The best pizza places in Manchester
- By Thom Bamford
- Last Updated 2 months ago
Pizza: the delectable union of cheese, sauce and crust is delicious in all of its many forms, from thin crust to deep dish, from Margherita to snazzy new interpretations. And it isn’t just for National Pizza Day!
So we say, any excuse to tuck in the ultimate in comfort food and get carbo-charged.
These pizza joints are a little slice of heaven. We’ve got deliciously different pizza places to try in Manchester: we’ve got Neapolitan, we’ve got pizza from Chicago, and Detroit, and we’ve got every kind, variety, shape and size pizza you could ever desire. We’ve even got the best pizza in the world.
So why not check out our list of the best pizzerias in Manchester? There are certainly plenty of them.
Here are our top tips – tell us what you think. Satisfaction guaranteed.
Slice Culture Pizza
Situated in Track’s amazing beer taproom on Picadilly Piccadilly Trading Estate, Slice Culture offers tasty ‘taproom’ pizza to soak up those heavy brews.
They have a fantastic menu ranging from the vegan romesco marinara (which includes vegan stracciatella) to pepperoni, nduja, hot honey and Roquito peppers to satisfy any carnivorous taste buds.
They have the honey pesto four cheese, a unique invention using Spenwood cheese, which is similar to pecorino, and was voted Britain’s best cheese in the 2023 World Cheese Awards.
The founder, Michael Sands, had planned to trip to Seattle in Portland before Covid put paid to the plans. The city has an amazing pizza scene he was looking to visit for inspiration, but it was unfortunately cancelled because of covid.
Before he knew it he was experimenting with making pizzas for all his friends at home.
And it proved so popular, he decided to give it a whirl as a business.
Michael started the company in May 2021, and it’s gone from strength to strength.
The style is called taproom pizza, working in taprooms all over the country. You can hold a slice and a beer in the other hand, marrying the perfect combination using his unique ooni ovens.
With their own homemade dips of garlic and herb ranch, pesto and romesco, you cannot miss this fantastic independent pizza brand.
You can catch them at 3pm till late, Thursday & Friday and from 1 pm on Saturday.
Try the Honey Pesto Four Cheese (V), featuring Britain’s best cheese.
You can find them at Unit 18, Piccadilly Trading Estate, Manchester M1 2NP
Nells
Try: Roni Honey – N’duja and pepperoni, tomato sauce, mozzarella blend, finished with chilli honey and parm.
New York Inspired – Manchester Made. Nells has become a firm favourite across Manchester for their amazing New York pizza and ice cream sandwiches.
All washed down with a great selection of craft beer, wine, and cocktails in their bars across central & south Manchester.
Well sauced, well baked, well good. What’s not to like?
How Much? Slices range from £3-£4.50
You can find Nell’s Pizza at Common in the Northern Quarter, The Beagle in Chorlton, and now at Nell’s New York Pizza & Bar at Kampus.
Leopard Pie
Try: Cinghale – cured wild boar with tomato base, earthy wood fires portobello mushrooms, fresh red and green chilli, garlic oil and basil.
Just look at that thing.
Neapolitan wood fired pizza from Naples via Worsley.
Born out of a genuine love for Neapolitan style pizza, the Worsley opening pizzeria takes all things pizza very seriously.
The name Leopard Pie comes from the leopard-like charred pattern that you find on the raised edge (the ‘cornicione’) of pizza baked in wood fired ovens; bubbles in the edge char certain spots quicker than the rest, creating this leopard pattern.
And just look at it, it’s absolutely beautiful.
Using a combination of several flours from Italy, and made using only flour, yeast, water and salt, the dough is fermented over three days before it’s ready.
Toppings are the highest quality, from Italy – think organic Italian tomato sauce, milky fior di latte mozzarella, superb portobello mushrooms and meats such as Calabrese salami, freshly in-house sliced prosciutto and Tuscan sausage.
Then, it’s cooked in the hot wood fired oven (at 550-600 degrees) for just 60 seconds, resulting in a crust that’s full of structure and air giving a lovely crunchy texture and a good chew.
How much? From £9 to £15
You can find them at 11 Barton Rd, Worsley, Manchester M28 2PD
Double Zero
Try: Gutosa – meatballs, salami, finocchinoa and parmesan shavings
Double Zero – the home of independent, authentic, handmade Neapolitan pizza in Chorlton. They claim Neapolitan Pizza is a softer style to it’s flatter, crispier cousins, and is loved for it’s chewy crusts and delicious flavour.
Their dough is made on site daily using only 4 ingredients: flour, water, salt and yeast, and fermented for a minimum of 48 hours.
Double Zero pizzas are then stretched by hand, topped with authentic Italian ingredients and cooked for less than 90 seconds at 450c in our beautiful wood-fired oven all the way from Naples, the home of pizza.
You can find them at 368 Barlow Moor Rd, Chorlton-cum-Hardy, Manchester M21 8AZ.
How Much? £9-£13.50
American Pies
Try: Nduja and Goats Cheese
American Pies have become famous across Manchester for their belting Chicago style deep dish pizzas.
They deliver those stone cold flavours of America, with classic toppings like pepperoni, spicy fennel sausage, lamb meatballs, bacon and jalapeno and melty Nduja sausage.
Throw in liberal lashings of garlic butter parmesan on the crust, an unholy amount of mozzarella cheese and you get the 10/10 experience of American pies.
How much? £10 (7″) – £28 (10″)
You can find them at 58 Mosley St, M2 3HZ, and is open Wednesday-Sunday 12pm-10pm.
Noi Quattro
Try: Dalla Dispensa – Mozzarella fior di latte, san marzano d.o.p. tomatoes, roasted ham, artichokes, mushrooms, olives & extra virgin olive oil
Noi Quattro simply means “the four of us”.
And it is run by four friends: Elisa, Alberto, Daniele and Paolo who want to bring the tradition of an authentic Italian pizzeria to Manchester.
Noi Quattro use the best ingredients direct from Italy to put on their low yeast, slow fermented and handcrafted dough that takes two days to make yet cooks in less than 90 seconds in their pizza oven.
And we can give testament to the quality of this amazing pizza.
Noi Quattro hit the classics like marinara and margherita, but also have some unique options like their signature Vesuvio (mozzarella fior di latte, Italian sausage, friarielli, smoked scamorza and extra virgin olive oil) and Montanara (mozzarella fior di latte, gorgonzola, walnuts, speck and extra virgin olive oil).
How much? £8.50-£14
You can find them at 120 High St, Manchester M4 1HQ
Mano a Bocca
Try: Salsiccia & Friarielli pizza or Vegan Broccoli pizza
Located on the Waterside Plaza in Sale, Mano a Bocca is the home of thin-crust Romana pizzas. Their pizza dough is made daily using imported Italian flour and olive oil, and proved for a minimum of 24 hours to enable the science bit to do its thing (you know – yeast, fermentation, chemical balancing etc etc). The end result – beautifully flavoured and light dough. A big ‘grazie mille’ to their pizza consultant Marco Fuso for creating and teaching us this artisan skill – it really is a thing of beauty.
2A Waterside Plaza, Sale, Manchester M33 7BS
PLY
Try: WHO GIVES A DUCK – tomato, hoi sin, shredded duck, spring onion, pickled cucumber, coriander, rocket, sriracha
PLY lies in the heart of the Northern Quarter on the corner of Lever Street and Stevenson Square.
A bustling bar and late-night pizza hangout with a mirror tiled, woodfired oven,
Their Wildflour pizzas are served up alongside a carefully selected and regularly refreshed range of craft beer, wine and twists on classic cocktails.
How Much? £10 – £12.50
You can find them at 26 Lever St, Manchester, M1 1DW. FYI – they are closed on Monday!
Ramona
Try: The Jabba – Detroit tomato sauce, finocchona salami, ‘njuda, hot honey, sweet peppers, jalapenos, cheese
Continuing the cultural pizza tour of the States, Ramona brings the spirit of Detroit to Manchester.
Detroit-style pizza is a rectangular pizza with a thick crust that is crispy and chewy.
It is traditionally topped with Wisconsin brick cheese that goes all the way to the edges and caramelizes against the high-sided heavyweight rectangular pan.
They serve up Pizza from Detroit by the slice in their Campfire Beer garden, every Wednesday to Sunday.
Everyone’s welcome, including dogs (anytime) and under 18s (’til 7pm).
How much? (per slice) £5 – £8.
You can find them at 40 SWAN ST, MANCHESTER M4 5JG
Salvi’s
Try: Pizza Tirolese. Porcini mushrooms, bufala, speck and mozzarella.
When I think of classic Italian pizzas, Salvi’s Cucina always immediately springs to mind. Renowned for cooking with only the freshest Italian ingredients in an open kitchen by their passionate, Italian chefs.
Salvi’s ensure that their pizzas are baked to perfection, using thin crispy bases making the whole eating experience here authentic. Bellissimo!
They make Neapolitan pizza, showcasing their passion for the produce from Camapnia in Italy.
How much? £12-14
They have two restaurants now, one in Deansgate, one in the Northern Quarter and also own deli in the Corn Exchange.
Honest Crust
Try: Portobello mushrooms, garlic oil, tomato and mozzarella.
Using only the best quality Italian ingredients from top local British producers, Honest Crust sourdough pizzas are stretched by hand and blasted in a wood-fired oven for just 90 seconds. The result? Being able to satisfy your need for an impeccable Neapolitan pizza that has soft, slow-rise doughy crusts, a firm and crunchy base and a multiplicity of toppings ranging from traditional to the most innovative.
You can find these guys down at the Market House, the trendy, independent foodie hub that has pizza fiends from around the North West flocking to Altrincham Market every week. Having usually around 8 pizzas on their menu you’ll find yourself spoilt for choice, including some standard, yet fantastic classic pizzas and some rather amazing specials; notably the smoked pig cheek, red onion, fennel seed, tomato, chilli, pecorino and mozzarella pizza. Yes! You heard correct, no wonder Manchester loves Honest Crust.
How much? £6.50 – £9.50
Market House, Greenwood Street, Altrincham WA14 1SA
Crazy Pedro’s Part-Time Pizza Parlour
Try: Nacho Libre
What do you get when you cross an Italian pizza joint with an American diner, crazy rock/indie bar, a Mexican drinking den and a Caribbean rum joint? Crazy Pedro’s is what. Serving pizza until 4am makes Pedro’s ideal for a late night stop-off but offers so much more than just something to soak up the excess rum after a night out.
Coming on a superbly crispy 16-in base, their menu offers wacky choices – all of which seem to work! ‘The hotdog pizza’ is everything you would expect, with its meaty slices of frank, cheese and crispy onions smothered in a mix of sweet ketchup and tangy mustard.
Even better is the chicken, smoked bacon, waffle and syrup pizza. Yes, yes, I know. But trust us – sweet pizzas are the way forward. Crazy good. Seems Pedro wasn’t that crazy after all!
How much? £2.50 Slice or £14 16” Pizza
55-57 Bridge Street, Manchester, M3 3BQ
Rudy’s Pizza
Try: The Margo; Tomato, Mozzarella, fresh basil and extra virgin olive oil.
You’ll find it difficult to come across anyone with as much passion for making pizzas as these guys. With their first-class, locally-sourced ingredients, Rudy’s pizza is a two-man band whose enthusiasm for making good quality pizza really shines through.
Popping up around Manchester city centre, they’ve been saving to open a place of their own, and 2015 is that year! All their pizzas use double-proved dough, making the base so fluffy and airy that when cooked in the wood fired oven for just a minute the crusts are incredibly soft! Absolute pizza perfection.
They don’t go heavy on the toppings though, as it’s all about the base for Rudy’s.
How much? £4.75 – £7
Rudy’s has several sites across Manchester including Peter Street, Ancoats, Didsbury and Chorlton.
Croma
Try: Chilli Salsiccia
Croma, located a dough ball’s throw from the town hall, has been around for ages, for one good reason. It’s very, very good at what it does.
Sweet chilli sauce, roasted peppers and Tuscan sausage makes for a fiery mix, so make sure you have a glass of water nearby.
Definitely worth delving into the traditional heart of Manchester for.
How much? £5.50 – £8.50
You can find them in three locations: Didsbury, Chorlton & Prestwich.
The Laundrette
Try: Smoked ham & black pudding
Cocktails and carbs: this 18 month old place in Chorlton serves sexy pizzas. The toppings are rather wonderful. How about cod cheeks, smoked salmon flakes and wakame or smoked ham, Bury black pudding and spicy sausage (all under £10). Pizza’s not the only delicious carb at this crowd pleasing little joint, try the BBQ pulled pork burger or their homemade fresh pasta lasagne. And do not leave without sampling one of their sweet cocktails!
How much? £6.50 – £10
Beech Road, Chorlton, M21 9EL
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