Shamed for going to Pizza Express

[Pizzaexpressshame]

This has been on my mind for a few days. Newish friend and I met up one time and I told her how I was in the same area just a week ago with a friend and we had lunch at pizza express. We planned to meet but not much else, so when we got there we were hungry and PE was just the next thing we walked by.

She pulled a face, saying why pizza express, she knows better places, why did you go there etc. A couple weeks later I met her again at a place she chose and had been to before, which also did pizza and pasta. After we ate she said to me 'So what do you think of this place? I find it much better than Pizza Express'. I just said the food was nice but nothing I hadn't had before.

I felt so looked down upon as if I needed to be shown a better place to have lunch at. I find this friend generally exhausting, as in every conversation, every topic, she needs to come out on top. She had also made some racist remarks a few months ago, which I let slide.

Anyway, I have decided I let go of things friend and know how I am going to do it if she wants to meet up again. I won't ghost her. It was on my mind all week, but I feel really good about myself now. Putting myself first and being assertive. I'll find myself another new friend as I don't feel great around her.

I like PE!

Also op, do the slow fade!! You don’t need to harshly ignore when she texts but I wouldn’t meet up with her again.

Nah, I won't do the slow fade. I want to tell her this is it and that we just don't share the same values and interests. I don't want to repeatedly be asked by her to meet up until she might get the message.

Tell her if it’s good enough for Prince Andrew it’s good enough for you…

the racist remarks would mean end of friendship who wants to have a friend like that!?

I love pizza express. (You should have reminded her it was good enough for princesses …)

Funny to see so many people giving you a bad time for letting the racist remarks slide, I have heard so many of them (I am a member of a minority) and I can say that in a real life (ie. Not an online forum) most white people let them slide unless they are blatantly obvious. The “don’t want to get involved” or “it was not my place to say…” runs strong in society.

Having worked there when in college they have excellent quality ingredients from the ice cream to the wine and they are so strict on throwing food out on the correct timeline. I worked in fancier places and the food quality was lower, Pizza Express was one of the only places I will now eat in due to seeing how high the standards were whilst I worked there. People love being food snobs and superior.

People love to pretend they’re better than chain restaurants, like it makes them look more refined or something. Sod that! Dough balls are the best, the end

I don’t think she’s shaming you, I love Pizza Express, it’s great but there’s plenty of places out there that are better.

So the pizza express snobbery stick with you more than her racism?

Where we live we have probably the best pizzas in the UK , you only seem to see families or older teenagers in the chains.

You weren’t shamed , what’s this nonsense about being shamed

It's a really odd comment in general. I know better places than pizza express but I still go in pizza express fairly regularly. I think the kids menu is good, the food arrives pretty quickly and I enjoy the pizza.

Different restaurants serve different purposes, that's why people don't go in the 'best' every time they eat out.

I wouldn't of gone to pizza express with her in the first place though after the racist comments.

Haha she definitely was shaming me. No doubt about it. She's far superior in absolutely everything I don't know how I got this far in life without her.

This is only a front. I actually see a very insecure person who compares herself a lot to others.

I've been to Michelin star restaurants and I will still happily go to pizza express. It's a good choice and you already know what you are going to get. I love their pizzas and the dough balls.

Dammit, I want pizza express now 🤣

Tell her you chose Pizza Express because you can spend your Tesco Rewards there. Then she can show you how to shop at Waitrose.

Maybe I'd just go dough balls chips and all the desert. :D

I'm more pissed off with Zizzi! Friend and I had travelled for some distance out of the area to attend the Michael Buble concert in Manchester.

Went in there quite early with ample time to be served. We waited for an hour and a half/two hours and had drunk the bottle of wine we ordered. We had to leave for the concert unfed. Totally unimpressed!!

Had earlier attended the Beyonce concert in the 02. Pizza Express had decent food served promptly and one of the nicest bottles of wine I've had!

@wottf I eat out a lot and did eat out a lot with her. In this case my other friend and I just wanted to grab a bite somewhere. We didn't meet because we wanted to go to PE. We met to just talk, which we do for hours and had a wonderful time. Our meet wouldn't have been any better had we gone to a different place, because it's the quality of the conversation and connection we have that make this a wonderful friendship.

With the other 'friend' I realised deeper conversations and sharing of thoughts and experiences are not possible after months of trying and therefore this connection would always remain superficial. It would always be about who comes out on top, which needs to be her.

Racism is fine, but her dislike of a shit chain pizza restaurant is ok? Right. Only on MN!

I love it there, always go with the kids and family and I know friends go there all the time. I really like the pizzas and its just a nice easy choice and you know there will be something there for everyone.

I had a really rank lasagne in Pizza Express in Manchester once. Too much cheese.

Funnily enough I am being unreasonable in her eyes for getting some things in Waitrose because in her eyes it's not necessary because I could get good enough stuff elsewhere. But tells me in the next breath she buys certain stuff only in M&S and turns up her nose when I say I don't mind getting the same stuff in Sainsbury's. So, anything I do I'm not doing it right. Either because I'm not eating good enough food or am not spending my money right. I constantly get recommendations for doing stuff differently, she turns up her noise a lot and does the headshake of disapproval. It's fucking exhausting.

I don't have these issues with other friends. We just chat, share tips and tricks and there is no judgement. It's just accepted that one might prefer X and the other y for reasons the other person doesn't need to understand and nobody needs to be persuaded to do or be different.

This 'problem friend' gets her validation from this shit however, I realised as much.

@Avondale89 RTFM

My husband is obsessed with pizza express. I find it a bit boring.

If you have been to Tenerife she has been to Elevenerife, loads of people are like that. Try not to deep it. It stems from their own insecurities.

Ooh, what a snotty cow. I'll come to Pizza Express with you OP, I love it and I'll give you some of my favourite put-downs for racists while we're there so you are well-armed for next time!