As Rudy’s continues to expand their hold on Manchester’s food scene, Portland Street is the newest edition to its growing pizza empire.
Taking over the former Dawson’s Music site on Portland Street, Rudy’s has made itself at home with its signature rustic style, hanging plants, and chalkboard menus.
The new site joins its sibling sites in Ancoats, Didsbury, and on Peter Street with its floor-to-ceiling windows, mezzanine, and outdoor terrace. Since it was established in Manchester in 2015, Rudy’s has since opened 17 sites across the country launching Portland Street with Rudy’s very own Pizza Academy.
We started with a couple of cocktails from the specials menu, opting for the Amaretto Cherries and an Orange Spritz which was zest in liquid form. When I say that the Amaretto Cherries tasted like Italy, I mean I felt like I had been transported to Rome living my best life surrounded by the delicious aroma of pizzas fresh from the oven.
Whilst we did go for a classic Italian starter with the Veggie Campana, when there’s cheesy garlic pizza on the menu you absolutely cannot say no – and this one did not disappoint. As a garlic girly myself, the only criticism I had is that it could’ve done with more garlic – when I have garlic bread, I want GARLIC bread. Other than that, there was a perfect amount of cheese which, whilst not pullable, was still delicious and ranks high on Manchester’s garlic pizza bread leaderboard.
The Veggie Campana was a little bit different, made up of many components including artichoke and roasted red peppers, accompanied by a gorgeous house bread. This plate was a nice light dish to start with the option of a sharing portion also available.
Moving on to the main event: the pizzas. We went for the Tonno and the classic Margherita, both hitting the spot. The Tonno was very well topped, there was no skimping on the tuna, red onions, or peppers; it even had a pleasant little kick. An inevitable consequence of this though was that the base was slightly soggy in the centre but that’s okay, as they say on their takeaway boxes ‘fold and tuck’ the slice and you’re golden.
The Margherita is a classic and definitely a fail-safe, you can’t really go wrong. Rudy’s is no different, serving up a very well-executed Margherita, classic and simple with a good amount of basil.
If we’re getting nit picky, both could’ve done with a tad more cheese, but saying that, neither pizza lacked massively in the cheese department. It is also worth noting that the Parmesan is NOT veggie friendly so we opted to take it off the pizzas as a vegetarian and a pescatarian.
Now it is very important that we mention the dipping sauces Rudy’s has on offer. I never considered having honey with a pizza but now that I’ve tried their Chilli Honey, there really is no going back! The sweetness really adds a whole new level, elevating the pizza and all its flavours, it complemented the Tonno very well. And don’t get me started on the Garlic Aioli, it was like heaven in condiment form and that’s all I have to say.
If you know me, you know that I never say no to dessert and this time was no different. I did have to take home some of my pizza in order to leave room for their tiramisu. I can confirm that Rudy’s pizza is just as good the next day!
The tiramisu is made fresh in house every day. Tiramisu can be quite a difficult one to perfect, but I’d say that Rudy’s is getting there. It was the perfectly portioned sweet treat to finish off what was a delicious meal.
Rudy’s on Portland Street is open Monday to Sunday 12-9pm. They accept walk-ins but it’s best to book as unsurprisingly the City Centre site fills up very quickly, even on the terrace – especially on a sunny day.
