Pizza by the sea at Franco Pizza Bar

Two minutes into entering Franco Pizza Bar, it's clear this year-old seaside village restaurant is inspiring a lot of customer love. A grumbling, flashing over-sea thunderstorm, along with blacked-out street-lights and a whirling wind, has no effect on diner ardour.

Every seat in the warmly lit, nooky dining areas is filled, with avid pizza-chompers framed by jade-coloured wood panelling, turquoise tiles, dark orange light shades, bentwood chairs and clusters of potted plants. 

The only space available is a small wet table on the outdoor front terrace, where two tiny girls dressed as pirates charge back and forth near a chatty parent group. This predicament reveals the first of Franco's delights; top-notch service. Staff arrive from all directions, wiping down surfaces before erecting an umbrella and pouring glasses of water. Minutes later, when they realise the terrace lights are off, the bar staff cheer at the good fortune of turning them on.

Not to push the point, but, at the end of the meal, our waitress discusses the benefits of hanging the washing on the line, starting your superannuation early and eating marmalade with a thicker toast, all while taking our payment. If this is fake bonhomie they deserve an Oscar.

The other shining light is Franco's menu, its range and depth exuding the joy owners husband-and-wife chef duo Matt and Johannah Taylor, and fellow chef Sam Jones, have for fresh, well-thought out food and wine.

The Taylors moved to the area from Sydney in 2020, after co-running The Wine Library in Woollahra with Jones. Franco Pizza Bar opened in April 2021. The locals flocked but a nimble business plan was warranted as lockdown restrictions arrived three months later, in July. The daily demand for takeaway inspired a sleek ordering system, still in use today, and a dependable revenue source should lockdowns surface again.

A year after opening, Matt Taylor says moving south and opening a business on the cusp of a lockdown has brought huge rewards within its challenges. "We're just really grateful for the business we have, the community here and how they've got it behind us," he says.

Thirroul's food and drink scene has flourished in recent years but, despite the crowds, our food comes quickly with, first, starters of Ortiz anchovies with preserved lemon and olive oil, and cauliflower fritti with chipotle mayo. 

The anchovies, plump and salubrious, their backs striped with citrus ribbons, are fab as are the fritti's crunchy golden parcels of tender veg. Next comes two pizzas - potato and the Franco. The first, layered with roast garlic, gorgonzola, mozzarella, fresh rosemary and pickled onion, is luscious. The second, featuring tomato, pork fennel sausage, nduja, fior di latte, mushroom and olives is spicy excellence. Both highlight Franco's fluffy crunchy pizza dough, rested for 72 hours before hitting the oven. 

It's also worth ordering the crust dippers, a trio of housemade sauces to plunge your pizza ends into, and ranging from pesto to hot sauce and garlic aioli. 

Johannah Taylor's pastry chef skills shine in the chocolate and honeycomb sanga, with milk chocolate semifreddo, and a gobsmacking espresso and dark chocolate tiramisu. The two tiny pirates watch us eat the latter with steely, wishful eyes.

There's no scrimping on portion sizes and everything arrives with cheer and panache. Franco's focus on training their band of young staff in food, drink and service is evident and the extensive drinks menu, ranging from house cocktails to an 80-plus wine list, will impress many. 

Matt Taylor says the aim for Franco is to appeal to all, whether it's antipasto and drinks at the bar, family nosh-ups or occasion meals. Wine and food-lovers' evenings are hugely popular including a recent One Night in Rhone dinner that sold out. There are also plans under way to build a pergola across the front terrace, allowing rain and wind-cover and a 20-seater table.

That will indeed be nice. But I'd still sit in the rain, in the semi-dark, with thunder cracking through the night air, just to eat here.

The low-down

Franco Pizza Bar

Vibe Friendly, coastal pizza with nuanced menu and wine list

Go-to dish Potato pizza with roast garlic, gorgonzola, mozzarella, rosemary and pickled onion

Insta-worthy dish Ortiz anchovies with preserved lemon, or chocolate and honeycomb sanga