When it comes to date, most people think expensive, Michelin-type restaurants, where you have to dress up to get in.  I usually think small, rather busy restaurants that would let me sit there for the entire evening, sipping wine (or cocktails, I’m rather flexible you know!) and eating all sorts of delicious things straight from the plate. But that might very well be because I’m not really good at booking tables, or planning dates in advance for that matter…

One of our favourite places to visit for un-planned dates (and general meals out) is Franco Manca. We go pretty much every single time we’re near Warren Street. We went when my friends visited from France. We even went for brunch on Valentine’s day! And also some time last week…

We’ve been so many times we barely glance at the menu anymore! We do, however, check the specials’ board, as they’re often stuffed with brilliant specials, extra toppings and general good suggestions!God I love open kitchen! Watching the cooks do their thing (especially when that thing is pizza!) keeps me very entertained while I’m waiting for my food!
Alright, I WAS actually checking if it was our pizza being preped!
10 seconds later (I kid you not, it’s THAT fast!), and there you go! A perfectly cooked, slightly charred sourdough pizza! 
First, we had burrata. Creamy, beautiful burrata. Every time it’s on the menu, I can not not order it. I could eat this all day, every day, and never get quite bored of it. Especially if it comes with toasted sourdough & a few cherry toms!
Then we tried to be reasonable by sharing a pizza. We went for the n°6 (the one with chorizo). But we didn’t exactly stick to the plan, as we ended up adding many extra toppings (namely green peppers, olives and garlic pesto)… oops!As you can see, our experiment was rather a success! Of course, you might argue that this is all thanks to the delicious, light, pillowy yet slighty crispy dough, or the high quality of the ingredients used, but I think my inner creative genius was also involved!No matter how stuffed you are, there’s always, always room for pudding! In that case, a chocolate and hazelnut cake with vanilla ice cream! Not exactly chocolate-y enough for my taste though… but then I have pretty high standards!Espresso mastro!

What: One of London’s best sourdough pizzas. That’s what they’re know for and that’s what they do well. Don’t bother with dessert, it’s not really their forte.

Tip: Yes, you’ll want some garlic pesto with that. And probably a bit of olive oil too to dip the crust in.

How much: The bill usually comes to around £20 for two people. No, I don’t know how they do it either.

Where: 98 Tottenham Court Road, London W1T 4TR (they have many other restaurants in London though, so you might want to check their website!)