Prezzo

I called in Prezzo while in Manchester, having wanted to check-​out the chain for a while. Prezzo are an Italian chain, with around 200 stores in the UK including 13 in London, but don’t seem to be as big, as the likes of Bella Italia and Pizza Express, who both have branches rather close to this branch, both being at most a 5-​minute walk away, hence there is a lot of competition nearby for various cuisine, so this place must have to do well to succeed, and they seem to do well.
Prices in Prezzo are average, and probably on par to other Italian chains in the area, such as the ones already mentioned including Ask and Pizza Express, but I came here using my Tastecard, which I got for free with my membership of The Times newspaper, which is quite a cool scheme to get 2−4−1 at a decent number of resturaunts, however like many places, Prezzo only accept it between Sunday and Thursday, excluding December.
This place was quite a nice place, it was qute big and a rather interesting layout compared to other places I have noticed. The staff seemed nice enough, albeit a little slow and not as nice and friendly as they could have been, as the restaurant was really quiet, with few other parties dining there other than myself.
I was very impressed with the gluten free menus, with starters and desserts available as well as a range of mains including pizza, pasta and risotto.
I started off with a Starter, I ordered a gluten free Pane Con Cipollo, which is a Garlic Pizza Bread, balsamic onions and Mozzarella cheese, I liked how the server reminded me it was gluten free, as I got my order. It was quite a nice, big portion for a starter and was a nice meal, especially with the Chilli Infused Extra Virgin Olive Oil. I did think it was too big for a starter, and something which should be shared, it is probably the size of a normal pizza, meaning if you were not sharing your meal, even the hungriest of folk would struggle to complete and finish, another course yet alone the full 3 courses, however around ¼ or ¹⁄₅ of it was the crust, but most of it was a good quality filling, and the onions were quite nice and went with it well as well, as well as the cheese and garlic.
My friend ordered a Bruscatta as a starter and also seemed to enjoy it, and he enjoyed it much better than other starters he has had at similar and rival chains, including the Dough Balls at Pizza Express. Sadly, this wasn’t gluten free but he still seemed to enjoy it.
I then moved onto a Gusti pizza, which was Pepperoni, Seasoned Chicken, Mozzarella, Tomato, Pancetta and Rosemary. The toppings were great and complimented each other, they seemed to be good quality. The chicken had a nice kick to it, and was seasoned nice and it did taste a good quality. The pancetta was also nice, unlike the time I had it at Bella Italia, where it just tasted incredibly cheap and inedible.
The base was a little thick, but still it was quite nice alongside some good quality toppings and I did enjoy my pizza.
They did have a few nice pizzas on the menu, including a Tropicana, which I was struggling to decide against, and my server didn’t seem to recommend any enthusiastically, and just told me they sold more of the other. The Tropicana Pizza was Proscuttio, Pineapple, Mushrooms, Mozzarella and tomato, and every purchase of £9.85 comes with a donation of charity out of the fee of 25p, which most places seem to do something similar to.
There was some nice seating, and booths here too and a decent amount of plug sockets, to relax and charge your phone while eating, which helped me as I have to deal with my woeful battery life on my Iphone 6s+.
The toilets also seemed nice, they seemed quite clean, they had decent toilets, as well as men/​women they also had a disabled toilet, all on the same floor, where you can actually see the chefs cooking and the door to the kitchen on the way there, which is interesting.
I also ordered a Orange Juice, which wasn’t freshly squeezed but branded as a juice, rather than a cordial, from a branded source but that also tasted horrible, and very watered down, and was also a little expensive too for the quality.
Overall, the value was very good too for the quality and getting 2 courses, both of a very good size. In total, I paid £25.45 per person which works out around £12.70 a person for two courses including drinks, which included a cider and an orange juice, which wasn’t bad at all, when including a £13.28 discount with Tastecard for 2−4−1.
This is a solid 4-​star place, but due to some issues with the pizza base thickness and the layout towards the back of the store, where watching the chefs cook etc isn’t as pleasant as it could be, in increasing both the vibe and feel of the store, as well as some issues with pricing meaning without a Tastecard it would be expensive, I sadly feel I can’t go any higher than a four in yet another near– 5,000 character Unilocal review by Aaron S.

Had a lovely meal, we had four flatbreads to share (N’duja sausage and mozzarella, mini bruschetta, prosciutto, mozzarella and tomato and a mini pane con cipolla served with rocket and sun-​blushed tomatoes, followed by the chicken and N’duja sausage pizza, my husband had fusilli gorgonzola pasta, so we shared, the food was really lovely, I received an email with a two for one on mains, so the bill was lovely to.