Sometimes it’s OK to believe the hype. Noi Quattro is the perfect example of when high expectations are exceeded by the kind of reality that doesn’t actually feel real.

If you live in or around Manchester, you’ll have heard about the new pizza place opening in the Northern Quarter. You’ll have heard how it’s Manchester’s first independent pizzeria. You’ll know it’s run by four actual Italians (The name translates to ‘The Four Of Us). You’ll have heard all about its authentic pizza ovens.

It’s all fabulous stuff, but have you heard how good the pizzas actually are? Most of us claim to be Italian at least in part. So I implore you to think of your ancestors next time you sit down to the kind of doughy deep dish, mass topping, mozzarella/cheddar overload monster that we Mancunians have been forced to accept over the years.

Don’t get me wrong…sometimes, you need to do it American style. (We love you Crazy Pedros)

But don’t fool yourself into thinking that this is the true pizza experience in the glory with which it was intended by the Neapolitans all those years ago. Only when you bite into that first slice of Spinata and experience the bite of the spicy salami and fresh chilli, somewhat evened out by the crispness of the base and sweetness of the tomato, will you experience pizza how it was intended to be.

Gone are the days of the pizza belly. Noi Quattro specifically mix their dough so that it is easy to digest. In their words, it’s ‘Good ingredients on good dough.’