I know this is the ubiquitous high street chain Pizza Express I am writing about here - am I really reviewing this? It's not really a thrilling recommendation for you all.
You know what you are getting and you can't usually go wrong with a Pizza E. I guess it's the chain equivalent of home cooking cravings. My staple is the Romana Padana aka the Padana goat cheese pizza on a thinner Romana base for me. If I am feeling particularly virtuous it was the salad nicoise, only they've taken tuna completely off the menu - come back little fish, I miss you, are you not sustainable anymore?
Not all Pizza Express are created equal, some are pokey and tiny. Others have appalling service. That's why I ordinarily end up in the St John's Wood branch for a cheapo dinner with my family. The location works for us and it's a good size. There's a light airy conservatory area you can sit in, and there are also tables outside for al fresco dining. Very occasionally they also have live music.
Don't forget to go to the offers website to print a discount voucher or show the promotional code on your smart phone. The 2 for 1s they offer moved this chain out of my "Snore. dull dull dull, lets try something new" compartment of my brain that it presided in before the credit crunch - to the "Can't resist a bargain" bit. Perhaps this will devalue there brand in the long run. I am not sure whether I could ever pay full price for a Pizza Express again.
The dinner will sometimes end up in humiliating confusion with the L family trying to calculate which offer voucher is the best value. Oh the choices - 2 for 1, Orange Wednesday, set menu? The waiter's almost upon us, which one? Which one?.. . The staff are usually courteous to us despite all this kerfuffle, and even put up with my pizza topping substitutions and my mum's requests for her salad to have no potatoes, no dressing, no food.
I admit sometimes the staff get confused by our hectic family demands. Last night I think our waiter accidentally gave us free coffees. Hurrah, that's my kind of mix up.
However, it's pretty cool that Pizza Express let you get the discount codes over the phone. They also get props for having a smart phone app that lets you pay for your meal too, which might be very useful in a dash
Last night I sat opposite Vanessa Feltz. She didn't use a voucher. The life styles of the rich and sort of famous eh? read more
