{"id":264479,"date":"2025-07-14T14:51:14","date_gmt":"2025-07-14T14:51:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/264479\/"},"modified":"2025-07-14T14:51:14","modified_gmt":"2025-07-14T14:51:14","slug":"popular-pizzeria-which-started-life-in-a-pub-to-open-first-manchester-location","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/264479\/","title":{"rendered":"Popular pizzeria which started life in a pub to open first Manchester location"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>&#8216;We&#8217;ve been looking to open in Manchester for ages&#8217;<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/0_AMR_MEN_140725_PP_02.jpg\" alt=\"Pizza Pilgrims is opening its first Manchester venue this summer\" loading=\"eager\"  \/>Pizza Pilgrims is opening its first Manchester venue this summer(Image: Pizza Pilgrims)<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">A popular pizzeria which started life as a drunken conversation in a <a class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk\/all-about\/manchester-pubs\" target=\"_self\" aria-label=\"\" tabindex=\"0\" rel=\"noopener\">pub<\/a> almost 15 years ago is to open its first ever venue in Manchester later this summer.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">Pizza Pilgrims, which was founded by brothers James and Thom Ellio, will be opening in <a class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk\/all-about\/deansgate\" target=\"_self\" aria-label=\"\" tabindex=\"0\" rel=\"noopener\">Deansgate<\/a> in August, serving up pizza and cocktails that they have become known across the country for.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">The concept behind the street food venture began as part of a five-pints-deep conversation held in a London pub in 2011 where they contemplated quitting their jobs in advertising and in the TV industry to open their own pizzeria.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">Having taken their own pilgrimage to Italy to learn about pizza-making from those at the top of the game, they launched their own pizza van business before their first <a class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk\/all-about\/restaurants\" target=\"_self\" aria-label=\"\" tabindex=\"0\" rel=\"noopener\">restaurant<\/a> opened its doors in Soho in 2013.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">They now have around 25 locations across the country, including in Leeds and Edinburgh, and have become popular for their Neapolitan-inspired creations which focus on top-quality ingredients and feature a light, chewy and charred crust.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/0_AMR_MEN_140725_PP_04.jpg\" alt=\"Pizza Pilgrims' creations focus on top-quality ingredients and feature a light, chewy and charred crust\" loading=\"lazy\"  \/>Pizza Pilgrims&#8217; creations focus on top-quality ingredients and feature a light, chewy and charred crust(Image: Pizza Pilgrims)<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">Its pizzas are made from 00\u2019 flour from the Caputo mill, as well as DOP San Marzano tomatoes, and Campanian Fior di Latte mozzarella, which is all sourced directly from Italy.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">The Deansgate venue, which will open on August 18, will transport customers to Naples via an over-the-top and fun interior featuring pizza-stealing seagulls, clothing lines, a street scene mural created by a local artist and even a \u2018Fiat Panda Pop\u2019 bar.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">Alongside its pizzas, like the Marinara Extra, the Smoky Aubergine Parmigana, and the Double Pepperoni and Hot Honey, the pizzeria&#8217;s menu also includes Sicilian Nocellara olives, pickled cucumbers and crispy spaghetti balls. For afters, there&#8217;s the likes of the Nutella pizza ring, gelato, and a Ferrero Rocher espresso martini to choose from.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/0_AMR_MEN_140725_PP_03.jpg\" alt=\"The pizzeria will open its doors officially on August 18\" loading=\"lazy\"  \/>The pizzeria will open its doors officially on August 18(Image: Pizza Pilgrims)<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \"><strong class=\"Strong_strong__e2x35\">Stay connected with our City Life newsletter <a class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk\/newsletter-preference-centre\/?view=Solus&amp;mailingListId=d1c9a1cf-d773-47a3-b51a-f456316221bc&amp;utm_source=solusarticle\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"hereLink opens in a new tab.\" tabindex=\"0\" rel=\"noopener\">here<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">The restaurant will also serve up a wide drinks and cocktail menu, featuring Aperol Spritz and Negronis, as well as ice cold shots, wine, cider and beer, including Ichnusa Sardinian lager, alongside house-made iced teas and sodas.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">The Deansgate venue will feature 140 covers across a ground-floor and mezzanine dining space, and will also include a top-floor masterclass kitchen and chef\u2019s table which will let customers learn from the pros when it comes to dough-stretching.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">\u201cWe&#8217;ve been looking to open a Pizza Pilgrims in Manchester for ages,\u201d founders James and Thom said. \u201cThis city is really special to us as we were both born in Manchester and raised in the local area, so it feels like we&#8217;re coming back to our roots.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/0_AMR_MEN_140725_PP.jpg\" alt=\"Pizza Pilgrims was founded by brothers James and Thom Ellio\" loading=\"lazy\"  \/>Pizza Pilgrims was founded by brothers James and Thom Ellio(Image: Pizza Pilgrims)<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">\u201cWe&#8217;ve waited a long time for the right opportunity to present itself, as it&#8217;s such a cool, exciting, and individual place with such a unique energy. It&#8217;s not a place that you can just swagger into! We can&#8217;t wait to join the city&#8217;s amazing food community!\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">To coincide with the Deansgate opening of Pizza Pilgrims, a soft launch week-long soft launch will take place from August 11 to 17 featuring 50% off food and drinks and masterclasses <a class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pizzapilgrims.co.uk\/manchester-softs\/\" target=\"_self\" aria-label=\"\" tabindex=\"0\" rel=\"noopener\">on bookings<\/a>. On August 13, 1000 free pizza slices will also be up for grabs.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">Pizza Pilgrims will officially open on August 18. 105-107 Deansgate, M3 2BQ.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"&#8216;We&#8217;ve been looking to open in Manchester for ages&#8217;Pizza Pilgrims is opening its first Manchester venue this summer(Image:&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":264480,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8813],"tags":[748,17630,393,4884,8885,2199,257,2465,8086,8886,280,281,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-264479","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-manchester","8":"tag-britain","9":"tag-deansgate","10":"tag-england","11":"tag-great-britain","12":"tag-italian-food","13":"tag-italy","14":"tag-london","15":"tag-manchester","16":"tag-manchester-city-centre","17":"tag-manchester-restaurants","18":"tag-restaurants","19":"tag-street-food","20":"tag-uk","21":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114852154238069708","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/264479","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=264479"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/264479\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/264480"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=264479"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=264479"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=264479"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}