The first Rudy’s opened in Ancoats in 2015. It was an appropriate location – it’s where Manchester’s own “Little Italy” was established in the 19th century, when Italians immigrated to work in the area’s iron foundries (where they would have worked alongside some of my ancestors who lived in Ancoats and also worked in the foundries). Fast forward a few years and Rudy’s now has 16 branches. There are several in the metro area and others in major UK cities. One of those is on Wardour Street in London’s Soho – the street was home to the very first Pizza Express which opened there in 1965. I ate there a handful of years after that – yes, I’m old and long in the pizza eating tooth.
We first had a Rudy’s pizza at Ancoats in 2019 but, as for today’s lunch, the Didsbury branch is handier than a schlep in to the city. Truth be told, everything took a bit longer than you’d expect it to – from orders being taken to the presentation of the card machine for payment. But, in between, we ate really good pizza.
Let’s start with the dough. It’s made on the premises each day and proves for 24 hours. It’s then formed into a thin pizza, toppings added and it’s baked in the ovens imported from Naples, for about a minute. Yep, this is classic Neapolitan style pizza and it’s amongst the best I’ve ever eaten in all those years of pizza eating. And some of the biggest – overhanging the plate. For one of us, an absolute classic of the style – San Marzano tomato sauce, fior de latte, anchovies, olives, capers, oregano, basil., Parmesan and olive oil. For the other, a “white pizza”, so no tomato sauce, just the fior de latte and topped with porchetta, cubes of roast potato and caramelised onions. Both delicious. Good lunch
