Laurent Quenelle

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PS: agree with the fast food analogy:-) will give another go, one day... If it lasts..

Sorry to have started this now.. It's my own personal view that FM pizzas don't leave up to my expectations, by any means. I do know what sourdough is. And I do make the difference between a personable service and cynical one. The hype is ridiculous in my mind. And yes I am suspicious of chains in general although there are some exceptions.

Thanks all for these remarks, will still go to il Mirto or the Gowlett next time I need a pizza I'm afraid. Just hate being treated like cattle..

Glad to hear.. Have had the same disappointed comments from quite a few mates though. Will wait a bit before I give it another go for sure

Hi Ed, New on the Forum although been in ED for 12 years.. Do appreciate the community and the fact that people care about it! I've seen many places opening up and closing down, mainly because they didn't try hard enough but also because they didn't have a strong enough backbone. Hence my present rant about the newly opened and long awaited FRANCO MANCA. After having waiting for so long and been so excited for this iconic place to open I went for a Pizza with my wife the other night. The fact that I had recently found out that it had been bought by a former Pizza Express executive ( PE which has itself been bought by some Chinese firm...) didn't alter my child like enthusiasm. I knew already that I would find the same interior that all the FM that have opened recently: the tiles, the oven etc... The pizza had unfortunately nothing to do with its original Brixton ancestor: Chewy dough, sparse and cheap toppings. Very average table wine served in a cheap glass. The service was very poor and had all the signs of the "Franchise" negative sides: unresponsive, formatted, borderline arrogant... In a nutshell : disappointed beyond description I don't usual judge on one visit, so I gave them a ring again when I had an urge for a pizza a couple days ago. When I asked the lady to remind me of the menu she told me word for word: " go on the website " without any polite word. My mind and judgement are now set but I sincerely hope ED will not let too many of these places blossom in our beloved area. Or that FM will up its game, through pressure of the demanding ED community! LQ

I highly recommend Michael Rose if you need a paint job. He and his assistant Jammal did a fantastic job at revamping our front of house/windows/doors. They work fast and are thorough. They really care and want you to be happy. Also turn when they say they would!!! All this with a smile and very descent price. A rare breed indeed:-)