Rudy’s Pizza

Heard great things. Pretty much all reviews are ⁵⁄₅ except a «rogue» ¹⁄₅ and a ⁴⁄₅.
When we visited it was busy so we had to wait — instead of waiting in Rudy’s we went more or less across the road to Cutting Room for a drink (a review of that place will be done soon) — and they would call one of us to let us know our table was ready.
We got the call, all excited. Its a nice place and the first thing I spotted was a big pizza oven in the corner. What made Rudy’s better was also the simple fact it was shelter from the rain outside — one of those horrible, rainy, windy Manchester nights. Doesn’t happen that often ;)
As for the food. It was good pizza, don’t get me wrong but I think I prefer my pizza a bit more crispy/​thin and less dough. And I think, the expectation had been built up with all the Unilocal reviews and also it is listed in the guide Where to Eat Pizza, which lists the best pizza parlours in 48 different countries. Rudy’s (and Honest Pizza) are the only ones in the North West of England to be listed.
So thinking about the rating out of 5, its tricky. Taking into account personal preference on style of pizza and trying to not be effected by high expectations (which for anything you almost never can be met). Hmmmm. I think its a 4 — not a 5 for me and 3 seems a bit «harsh».

In which the El Food Brothers eat tasty pizza at Rudy’s and ‘get creative’ by taking one of their own ideas and doing it back to themselves. Hopefully now I’ll be able to get this tune out of my head.
Hit play on this
if you don’t know the Specials ‘A Message to You Rudy’
Stop your messing around
Ancoats might be your future
Northern Quarter ain’t all that
Eating calzone in town
Rudy, a pizza from you
Rudy, a pizza from you
They ain’t fooling around
They make cracking pizza
You’ll see them kneading the dough
Hand craft your lunch time treat
Rudy, a pizza from you
Rudy, a pizza from you
Rustic Charm all around
None of this hipster bullshit
Bonus points are found
They put egg on my pizza
Rudy, a pizza from you
Rudy, a pizza from you
Meat and cheese abound
Lardo and a Calabrese
60 seconds in the big oven
Sprinkle on some parmesan
Rudy, a pizza from you
Rudy, a pizza from you
Spread some chilli oil around
Better not think of your waistline
Get it into your mouth
Then your in pizza heaven
Rudy, a pizza from you
Rudy, a pizza from you
One thing might make you frown
We think its a bit hidden
They should get a big sign
Then, No trouble being found
Rudy, a pizza from you
Rudy, a pizza from you
9 Ann’s out of 10 Coats

When your Italian friend says «Rudy’s is the best Pizza in Manchester» then you just have to give it a go. And boy was she right; this is truly delicious Neopolitan Pizza.
This cool pizza palace is dominated by the authentic pizza oven, whose searing heating bakes the soft dough to perfection in just over a minute.
They don’t take reservations, so if there are no seats just leave your number and head over the road for a drink at the Cutting Room Café & Bar and await your call!
On this visit we were asked to sit at the bar which faces the Pizza over. I was slightly miffed at first, thinking I’d much prefer the space of a normal table, however once sat we had the perfect view of the pizzas being made, the Pizza oven and the Italian banter of the three Pizza chefs, which actually added a lot to the experience. Soon the the chefs were including us in the banter even asking if they’d put enough topping on the pizza (obviously we asked for a bit more!).
The pizza is just so damn tasty; with a great range of quality toppings. The dough is nice and thin, but the crust is so soft and chewy. Not being able to select just one pizza, we ordered two between us and swapped halves so we got to try two different styles. I still couldn’t tell you which I preferred more, but the special with ‘a hint of tomato’, ham, and fresh pea shoots might just edge it.
The wine was also amazing; we opted for the recommended Red wine at £24 a bottle, as we thought we’d splash out as the Pizza was only £8 each. It was so delicious we sat long after we’d finished our Pizza with a second bottle!
A great relaxed venue with amazing Pizza and wine. What more can you ask?

If you read my reviews of Manchester’s Pizza joints, each one seems to be coming closer and closer to an authentic Neapolitan pizza. Mathematically speaking, with every pizza I eat in Manchester these days the distance between an authentic Naples pizza and our pizza seems to be getting halved. True, our pizzas may never reach the real thing (mathematically) but Rudy’s is close enough for all practical purposes
Tucked away off the beaten path but still remaining fairly central, Rudy’s serves amazing pizzas. They also have a wide selection of drinks, but let’s focus on the pizza. shall we? Pizza is such a simple dish that, you can judge the quality of the entire offering by simply ordering a margarita.
We again went with our Italian friends and ordered 4 margaritas and a customised pizza with itlaian sausage and a broccoliesque thing. All of them were amazing. The crust was baked to perfection, the passata was apparently home made and tasted fresh, the mozzarella tasted creamy and the basil was dancing along on the fringe.
We went on a thursday night and waited about 40 minutes for a table. Then another 30 minutes for the pizzas to be delivered to our table. Tell you what, it was well worth the wait. As an added bonus, it is also a display of Rudy’s popularity. I must also mention that the staff were friendly and polite, despite the busyness. In the end, the damage was 55 quid for 5 pizzas, drinks and a tip for four people. Not bad.
As with everywhere else, I sincerely hope they maintain their levels of service and quality.
Bonus fun fact: if a cylinder had a radius ‘z’ and thickness ‘a’, its volume is pizza. ;)

I first visited Rudy’s for a CouchSurfing event for which I’m thankful, because it probably would have taken me a lot longer to discover this place on my own given the location! I actually walked right past the entrance trying to find the place the first time I went. I dragged my boyfriend back shortly after the CS event to share this discovery and he was equally impressed.
In terms of décor, there’s a cool industrial vibe and lots of space. The servers are friendly and the pizza has been consistently delicious; the best I’ve had in the city centre! Given my love of mushrooms and white sauce pizza, I’ve had the portobello twice and each time it’s been delicious! There’s a decent selection of beers and wine as well to accompany their delightful pizza.
In sum one of the top pizza places in the area along with Double Zero in Chorlton — definitely the best in the centre!

Manchester’s best pizza.
Having previously had their pizza at guerrilla eats, I finally visited their new restaurant with a friend.
It was busy, but the friendly staff were able to squeeze us in on the counter where we could see the pizzas being made.
I preferred the Lardo. I was apprehensive about egg on a pizza, but it turned out to be amazing.
The pizzas are proper Italian-​style thin crusts cooked in a wood fired oven.
I’ll definitely be going back.

There has been a lot of hype surrounding this place so I was excited when I finally got the opportunity to try it out. We found it tricky to track down as I’m not really familiar with the area but it was worth looking for!
It was a Saturday evening so we had prepared ourselves for the fact there would be a wait but considering how popular this place is it was only 20 minutes. We waited in a seating/​corridor area at the back of the restaurant and we were really taken care of, we ordered drinks which only took minutes to arrive and were shown menus.
The thing I loved most was how simple the concept is. The menu is short and concise and uses quality ingredients to create amazing pizzas. I love that they have white pizzas (no tomato sauce) as it challenges the idea of typical pizza. The food is so reasonable and drinks even more so. A bonus for me was the Aperol Spritz on the special board, I am a huge fan and knocked back three with no problems what so ever! The ice-​cream is from Gingers Comfort Emporium and the vanilla is the best ice-​cream in the world, so creamy and perfect after a huge pizza. The food all came so fast and the service was relaxed and friendly.
The décor is minimalistic but comfortable at the same time. It works perfectly with the concept to create a relaxed atmosphere. The hype wasn’t wrong, big fan!

After failing miserably to get a table on their launch night (what were we thinking?), it was a couple of months later that we finally got to try out the pizzas everyone seemed to be raving about — and as you can guess, we weren’t disappointed.
Warmly welcomed, our large group were seated towards the back at a table with bench seating. It’s a quirky layout at the moment, almost a U-​shape with the wood-​fired oven in the middle and dining space around it. It wasn’t clear whether the long, unused ‘corridor’ back to where the toilets are was eventually going to become additional dining space (which they need given their popularity) or remain as a temporary waiting area for customers.
The menu is concise with around nine pizzas available (some are tomato-​based; others are white sauce-​based). We all ordered beers from local brewery Runaway.
My Portobello tomato-​based with Tuscan sausage arrived after not too long a wait (despite there being 10 of us) and it was HUGE and delicious — larger than Honest Crust’s pizzas in Altrincham Market House but equally tasty. Rudy’s are better value for money at less than a tenner.
Burgers are starting to lose their appeal for me in the city at the moment — it’s time for amazing, freshly prepped pizzas to take the crown for a while and you can bow to your new ruler on Cotton Street in Ancoats. Long may they reign.

I honestly wouldn’t have thought that there would be an indy pizzeria out in Petersfield/​Ancoats, as I tend to associate this kind of thing more with the City Centre area. That said, if you’re willing to venture a bit further off the beaten track that is the Northern Quarter then Rudy’s Pizza is certainly a reward.
I can best describe the interior as minimalist, clean, and modern. Lots of white and lots of wood. It’s not the largest pizza joint around, so when we arrived on a Saturday evening we were told it’d be a 45 minute wait for a table. This wasn’t an issue, though it was actually more like 15 – 20 minutes before we were seated which was an impressive turnaround given that the place was packed.
Once seated, we had time to peruse the menu and deliberate over our food choices. To kick off with, everyone I was with — and myself — opted for the Campari soda which came with crisps. I’ve never had it before, but I was curious to see just how bitter an aperatif Campari was — turns out, pretty damn bitter. I don’t know about my friends, but I was slightly disappointed when only one «portion» of crisps arrived with the soda’s. (To clarify, this was post-​beer session and we were all craving some serious starch to soak it up!)
For my pizza, I went for the salame which was delicious. A soft — and foldable! — base laden with plenty of sauce, cheese and most importantly meat, this was one fine pizza! I wolfed it down pretty quickly, though that was out of hunger/​moderate inebriation.
The reason that this is only a 4 star review rather than a 5 is because the waiting area was just some stools tucked away round a corner, with an almost «out of sight, out of mind» feel going as if it was some kind of naughty corner. Also, once we’d eaten and were looking to get the bill and pay, the staff seemed a little slow to the point that two of our group went up and paid. I would’ve thought on a busy Saturday night, if people are waiting to leave then you get them the bill and out the door in a pleasantly prompt manner.
Overall, though, a pretty good pizza place which I’m going to have to visit again. Would recommend!

Huge fan of this place!
After a day of drinking at Runaway Brewery and a quick pint at The Marble Arch, we decided to head over here to soak up the beer.
At around 7pm on a Saturday we were told it’d be a 45 minute wait. I asked if there was a nearby bar they could recommend, and they suggested The Cutting Room or staying in their waiting area. We opted for the latter to avoid faff but were a bit surprised to find that it’s just a row of stools round the corner. I feel like they should at least get a table. As it happened, however, our table was ready before we even had chance to order a beer. Yay!
To start we ordered Campari Sodas which everyone hated except me. So I drank a lot of Campari Soda. This comes with crisps which feels delightfully continental.
Becka H and I shared two pizzas: the Tarantina and the Ancozze. They didn’t have any sausage for the Ancozze but as we were the kind of hungry that only comes from copious alcohol consumption and therefore not in any frame of mind to reconsider our options, we asked if they could make it with something else and so they subbed in salami.
The pizza was delicious. I was very happy with both of them and would order both of them again quite happily. I’ve been wary of anchovies since a terrible takeout experience where they were used so liberally the flavour was overwhelming and honestly gross, but I trusted Rudys to do better than this. And they did much, much better. The anchovies tasted fresh and delicious. The base and crust of the pizza were chewy and awesome. We all made short work of these, I’ll say that much.
Staff were really nice. Service was a bit slow — especially when it came to paying which is always annoying when you just want to give them your money and go home — but in their defence they were dealing with some large, lairy Christmas parties.
Rudys — I’ll definitely be back! If I was local you couldn’t drag me away but as it is, I’ll just have to find an excuse to get to this side of town more.

Rudy’s is a little off the beaten track but is well worth the walk to get there. On arrival on a Saturday night, we hadn’t booked and were wanting a table for 4. We were told 45 minutes but the table was ready in about 15 so things were off to a good start.
The pizzas came and they were a very good size and delicious. I had the special, a spicy sausage creation which hit the spot. We had all been at a beer festival beforehand which made the pizzas all the more welcome. I finished mine in about 4 minutes and could have had another it was that good (don’t take that as anything against the portion size trust me I wolfed it like only man with a few pints in him can)
Overall the experience was very good. The only minor complaint I had is that it took us about 15 minutes to actually pay after the bill was brought but given it was very busy and there was a noisy Christmas party in there I’m not complaining too much. Highly recommended!

I’ve heard only positive feedback about Rudy’s, and after trying it I can only add other positive comments, along with 5 deserved stars, of course!
Top-​notch ingredients, delightful tastes, typical napolitan pizzas. These few features could already be enough to have one of your best meals ever, but Rudy’s happens to be much more.
First of all, it’s completely unexpensive: you could get a delicious pizza for less than what one usually spends for an average take-​away. The Margherita Extra («Extra» is due to buffalo mozzarella) was just 7.5£, and it blew up my taste!
Not to mention the location, not far from the city centre; the wide glass frontage lets you enjoy the view of the neat square outside, and makes the place full of light. The way Rudy’s furnished is minimalist, yet lovely; on each table there’s a little bottle of Campari full of tiny flowers, so poetic. The staff is nice, and the service is incredibly quick.

Had an enjoyable meal at Rudy’s, whilst nothing was fundamentally wrong with my experience, it wasn’t quite the perfection I expected based on previous reviews. However, I am giving 5 stars based on the overall experience, value, and for thinking outside of the (pizza) box.
I like the location. City centre but not quite. Perfectly walkable from Piccadilly in minutes but also free parking in the street after 6PM. The restaurant has a somewhat industrial feel with some bare plaster, high ceilings and exposed wiring & plumbing. I assume this is intentional!
The menu is fantastic and reasonably priced. I had to try a white pizza for something different, and whilst it was good, I’d probably go for something more conventional next time. The only addition I’d like to see to the menu would be a seafood option. Despite the pizza being quite delicious, when it came to paying the bill, we were given a £1 discount off each pizza because, apparently, the chef was not happy with the pizza dough!
Some nice beers available too. And soft drinks at a reasonable price. I’ll definitely go back and try more of their menu options.
The waiting staff were efficient though not overly attentive. I think an easy improvement would be for the waiting staff to have some kind of uniform even if only a black t-​shirt. Rather than random items of knitwear!

I’m so happy for the guys at Rudy’s pizza. After trying their amazing pizza earlier this year at a pop up at North Tea Power, I have been a fan!
Their place in Ancoats is great. Minimalist décor certainly does the trick — they focus on what they’re good at, and that is making outstanding pizzas.
I ordered the Margherita pizza, in my opinion it’s the way you can tell a good pizza. It was baked on a sourdough base with amazing leoparding from the open wood-​fire oven. The tomato sauce was tangy and the mozzarella stringy and fresh. Faultless.

Im a not a huge pizza person but if every pizzeria was as good as this then I could definitely go to the doughy dark side. This small, independent and friendly place really does tick all the boxes for me.
We arrived at Rudy’s and were welcomed by the friendly and attentive waitresses who seated us quickly and talked us through the craft beet options. As soon as our drinks arrived we cast our eyes over the pizza menu which is a small list of well selected pizza’s and small plates. I decided to go for the sausage meat and broccoli white pizza which was thin, crispy and pretty much perfect. I covered it in chilli oil which to me really completed the dish… from my previous reviews I think its pretty clear I am a bit of a spice addict.
We settled the bill, had a chat with the staff and went on our way. This was my favourite dinner during my time in Manchester. If you are in the city it is well worth a visit!

You know what — 5 stars! Definitely 5 stars!
*Great cool location taking you somewhere slightly off the beaten track but still very city centre.
*Amazing food — the bianca sausage and broc pizza was off the hook!
*Decent craft beer selection from local ale makers.
*Lovely staff, friendly service, efficient and quick.
*Cool minimalist surroundings
*Fantastic tunes
I actually can’t wait to go back — somewhere I’m gonna shout about from the rooftops!

Knowing the pizza scene well in London I had high standards to be met when it came to Rudy’s pizza, but I’m glad to say I was pleasantly surprised.
This newly opened pizza joint in the up and coming Ancoats area of Manchester is a must for anyone who well, loves their pizza!
The dough is thin but doughy on the crusts, they have an array of toppings and daily specials to choose from AND as a lunch special they do pizza butties — YES, PIZZA BUTTIES, Northerners rejoice!
The staff were ridiculously friendly and helpful, the place was packed with people waiting to be seated and whole ambiance was simply warming.
A lot can be said for achieving greatness through simplicity and efficiency and this place if proof of that!
NOTE: They don’t serve rose wine :(

Headed to Rudys on a Thursday evening, it’s only just opened but the place is packed. Tables full with a steady flow of customers. The venue is industrial but trendy with it, Hockney hanging on the walls and pictures of Ancoats back in the day.
The service was really good, friendly and quick.
The pizzas are cooked in a traditional pizza oven so they taste authentic italian! Thin and crispy bases. We had the special with artichokes, ham, olives on a tomato base and also tried a white pizza base with Tuscan sausage, wild broccoli and chilli. Both were really tasty and full of flavour.
The drinks selection was fab with special beers and good soft drinks.
The price was really reasonable, and way cheaper than pizza chains!
Will definitely be back!

Where else can we start other than the great pizzas? Thin but doughy, crispy but chewy, flavourful but not overpowering. What more could you want?
Well, let me tell you… You want good ingredients (check), friendly service (check), a great price (check), fast (check) and other great things on the menu (check check check). I could take or leave the minimalist concrete décor, but seats are comfy. The drinks selection is good — local beers and Birra Moretti for the grain guzzlers. Grape aficionados can expect to be treated to a lovely house Montepulciano with a little spice that works perfectly with the meaty and tomatoey flavours.
The nduja special I had was a good kick in the mouth of spice, but the chalkboard adequately forewarned of this. There was minimal oil and sufficient topping, well spaced out. I’ll be coming back (if I can get a table! 7.30 seems to be the tipping point, but this is when it’s a week old. Who knows how crazy this place will deservedly become.

Ever feel like pizza — and more generally good food — is too expensive in Manchester? Well, that’s because it is.
Put simply Rudy’s do the best pizza in MCR for almost half the price — how? They’re not greedy.
The dough is soft and melt in the mouth, the toppings are simple, fresh and tasty and most importantly of all, it’s not greasy!
There’s Geart and Graft coffee/​Ancoats Coffee Co on offer long with a selection of bottles craft beers.
There’s absolutely no reason not to go and live here, like I now do!