Pizza Express

A slightly grainy, floury Risotto Mio with mushrooms to start. I don’t think it should be that way, it was not quite creamy enough either I thought, but it wasn’t bad, just a bit bland and slightly undercooked. The Spiced Lamb Romano Pizza came and there was a lack of sauce meaning it was a bit dry, basic salad tomatoes seemed to have been chopped over it to make up for that deficiency — way too many though, uncooked and not authentic at all. In fact the pizza was really not warm enough. On a more positive note the base wasn’t bad, thin and crispy, which suits me fine and the spiced lamb was pretty nicely seasoned.
A less than average meal though, not bad enough to complain about at Christmas to already harassed but charming, hard-​grafting staff, but at those high prices definitely no better than 2 stars.

I’ve been in this Pizza Express in the Princes Square a few times and was tempted back by a money off voucher on the company website.
The former site of Starbucks the restaurant sits in a prime site to people watch and look out onto the square if you opt to sit outside on the terrace.
When we decided to switch to a comfier booth, staff were friendly and accommodating and requests for tap water while we browsed the menu were met with a friendly «no problem». There was a nice mix of people in the restaurant — some students, a few business people in suits and even a few people dining alone which I think is always nice and a good sign.
The menu has all the usual pizzas and pasta dishes but also a few lighter and gluten free options which I always like. I opted for a lighter Leggera Pizza with goats cheese and red onion which is basically a very thin pizza base with a hole in the middle which is filled with a salad and comes in around 500 calories. This was very tasty for a lighter option and I think most people would struggle to tell the difference between this and a regular thin pizza. My friend went for a classic lasagne which was served piping hot (the waitress kindly warned her to watch her fingers on the hot dish) and really enjoyed it as it wasn’t too heavy and runny that can often be the case with lasagne dishes. A minor gripe was that some salad on the side would have been nice but there were many side options on the menu if you want a bit extra.
There was no way I was passing up dessert so we opted for a rhubarb and apple crumble from the seasonal specials to share. The crumble was sweet, crunchy and roasting hot although a little on the small side. Beneath the crumble sat a rhubarb and apple fruit compote, spiced with ginger and baked with a layer of crème Anglaise which was a bit different from a classic crumble. On another note has anyone noticed the lack of places that do a good crumble :)
On previous occasions I’ve tried the chocolate fudge cake and the gluten free mini brownie which is a personal favourite as its nice and fudgey — there’s nothing worse than a dry cakey brownie in my books!
Overall, a great restaurant for a tasty meal and I’ll definitely be back especially if they continue to provide money off deals and keep their varied menu options.