To think pizza express has officially lost its charm and is not the same place it once was.

I’m sure the leggera pizza used to have a proper salad in the middle and then it changed to pretty much just lettuce leaves. Or am I imagining this?

It stopped being good when, they stopped using roquito peppers a couple of years ago. It was always out favourite before that. Although the garlic bread with mozzarella is still 👌

I loved it from 1987 to probably 2005 ish. Then it definitely changed.

It used to be amazing. We went for dinner on a Saturday evening probably every other week. Dough balls, pepperoni pizza and chocolate fudge cake with a bottle of Chianti. Very happy days!

I think both Pizza Express and Pizza Hut are grossly overpriced unless you have a voucher of some sort. I have the Meerkat app and it gives 25% off Pizza Hut sun-Thurs. That’s the only time I’d use them. Even with that reduction it only brings their price in line with a fresh oven baked pizza in an Italian restaurant.

I agree with this. It’s one of my DCs favourite for a more ‘special’ lunch if we’re away.
Definitely reliable for that, or a takeaway.
The one most local to us always assumes you have vouchers when they bring the bill!

Many people only eat there because tesco vouchers. Too pricey for what it is otherwise.

We like the pizzas the one in our local town is pleasant enough surroundings and good service.

The two we visited in London were a shambles, the service was comical, waited an hour in the one near St Paul’s.

Thought the one in Oxford was shabby.

Drinks and dessert are good but overpriced.

It’s not about ‘being in the know’ - it’s about times changing. Pizza Express has a lot of rivals it didn’t have previously. Turns out a lot of people prefer those alternatives.

I like a McDonald’s, so I don’t think I can be accused of pure food snobbery - I don’t think anyone does what they do better. Not the case for PE.

It's safe and reliable. Not a special meal out but a nice meal. But I couldn't believe the price last time I went. 2 starters, 2 pizzas, 1 wine, 1 soft drink and a blue light discount came to £70!!!!!

I quite like it, but I've never had any great expectations. There used to be so many of them that you'd just pop in and enjoy a pizza, dough balls, salad, etc. I used to go the ones in Chiswick and Ealing.

Yes, ours closed down recently but was on its last legs anyway! It was good for a family meal as the kids loved it but much better pizza available out there now. It’s also too expensive and menu is too complicated.

I don't remember them ever having an all you can eat buffet. I remember Pizza Hut did (or may still do).

It really was. Started 1968 by Peter Boizot, who was a lovely man. I worked in the Dean St branch in the early 1990s, in the basement jazz club. Good pizza, good music & PB really looked after his waitresses (any 'handsy' customers were admonished / told to leave). It started to lose its magic with the too-fast franchise expansion, then the early 2000s takeover which turned it into US style fast food rather than it's original Italian roots.

Yeah this was what I was trying to say.

Pandora was a recent thread of a similar vibe.

It was definitely good enough as a date location back in the late 90s early 2000’s. I don’t think I’ve been there in a good 10 years, we have a local pizza place that does amazing bottomless Italian style pizzas for £15 they bring them round straight out of the woodfire. The kids love Pizza Hut buffet

What I find hilarious is how many folk on this thread are queuing up to say “it’s shit” when it doesn’t pretend to be or set out to be as good as your local Italian or whatever else. Denigrating restaurants like Pizza Express has become a classic identifier of “I’m in the know, me” on Mumsnet.

100% agree. Just reading the OP on this thread I just knew it was going to be full of posts saying “Pizza Express has been going downhill since 1992, the pizza is awful, I much prefer [insert name of upmarket pizza restaurant that had three branches in south west London].

It’s so predictable. Hotel Chocolat is another one. People loved it until it became popular enough to open branches in more places around the UK, and now it’s always mentioned on here as having gone downhill with rubbish chocolate.

My money is on Gail’s being the next place to be accused of this.

Personally I really like pizza express. I love the goats cheese pizza, plus the reliability of knowing what you’re going to get. There was also a really nice salad they used to do (Bosco?) that I still miss.

@rainbowsandraspberrygin- it’s not about people being ‘snobby’ or looking down on those who eat at PE. It’s a question of quality and value for money. PE is now expensive for what it offers compared to somewhere like Pizza Union. A lot of us are lucky to live to live in places where there is a huge choice of quality pizzas so can genuinely compare the quality, taste, price. If all you have locally is Dominos, Pizza Hut and PE, then PE will come out on top.

Dreadful. We took dh's grandkids and even they were disappointed.

This is the case for any chain restaurant. Not exactly a ringing endorsement for this one in particular.

I used to date the sous chef at an upmarket hotel. Whenever we were out he chose McDonalds or Weatherspoons. With the wages he was on, he could barely afford anything else.

I had a Pizza Express pizza in November and it was lovely, very fast service too. DH had pasta which he enjoyed; enormous lasagne!

IME it depends entirely on the branch and who is cooking - we have two in our city and one is so much better than the other one.

This depresses me I live in australia and despite amazing pizza here I still long for an American hot 🤣

Pizza express is great for small lads and coeliacs.Therefore I've used it since having my kids.Its an easy option but not somewhere I'd go for a special treat.My teens still love it though.

You can get family meal out for a whole lot less than that. Pizza Express’ menus consists of really low value ingredients comparatively. Charging £20 for a pizza is criminal when you consider that from Miller and Carter you can have a Black Angus Prime Rump steak for the same price.

I don’t begrudge paying for all the things that go with eating out. Restaurants have to make money, but with Pizza Express, the imbalance for the type of food v price is very clear. As someone else said, if you are paying full price, you are actually subsidising all those discounted offers they are well known for.

It was more about the way some people appear to look down on those who like PE.

it’s not cheap. I’ve said that.