Margherita Sbagliata at Fatto a Mano [Fatto a Mano]

FOR a handful of chefs, a Netflix series about pizza restaurants was their breakthrough moment. After a star appearance in Chef’s Table: Pizza, there are daily queues to score a table at pizzerias such as Monk in Kyoto or Pizzeria Bianco in Phoenix.

Until this month, you could only sample award-winning chef Franco Pepe’s “Margherita Sbagliata” at his restaurant in a small town to the north of Naples. But now the UK pizzeria chain Fatto a Mano has won the rights to serve it as their special during the month of May.

Pizza restaurants are thriving in Britain, bucking the trend of most hospitality businesses over recent years.

Fatto a Mano began life in Brighton back in 2015 and now has five branches, including one in Pancras Square in King’s Cross and a new larger outpost on St Martin’s Lane in Covent Garden.

The King’s Cross branch is a two-minute walk from the train stations, right opposite the vast Google offices.

Set over two floors, it has an outdoor terrace and seating upstairs. The oven takes pride of place on the ground floor – but you won’t spot any flickering flames.

A new generation of electric pizza ovens are starting to replace the wood or gas-fired options. They are a more sustainable technology and easier to manage.

At Fatto a Mano, in true Neapolitan style, they cook their pizzas at 450 °C for around 90 seconds.

There is nothing hugely innovative about their menu – but that’s the point. Fatto a Mano does all the basics very well. They serve large, well-topped pizzas starting at £11. The menu includes starters such as burrata and deep-fried arancini and calzone.

Beer gets a star billing. They offer eight beers sourced from small micro brewers such as Lost and Ground in Brighton and Ascension in East Sussex.

Cocktails include an Amarena Bellini, made with spumante fizz, cherry syrup and amarena cherries.

We grabbed the last table upstairs. The young and friendly staff were under pressure but worked fast and efficiently to an eclectic soundtrack featuring Amy Winehouse.

Our Pizza Norma (£13) was smothered in two types of ricotta and mozzarella then scattered with chunks of fried aubergine.

The Franco Pepe special (£16; £1.50 of each sale donated to charity) translates as “The Mistaken Margherita”. This pizza is a kind of deconstructed, topsy-turvy take on the classic. The white base is cooked with buffalo and fior di latte mozzarellas, extra virgin olive oil but no tomato.

Once cooked, the chefs finish it with thick stripes of an almost-foamy fresh tomato sauce made with special Riccio tomatoes then add dots of a vivid green basil oil.

It is visually striking and fun to eat: the fresh tomato passata is both deeply comforting and highly addictive. Don’t hang about – available this month only.

Fatto a Mano – King’s Cross
Unit 1, 3 Pancras Square, N1C
020 3148 4900
Fatto a Mano – Covent Garden
30 St Martin’s Lane, WC2N
020 3340 4775

@ fattoamanopizza
www.fattoamanopizza.com