Born from the fire of The Waltzing Matilda Boat – our cult-fave, wood-fired floating pizzeria in Macclesfield – Dough Religion is what happens when you take everything we loved about that wild ride and scale it up, with no rules, no limits, and a lot more oven space.

Dough Religion is the brainchild of a South Manchester chef Chris Edwards, whose journey spans from local kitchens, to Auckland’s fine dining scene, and eventually to the UK’s most talked-about floating restaurant during the lockdown era. That boat, The Waltzing Matilda, gained national press, a Channel 4 feature, and a loyal following for serving epic wood-fired pizzas from the confines of a canal boat. But the space was small, the power limited, and the ambition far bigger than the boat could hold.

Now, that ambition has a new home. At House of Social, Dough Religion is levelling up.

This isn’t Neapolitan, and it’s not a carbon copy of New York either – it’s a Manchester-born hybrid. The team is serving up giant 18-inch pizzas, available whole or by the slice, crafted with long-fermented dough using a blend of the best Italian flours and British produce. Expect vodka sauce pies, burrata-loaded slices, chicken Caesar hoagies, NY cookies, cheesecake, and much more – plus, everything will be made in-house by a passionate team of chefs and pizzaiolos who are here to do things differently.

Dough Religion is more than just pizza. It’s about community, energy, and creating food people truly connect with. Just like the boat, it’s built to bring people together – only now, with way more space and a whole lot more heat.

“It’s not just ‘another’ pizza place – this is going to be Manchester’s pizza place!” – Chris Edwards