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

[SonnyHoney]

I cashed in my Tesco Clubcard points for a nice meal out this evening.
We had:

• shit pizzas
• shit chicken wings
• a crappy Caesar salad

I used to love PizzaExpress. It was family-friendly dining with nice lighting, Fun kids colouring that didn’t feel really cheap.

Is it just me, or has it really gone downhill over the last few years? I was genuinely disappointed, as it was always a reliable treat.

There are obviously fantastic little local pizzerias we frequent, but PizzaExpress was always that easy option.

We popped into franco manca new years eve with the kids and that was much better and cheaper.

I love Pizza Express. My kids love Pizza Express. I get great offers on the app and it’s an easy crowd pleaser. The staff at our local one are lovely (as were the staff in the area we lived before).

So many good pizza restaurants in London now that PE is a second to last resort (after Pizza Hut). We like Pizza Union, Pizza Pilgrims, Bella Napoli, Rudys for chains and then there are hundreds of Italian restaurants that do fresh wood fired pizzas too. Can’t see how they’re surviving really.

And it was so good he remembered everything about it -even the date!

I know someone who is an incredible chef - his restaurant is in the Michelin Guide.

He told me he eats at Pizza Express on his day off. Apparently because you know exactly what you’re getting, so you won’t be disappointed.

I remember my friends and I used to go there all the time when we were in 6th form/university (15-20 years ago). The 2 for 1 deal was always a winner and the food was pretty decent.

i still go for nostalgia sake and it’s an easy option if you want to go out to eat with the kids, but it seems like each time they change the menu, they take away the things I like! My go to order was always the leggera, but then they took away the tomatoes/mixed leaves from the middle and just left it very rocket heavy. Then they took away the roquito peppers from the American hot option. Then my second choice due to the absence of roquito (the prawn leggera) was also removed recently.

I’m also on the WLI, so any saving graces like dough balls or desert are just a no go now I can’t eat much.

Yes, it has, but this happened at least 20 years ago.

I remember being a teenager in the 2000s and Pizza Express being the smarter pizza option versus Pizza Hut. Now it’s just a low tier chain restaurant.

I’m not a food snob by any stretch of the imagination, but overpriced shit is how I would describe pizza express. The only reason we ever gravitated towards it was they were uber child friendly. I haven’t been for years because I never once enjoyed their pizzas.

Yeah but Sloppy Giuseppe. 😋

Whenever I had an overnight stay for work on my own, I'd go to Pizza Express for the same reason. Could always find one in any city and knew what I'd order would be reliable with a Montepulciano.

I used to go a lot with my friend when we were in our early 20s in the 00s and then again when I had small children - I used to get annoyed because they started to get really stingy with the pesto on the bruschetta. I gradually stopped going. I think the last time I visited was about four years ago and I didn’t have the vouchers people mention, so I felt it was overpriced for what I got and the pizza toppings were stingy.

We went recently to the one in Kew and had a great time. I hadn’t been in a while but I loved the pizzas. Not cheap, at £20 for an individual pizza, but so much better than Domino’s etc.

YABU for going to Pizza Express and not having the tiramisu.

Used to enjoy going there 20 odd years ago with the kids who used to love standing on the stairs overlooking the pizza prep station/oven watching the pizzas being made. Kept them entertained for ages!

it was the biggest treat my husabnd ever gave me - I even had to drag him there

I think is started going downhill after that run of 2-1 meals, what, maybe 25 years ago. Haven’t been in for years now.

Pizza Express was fab when it started, some time in the 70s I think. The problem is it changed hands and now sells American, rather than Italian pizza. The rest of the menu is American fast food, too.

I think, like many things, it's got it's place. We've been a few times recently as we've got young kids and the 4yo adores pizza so will happily eat a kids meal and we can buy a separate small pizza for the baby. Most other places in our town aren't really set up for kids. But DH and I wouldn't go for a grown up meal just the two of us.

@Tigerbalmshark pizza alle noci, best pizza ever. Am also similarly aggrieved.

The one by me used to be great, but now it's got scribble on the walls, is VERY LOUD because of the noise from kids yelling or on iPads and the pull between deliveroo and actual customers means service is very slow. I love pizza and it's my closest pizza place, but it's not a cheap option anymore and for the prices they charge, I could get better food and service elsewhere.

Its never been good. Zizzi is so much better.

Pizza in any chain is invariably rubbish. Pizza express has always had cardboard pizza.

Go to a family-owned Italian for decent pizza.

I think it is expensive for what you get, so I am not sure why it is being described as budget. That said, I agree with previous posters about it being a good option for gluten free (DD has coeliac disease and we went now and then when visiting her at university for lunch out)

The one in York was beautiful. It’s in an old building on the river with marble and mirrors everywhere and a grand piano playing in the lobby. They used to have a magician going table to table some evenings.

I think when it started in London, it used to host a jazz club.

I haven’t been for years, because like most things…it went shit.

It's fine. I haven't noticed that it's changed. We live in the city that the founder is from. Neither Zizi nor Franca Manca have stayed but we also have some independent pizza restaurants which seem about the same a Pizza Express.

DH is a big fan because of their rewards system.

In the cities I’ve lived in or visited for work or family, I’ve seen Zizzi close, Carluccio’s close, ASK (remember them!!) close, and Bella Italia close.

Pizza Express has remained in all the locations I can think of.

It has remained for a reason , the same reason that the Michelin chef quoted earlier in the thread said.

You know exactly what you’re going to get, it’s decent enough for the price point, and the bambino kids menu - you get a lot for the money.

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.

The rest of us just get use it for what it is. Sure it’s not La Famiglia or Sale e Pepe but it never set out to be that…

it makes a change from a curry in the local high street. ie lack of choice
service not good
blue light points equals discount