Hi Sam, what’s new with you?

Hi! Well, we (the team behind Franco Pizza Bar in Thirroul) have a new addition to our rapidly growing family, Franco Wine Online (visit www.francowineonline.com.au).

Sounds pretty good, what is it?

It’s an online delivery service specialising in small boutique wine makers/brewers and spirit distillers. Our motto has always been quality over quantity, and with over 54 years’ combined experience in the industry we’ve built strong relationships with our favourite importers from local and international wine producers.

It’s these niche suppliers that give us access to all the hard-to-find and highly sought-after wines that our Franco customers have grown to expect from us; it’s our point of difference.

There are so many bottle shops in the South Coast selling the same products, but Franco specialises in hard-to-get wines. You won’t see Franco wines in standard bottle shops.

Okay Sam, let’s get personal – what’s your favourite thing about living on the South Coast?

The community vibe down here is amazing, we believe it’s one of most important aspects of living down here. The proximity to the beach is obviously a big drawcard too.

We’ve booked a table for dinner at Franco Pizza Bar, what do you recommend we order to eat and drink? We have a meat eater (adult), a vegetarian (adult) and three children. Don’t forget dessert…

The best thing about Franco is that we cater for all occasions, whether it be a family night or date night, a get-together with friends or celebrating a special moment. We offer a set menu which showcases some of the highlights from our menu, like the house-made focaccia with Stracciatella and persimmon or our tiramisu.

For the meat eater in the group, we have a wagyu carpaccio with truffle and salted ricotta or along with our signature Franco pizza (pork fennel and garlic sausage, N’duja, mushroom and olive) or just a classic pepperoni (we recommend adding mushroom or jalapenos to spice things up).

For vegetarians we have plenty of options especially with pizzas – zucchini with basil pesto and toasted pepita, potato with pickled onion and rosemary, margherita, mushroom with garlic and oregano, just to name a few.

We have kids’ pizzas available as well with salads and fries to suit. But the big hit for the kids is our Sundae – vanilla gelato, chocolate fudge sauce and a cherry on top. Desserts are a must before leaving; our tiramisu is a must for first-time visitors, vanilla buttermilk panna cotta with rhubarb and pomegranate is a new dessert for our regulars to get excited about.

Wow! Why do I suddenly feel hungry? Okay, back to business… anything special coming up for Franco Pizza Bar?

In May (Sunday 22nd) we have a Sicilian event with local duo Cass and Matt Bugeja of Ain’t Nonnas and Ross Curtis (Mondo Imports). We’ll be bringing a taste of Sicily to Franco and exploring the landscape of the region through food and wine alike.

We’ll also be getting involved with some more local businesses/producers like Benson & The Mooch (June) and the team from Night Parrot. All of which we are super-excited about.

For event updates follow @francopizzabar on Instagram, visit www.francopizza.com.au and sign up to Franco’s enewsletter via the website.