Popular pizzeria known for their massive pizzas set to take over at former Croma site

A popular Manchester restaurant known for serving giant pizzas has announced plans for a new city centre site. Nell's Pizza will take over the former Croma site in the coming months.

The pizza pros are known for their large 14-inch and 22-inch pizzas, cooked New York-style. The brand was established by the founders of Common bar in the Northern Quarter and The Beagle in Chorlton.

Croma was forced to shut its city centre flagship restaurant in the wake of the pandemic. The Manchester pizza institution announced its closure in January 2022 after celebrating its 21st anniversary in November 2021.

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Nell's will open their fourth site in autumn this year in the former home of Croma which operated in the venue just off Albert Square for over twenty years. No date has yet been set for the opening, but the team have said they are 'excited' to be opening in a different area of the city centre, and diners can expect 'delicious' New-York style slices and original cocktails.

Nell's has gone from strength-to-strength since opening its flagship site at the Kampus neighbourhood near Manchester Piccadilly in 2022 . Common co-founders Jonny and Charlotte Heyes were one of the first operators to join the £250m garden neighbourhood.

Nell's pizza concept had already been launched at both Common and The Beagle during lockdown. The flagship site features outdoor seating which overlooks the canal and Canal Street and has attracted a loyal following including singer popstar Lewis Capaldi who posted about his visit on social media.

Nell's huge pizzas are created with dough made in-house using 100% British flour from Shipton Mill and are made to a recipe perfected by founder Jonny, following research trips over to the Big Apple over the last few years. Founders say these trips influenced the types of pizzas they cook in the carbon-neutral ovens.

Their New York-inspired pizzas include the OG Cheese with house tomato sauce and mozzarella, finished with EVOO and parmesan; 'Magic Number', topped with mozzarella blend, vodka sauce, salsa verde and buffalo ricotta cream; and 'Original Sausage Material', with house sausage, pepperoni, house tomato sauce, mozzarella, jalapeño, chilli sauce and parmesan.

As well as pizzas, Nell's serve up sides such as mini stuffed pizzas with dips, wedge salad, Lancashire crisps and pickled chillies, plus individual pizza slices. Their ice cream sandwiches are also very popular and include flavours including salted caramel, cookies and cream, and cookie dough.