If you’ve not already heard the news, Pizza Pilgrims are prepping their launch in the city.  We got wind of the move back in early April and put the feelers out with a few guys at PP HQ, but got zero confirmation, or even denial.  But fortunately, our insider goss was made official a couple of months later.

The London based institution that is Pizza Pilgrims is headed up by brothers Thom and James Elliott, and I remember the guys from when Pizza Pilgrims was a fledgling brand down in the capital, where after a pilgrimage around Naples they ran a single shop in Soho and had just started a pop up in Harvey Nichs.  Since then they’ve come a very long way and are rightful favourites for anybody who’s on the hunt for quality pizza down in the capital.  Looking back at their story, there’s no question at all that Pizza Pilgrims were a huge part of the whole Neapolitan style pizza movement which took over London, and eventually the rest of the UK.

Anyway, as part of the advertisement campaign for Manchester’s launch, some press and influencers were kindly sent a make-at-home pizza kit in the mail!   So last Saturday night, after a long working week when being at home and doing very little appealed, it was perfect timing for my kit to arrive.

The well packed kits, complete with ice packs, contain various tubs to safely house your dough, sauce, toppings, and even some super thoughtful Caputo flour for working the dough to the right size.  Generally, the at-home kits are beautifully presented.  Opening it took me right back to the days when leaving the house was illegal and every weekend’s highlight was receiving a semi prepped box of food from a restaurant 200 miles away, so that you could fantasise about being there in person once again, eventually.

Prep is super simple and well guided via an online video, and once the dough has been shaped, cooking the pizzas is a breeze.  All you’ll need is a frying pan and a grill.  The pan cooks the underside of the base and gets that crust starting to bubble, and the hot grill does the rest.  The whole cooking process takes around 4 minutes, with the eating taking not much longer than that!  We had a great time making them, and the goods are as true as you can expect to the in-house Pizza Pilgrims experience.

In an almost psychic-like happening; as I type this article, Pizza Pilgrims HQ have literally just Insta reshared my at home efforts, which look a fair bit better than some of my press colleagues’ attempts, if I do say so myself.  But that’s why you lovely readers have trusted our word on food for over 25 years.

So whilst this post wasn’t ever intended to advertise the at home kits, and was more about the launch of their new restaurant, I’d still 100% recommend getting a kit for when getting an in-house Pizza Pilgrims fix isn’t possible.  Although, pretty soon, that won’t be an issue for us lucky Mancs. Pizza Pilgrims opens on Deansgate on August 18th, and they’re kicking things off in true Pizza Pilgrims' style with a week-long soft launch from August 11-17th, featuring 50% off food and drinks!

Read our full news piece on the Pizza Pilgrims Manchester launch, located on our news page via the link at the top of this site. Book your table now at the link below, or order pizza in the post at the link below.

** Our at-home experience was gratefully comped **