Ever since Rudy’s burst onto the scene in Manchester, it’s been an instant hit with many declaring it the best pizza place in the City Centre. With a plethora of options, it is high praise indeed and they’ve now expanded outside of the centre and into nearby Chorlton.
I have to confess that this was my first visit to Rudy’s, so I can’t compare it to any of their other sites, but the space is light and airy with a generous outside seating area to the side of the restaurant. Luckily for us on the day of our visit, the sun was rarely shining so we sat outside, reading through the menu over some cocktails.
With the sun shining, the only way to start a meal is with an aperitivo. There is an impressive selection of spritz style drinks and I loved the Sospiri with Malfy blood orange gin, elderflower, peach, prosecco and fresh strawberry. My date chose a more classic spritz with the Hugo; Tanqueray gin, elderflower and prosecco. At £7.20, I also think they are pretty good value as far as cocktails go. I’ve definitely paid more around the £9 mark for similar in Chorlton.
We tried to go light with our starters as we knew the carb loaded deliciousness that would be coming our way. We could see the pizza oven from our table after all! The Campana is a lovely sharer that includes a little bit of everything – bufala mozzarella, prosciutto crudo, finocchiona salame, salame picante, wild boar picante, rocket, semi dried tomato and freshly baked bread. It’s the sort of picky board that you can graze over with a bottle of wine it really is. The prosciutto was my favourite on the plate; rich as always but less salty than I’ve eaten elsewhere.
We also enjoyed the Burrata with its pillowy softness and delightfully soft centre. When spread on the lightly toasted bread, the flavours soaked into the air pockets for gooey cheesy goodness that cannot be matched.
More drinks and this time I couldn’t resist the Blood Orangecello Mimosa. I am a huge mimosa fan and this version with Rudy’s own orangecello is definitely a pimped version of my favourite tipple. My date sipped a decent Negroni, which had been made really well.
Call me ignorant, but I didn’t know there was more than one style of pizza. Rudy’s serve Neopolitan style with dough that has been double fermented for a minimum of 20 hours at room temperature. The result is a soft thin base with a fluffy crust; the type of base that the toppings will fall off if you don’t eat it properly.
I ordered the Carni – San Marzano tomato, fior di latte, parmesan, salame finocchiona, salame picante, wild boar salame, basil and extra virgin olive oil. Basically a sharing platter on a pizza, so pretty much perfect. My date ordered the Tarantina – San Marzano tomato, fior di latte, anchovies, capers, Kalamata olives, oregano, basil and extra virgin olive oil. Considering I took half of mine home in a box and my date polished theirs off, I’d say it was enjoyed! I’d absolutely recommend eating a Neopolitan style pizza with a knife and fork, as sacrilege as that may sound. They tend to have a wet centre so the base is super floppy. You can fold them a certain way to eat with your hands, but honestly it was just to messy for me. Delicious, but messy!
Despite taking half of my pizza home, there is no way I could leave without trying the desserts. My date chose the Italian classic, a tiramisu. It had a good amount of coffee and the layers held well, showing that it had been packed well into the glass. I opted for something off the specials board but figure they are likely to have the Cannoli fairly often with it being an Italian staple. They are rather small but boy, are they tasty. The cream was lightly sweetened so not to heavy and the Cannoli itself crisp and light. The dusting of pistachio just finished it off perfectly. It is a lovely choice if you want to finish your meal with something sweet but don’t have a lot of room left.
In summary we had a lovely time at Rudy’s in Chorlton and the service was spot on. We were not rushed, and the staff were attentive and welcoming. I love how quickly pizzas cook in a proper pizza oven, but it is also nice that despite that speed, you’re not served them until you’re ready. I thoroughly enjoyed my lefovers for breakfast the next day, isn’t that the only way to eat leftover pizza?
