Pizza Express — Restaurant in England

Really nice food, but be prepared to wait (quite a lot).

We booked in for 7 last night, but had to queue outside for 25 minutes (they did apologise and tell us they were running late though). Personally, I think this is fine considering we're still going through an epidemic.

We were encouraged to check in using the Test and Trace QR code which was encouraging (although the group in front of us just took pictures of it using their camera app 🤦).

Upon being seated, it took 10 mintes to get a drink, another 10 minutes to order our food, a further 20 minutes to receive our starter, then a further 25 minutes to receive our main.

The food is reasonably priced for the quality, but I can't help but feel that you're purposefully made to wait longer to encourage you to buy more drinks. You can view the menu and pay via their app, but can't order through it (which speaks further to them wanting to control how long you have to wait to order etc., in...

We visited here as a family of 6 for our 3 year olds birthday meal. Upon arrival, the place was really quiet, and after reading some mixed reviews our initial thoughts were “oh, have we made a mistake?”

We were quickly greeted and taken to our table. Our server Natalie was fantastic throughout. She could not do enough for us. The food and drinks were all served quickly and everything was delicious. The place soon livened up but we did not feel crowded or rushed.

Natalie got wind that it was our daughter’s birthday, and added a candle to her brownie and sang Happy Birthday. This was such a lovely touch, and this will definitely be a birthday meal we all remember.

Genuinely, I cannot think of a bad thing to say about this Pizza Express, and we will definitely be returning...

So... Pizza Express, like many chain restaurants, is trying to keep alive during a time where many people will be cutting back on their spending.

Gone is the pretentious music with a generic selection for folks in their 30s/40s/50s taking it's place.

There are subtle but noticeable reductions in the size of food on offer. It's an effective cost saving strategy, and although there's less value there, it does give you space for more things I guess.

A big difference for me is an attempt to heat the plates to keep the pizzas warmer for longer. They still get cold quickly, but that's probably due to the marble tables.

Overall, if you can spend £30 per person on pizzas, you've found...