With so many amazing restaurants and eateries in Manchester you would have thought someone would have done a decent pizza by now. There may be somewhere out there but I had yet to find it. So when Ply asked if I fancied trying theirs I have to admit, I was nervous. Had someone finally cracked it?
Located on Lever Street facing Stevenson Square they have a great location and the interior is wide, light and bright. So far so good.
The menu is what I would call minimalist. A list of antipasti, pizzas and gelato. I love that Ply are keeping things simple and specialising in a few things to get them perfect rather than trying to be overambitious with a lengthy menu.
Pizzas are wood-fired in the beautifully pretty mirror ball clay oven, imported from Napoli. It’s a striking centrepiece for the venue and a conversation starter if nothing else!
First things first and the drinks.
I hit the cocktails starting with the Painter’s Palette which, was pretty much made for me containing prosecco and gin. Add in rhubarb and strawberry for a touch of fruit to balance out the dry flavours and it is pretty good. The Georgetown Tea was also gin based but the addition of apricot, elderflower and ginger created a warming and slightly spiced drink that was refreshing and perfect for after a meal.
There’s a good selection of craft beers and some new ones that my friend hadn’t tried. He enjoyed the Beaver Town Gamma Ray in its colourful can.
Anyway enough about that, we were here for the pizzas and the eternal quest to find a decent one in the City Centre. First of all the bases are sourdough which is perfect in my opinion. Slightly tangy with a more gritty texture that holds up well to the toppings. I went for the salami of the week option which turned out to be, one of my favourites, chorizo. The chorizo was fairly standard but there was lots of it and the mozzarella was evenly distributed which, some pizza places just can’t manage for some reason. My friend was awkward and went for the artichoke and pig’s cheek, without the artichoke.To be fair neither of us like artichoke and I was keen for him to try pig’s cheek for the first time, it is one of my favourite cuts of the animal. A sprinkle of chili heated things up nicely and the smoky flavour of the pig’s cheek was great but it could have done with being cooked for longer before adding to the pizza as the fat was a little chewy.
Not to be defeated we both decided to try the gelato with my friend choosing the peanut butter and me going for the sour cherry and meringue. I had chosen wrong. The peanut butter was creamy and nutty, so good I actually stole a lot of it and I think he wished he’d ordered more than one portion. My sour cherry and meringue was more like a sorbet and needed some chunks of fruit and chunks of meringue. Neither were present unfortunately an it was very sweet.
It wasn’t overly busy when we visited although we had a fair wait for the gelato menu and, when it did arrive, the server threw them on the table and walked away. I appreciate she was busy, the server before her had commented that it was really busy despite it not appearing so, but a smile or acknowledgement costs nothing. Other than that things ran smoothly. The pizza oven wood-fires your pizza in 90 seconds meaning you won’t be hungry for long and, as for the best pizza in Manchester, I don’t think they’re far off.
We were invited to dine as guests of Ply and weren’t asked to pay.
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