Pizza Express

I had never felt compelled to visit a Pizza Express before last night: I now regret that I was made to go there even once. To sum it up, this place neither gets Pizza nor Express right. Don’t go unless you have a sudden and unbearable surplus of joie de vivre that you feel must be forced out of you.
Pizza Express seems to be an interesting business concept that manages to fall squarely between two concepts: that of the the cheap-​and-​efficient fastfood joint and that of the slightly more upscale chain restaurant. While it seeks to cover both needs, at my visit, it managed neither.
I was visiting in a party that had preordered our menu and choices so there would be no confusion. Still, it took around an hour for our pre-​ordered drinks to arrive, even though they consisted of nothing more than bottles of beer or glasses of cheap, sweet prosecco. The staff didn’t supply water for more than maybe a quarter of the guests, maybe in an attempt to make people order more drinks. Meanwhile, people were starting to look at their watches, wondering what the kitchen was up to.
Down in the cookhouse, they must have taken a nap or decided that matters other than cooking were more important to tend to, as it took almost 2 hours (!) for just some bread and spreads to arrive — and then, in pitifully small quantities and of a quality that made you wonder whether the kitchen had run out and had had to go to the local Tesco to resupply before being able to carry on.
When, after still more waiting, our (again, pre-​ordered) pizzas arrived, they looked small and sad. There was little difference in their presentation, with unknown meats scattered across a too thick, non-​crispy, low-​protein dough. I understand that some people have come to be of the opinion that somehow Pizza Express are serving good or ‘upscale’ pizza. Surely, this must be based on a comparison with no-​holds-​barred gastronomic atrocities. If compared to places that add silicone-​based chemicals to their fake mozzarella, Pizza Express might stand out favorably, but if compared to the supermarket version of PE’s own pizzas, there seems to be no difference; and if compared to eateries with just a basic knowledge of the actual Italian dish, what Pizza Express is pure misery.
Their diminutive size was thus only a problem upon arrival and when everyone was starving: even after waiting several hours for food, I was rather looking forward to shaking the food experience off me than having to cope with larger amounts of this affront to pizza.
The desserts were puzzlingly served as samplers of three desserts to be shared between four people — a rather surprising choice, given that we were simply given four spoons to split: an overly sweet chocolate brownie; a lemon cheesecake (the best of bad bunch of choices this night); and a raspberry sorbet. If it is not some odd social experiment — which the franchise might well turn out to be — who asks groups of guests who share no intimate ties to share a melting raspberry sorbet?
The décor, of course, was industrial and uninspiring — but that was expected. That the acoustics of the room were also so poor that normal conversation turned into a brisk game of lip-​reading was the straw that broke the camel’s back, as it denied us our last chance to mentally retreat from the combination of terribly late, terribly cooked, and terrible served ‘food’ — all served at a price that would have bought a decent steak frites at local French outlets, or actually great pizza at local alternatives such as the White Rabbit.

I was pleasently suprised as to how nice this place was! They offer alot of great super thin rust pizzas packed with flavor. To start we got the «dough» balls wich came with three dipping sauces, butter, spicy causage and pesto. They were really fresh and delicious. As a main i got the Giardiniera pizza wich came with anchovies, mushrooms, olives. Since the pizza was very thin crust it tasted like a refreshing salad and you leave really full at the end of the meal. The pizzas are served in large plates and everyone gets a pizza cutter which i thought was unique and fun! They have alot of glutten free and healthy options for everyone!
The restaurant is pretty big and accomodation to large parties. Also, the staff was very friendly

My favourite Pizza Express, great location, great service, and the food has always been good. I love pizza express vouchers, which make the whole experience even better! This Pizza express is much better than the one in the covered market!

Predictably excellent. Popped in with a mate & his kids and wowsa (!) you should see what a pile of grub they give the little ‘uns! Dough balls, pizza & pud for six or so quid. I was seriously considering it myself. I see a couple of Qypers were unhappy with the service. I wasn’t. This is one BUSY place & I couldn’t do any better than they did! Oxford is SO busy with tourists everywhere you need to cut the staff a little slack…

Poor, inattentive and impolite service on several occasions. The food is the same as every other PizzaExpress in the land; mediocre and overpriced.
This branches only pulling point is the nice /​more up market environment that Oxford so craves, but never carries through successfully.

Service was very slow considering only two tables i nthe restaurant. Waiters seemed unorganised and chaotic.
Only worth it on their 241 offer.

Excellent, I really like pizza express anyway, but the Oxford Castle one is particularly nice because of the setting and the outside seating available. The food is always fantastic and taste fresh and the staff are friendly and efficient. The open kitchen also inspires confidence. Their wine is a little pricey, but is very good.

Pizza Express is a lovely restaurant! There is a small amount of seating downstairs, where they prepare and cook the food, and large seating upstairs. Both are nice really, with a great atmosphere and helpful and friendly staff. There are some seats outside, which is nice on a sunny day! The service is really good, although if it is a large party it is a good idea to book first.
The food is yummy! I like there pizzas, so thin and crispy! The menu is full of choice, plenty of options for vegetarians too. It is definitely worth leaving space for deserts! They are delicious! I recommend the sundaes and the sorbet! The prices are very competitive and reasonable too. Definitely worth a worth, the restaurant has a lovely location of being within the Castle, very pretty and also takes you away from the busiest of the centre of town.

WONDERFUL! Been here with both a large group and just hubby and each time I have had a fab time.
We have been downstairs once and I don’t recommend it but it is a small area. Try and get upstairs if possible as it is beautiful. Open, high ceiling with beautiful tables laid in such a lovely way it creates the most wonderful atmosphere.
When I was there last, the wonderful waiter not only helped me select my tipple, he also helped with which pizza I should get to compliment it!
I just cannot rave enough about how wonderful this branch of Pizza Express is and to top it all off, the Castle Complex is beautiful. day or night, summer or winter this place is magical and a beautiful place to visit.
I highly recommend this place!

This is a lovely Pizza Express. The food is really good quality and the is a wide menu with lots of choice ofr vegetarians.
Pizza Express are very helpful and eager to meet your needs– if you want a pizza with less cheese, or without the olive oil, then they will happily do this for you.
The puddings are amazing– especially the sundaes!
The service has always been fast and efficient every time I’ve been there, and the waiters and waitresses are very friendly.
If you sit downstairs, you can even watch the chefs prepare your food in the open-​style kitchen.
The food is very good value for money and the prices are very reasonable. Definitely worth a visit– the food is truly yummy!

This Pizza Express is in a different location set away from the main shopping area of town, within the walls of the old Oxford Gaol (jail)/Castle. Very pleasant and helpful towards little ones, set across two levels. THe upper level provides a more pleasant dining experience.
And the bonus is that there is a Krispy Kreme donut shop just around the corner (if they have any left).

I found this branch to be very helpful, especially with young children and disabled folks (I have both). The staff are friendly and you can choose to sit outside on warmer days. The food is of a high quality and reasonably priced. Maybe LLB got them on a bad day?

This is a great setting for a restaurant — right in the middle of the castle complex, very atmospheric. This makes this branch of the chain a bit special compared to the others, worth a visit if you’re not in the mood to be adventurous and try something new, but still want to go somewhere nice.
The food is great — delicious pizzas, great pasta, a range of good starters and salads and well worth giving the deserts a try. The service is a bit unfriendly in my experience here and they’re not terribly accommodating — The staff refused to put me and my friends together on a table of 9 and offered us a 4 and a 5 instead, but insisted that the food would not come at the same time — why not just push the tables together for us?
Give it a try — great food and a brilliant location, let down by mediocre service.