No messing around.
Rudy’s first opened way back in 2015 in Ancoats, when there wasn’t a Neapolitan restaurant on every high street. I remember it well. The first time we visited in 2017, it was a seminal pizza for me. Back then finding great pizza was challenging — yes really — and Ancoats was a bit less overdeveloped and bit more underground than it is today.
Fast forward almost a decade, Rudy’s has slid into the DMs of Leeds, Birmingham, Liverpool and beyond. Got big investment, is now a chain of some 24 pizzerias, including one recently in Durham (30-31 Silver St, Durham, DH1 3RD)
It appeared in Durham without fanfare and much to my surprise. Perhaps staying out of the busier Newcastle pizza landscape makes sense. With the recent loss of Brooklyn Pizza Slice (though I imagine it will be back), they can really take on the mantle of the Durham pizza mafia.
It’s ideally located just off the river, and first impressions are that the Durham joint feels like Manchester. Which I guess is a win for the brand consistency of the group, as well as an overall good vibe which let’s be honest, Durham has only a scant few of.
In short, consistency is the name of the game — the menu is the same as anywhere, and barring a couple of specials, it never changes. Here’s a pic from 2017 vs. 2024. Even some of the great restaurants have off days and some variation but whatever they’re doing at Rudy’s, they’ve got it dialled in.
It starts with service which doesn’t hang about — my order was taken and I had a pizza in front of me in less than five minutes which is impressive however you look at it.
Fresh is the name of the game, and in 2024, Rudy’s Durham almost manages to evoke those same feelings it did back in 2017. It’s a soft dough, ‘easily digestible’ they say. Maaaaaybe verging on too soft for me at times, but it’s a bloody good pie. Every time I visit Rudy’s I think that eventually the pursuit of endless profits will take over, or brand standards will slip, but every time it surprises and delights.
This time I tried the triple pepperoni, touting cured meat from Britain (where?), as well as Calabria and Napoli, with hot honey. Are you ever doing a pepperoni if you don’t have hot honey these days? It’s a modern classic, and this fulfils the brief.
I feel like it’s a bit mean on toppings but isn’t everywhere 🙄. It’s £13 but if you’re looking for real value, you’ll find a marg for less than a tenner, or the marinara is £7.95 which is my Cozzy Livs Crisis Tip of the Day. You’re welcome.
Otherwise give the tarantina a go (anchovy, olive), the Calabrese has some particularly good n’duja. Whatever pizza you get they’re up there with the Franco Manca’s, the Pizza Pilgrim’s, and in some cases better than a lot of indies. Really, that good. I’m underselling it here and just urging you to go get one.
As fast as your pie arrives, you can be out the door, so it’s ultra casual. Drinks-wise, it’s equally easygoing. Skip the overly watery (£5!) Rudy’s lemonade, and go for a negroni — here with rosemary and blood orange, it’s a memorable take on the classic. Or the house lager comes reliably from Magic Rock. There isn’t a huge push to upsell on anything else, which is welcome, as nothing else is on a par with the pizzas.
You can see how wet the Caesar salad is. It’s overwhelmingly mayo/vinegary with soggy croutons and just really not a whole lot of care. Clearly, 90%+ of customers get a pizza and a drink and that’s more than enough. The kitchen doesn’t seem equipped for arancini, or even desserts — many of which are bought in.
“Made fresh daily” however, is the tiramisu. I’m quite picky about my ‘pick-me-ups’ these days and this (£6.50) was a bit too dry, not enough bitterness from those coffee-soaked sponges. A shame as the cream is lovely, but it’s just not the best. Fancied a rhum baba, too, but it’s bought in.
It’s interesting to see Rudy’s expand so quickly, and do so maintaining some consistency in a world where chains are usually awful, and dough and fermentation tend to do what they want to do. It seems astonishingly rare that independent restaurants that make the leap to national coverage are able to do so, but 👏🏼👏🏼 to Rudy’s if they can manage to stay true to the Ancoats vision.
Loved it in 2017, and if 2024 Rudy’s Durham means having one less than 20 miles away, love it in 2024 too.
Contact: rudyspizza.co.uk
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