beautiful mosaic wood fired oven; the sounds of Italy playing in the background underneath all the buzz at other tables and, as a cute touch, kid’s drawings and handwritten ‘specials’ were pinned on the wall.
Even though the menu had only 8 pizza options starting from £6.45, it was still a struggle to decide as they all seemed so enticing. I settled for the Number 7, with salami, mozzarella, and caramelised onions for £9.95 and a classic summer drink from Italy – the Aperol Spritz for £6.75. The waitress jotted down our order smiling, her radiance making it impossible not to smile back. Franco Manca prides itself on delivering good service to customers and treating them as though they are “like family,” which shows in the friendly presentation of staff.
However, if you’ve come to the restaurant to take Instagram photos of your meal, don’t hope for good lighting in Franco Manca, the spotlights that scatter the ceiling give more of a cosy, home-like atmosphere. Not in a negative way, as it adds to the authenticity of the mellow chain of restaurants.
Overall, I would definitely recommend a visit to the new Franco Manca chain in Cheltenham, not only for the affordable prices of pizzas, but also for the amount of care the company takes in sourcing quality ingredients and the cosy atmosphere making you feel as though you’re at your Italian grandma’s home.
