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 liked it in the early 90s. Agree it's not great now and hasn't been for at least 20 years.

I’ve said YABU because I've always thought it was naff. The pizzas are really bad.

Define “it went shit” @BlueEyedBogWitch

I’ve been going on and off for thirty years, first as a child, then as a young adult, now as a mother.

The garlic bread, doughballs, classic pizzas… I can’t think of anything in this casual dining sector that has remained more consistent in texture, flavour and menu structure. it’s not gourmet. I’m not going to jump on a roof and sing its praises. Or become a shareholder. But it is consistent and hasn’t changed.

What has become so bad about it that we can now call it “shit”…?! That’s a pretty strong word for it.

Or is it more the boredom factor I see a lot on here - how people like to say that overfamiliar things, popular things are “shit?”

My kids like to go, I’d certainly pick non chains for a nice meal locally but I always get the same, the legerra pizza with the salad in the middle and it still tastes good to me. Personally in my local one, it’s not really changed.

Agree, food in my local one hasn’t changed in the years i’ve been going there.

shit pizzas

Surely you realised those ones would be nasty? I'm sure there are other toppings you could have ordered.

I used to love Pizza Express as a child in the 00s! For some arbitrary reason we were allowed to order Coca Cola in Pizza Express. We got to watch pizzas being made, do some colouring, drink coke and eat a margarita. The vibe was great.

However, in 2018(?) I swore I would NEVER set foot in one again until they apologise for the atrocious first ever vegan pizza they released! I went with my husband, then boyfriend, in a pinch and we were interested in their newly advertised vegan options. I wasn’t taken with the descriptions and just ordered a veggie pizza without cheese. Boyfriend insisted on ordering one of the vegan specials and then said we should share! It was some kind of jackfruit and it was like vomit on a pizza. I took one bite. Most disgusting thing I have ever put in my mouth. They owe me a pizza. I can’t remember exactly what we had been doing/were doing but I know it was really late and I left starving!

There is one on our high street, but there are also 3 excellent independent pizzerias (one run by a conspiracy theorist) that are cheaper!

We used to go using vouchers when DCs were younger and it was ok depending on the branch. I wouldn’t choose to go there otherwise as there are many independent restaurants with better and more affordable food.

Bought by private equity so owners changed during covid.

I have to agree with you op! I go every couple of months because it's easy with young kids and consistent when we're in different places. On my most recent visit over Christmas it was noticeably more shit even in a branch that we have been to over the years - they didn't have the kids menus to colour in or any hats, the pizzas we usually order weren't the same.

It could have been a supply problem over Christmas but I definitely came away thinking that wasn't as good as usual.

I have always quite liked pizza express and I worked there for a few years as a student. I loved getting a free pizza as a shift.

We only go with friends without kids as it’s an easy one for our cinema or we go for a birthday with club card vouchers. So not very often.

I still enjoy the pizza but I do think it’s getting more expensive. I wouldn’t go without a voucher or deal.

The thread got me thinking, what changes would make it better for people or is it just the cycle of brands / chains and eventually they all die off?

I can honestly say I’ve never had a bad pizza in pizza express. I always get the same thing and I always enjoy it when I go. Nothing not to like really for me.

I went recently. The food was surprisingly good. The restaurant was busy.

the staff were lovely but not enough of them. The service was too slow.

I love PE!

I cashed in my Tesco Clubcard points for a nice meal

I think this and the other deals they started doing were part of the problem. If you’ve had the same thing for half price or ‘free’ with club card points. It starts to look very expensive at full price.
Frankie & Bennys went the same way.

We used to go to Pizza Express a lot when the kids were small and we didn’t have as much choice.
Now we’re spoiled for choice with independent places, I wouldn’t choose it.

It was a treat when I was a Student Nurse 30 years ago ,we used to go to their all you can eat buffet ,whenever we got paid our Bursery

It went down hill after that woman complained about a pornstar martini being on the menu. There was no coming back after that!

I dislike it. A pizza costs over £20 and we are a large family. It’s a bill of £250 (yes I have a glass of wine partner 2 glasses) kids have sprite etc. yes they could have tap water.

But I don’t think it actually tastes nice, hard chairs, crammed in, toilets never clean, weird spot bright lighting (you hope you don’t get that chair) and add a good few screams / children crying.

Also a couple of years ago a gold member you would get a cool book, free water etc. now gold member is rubbish pointless really.

I actually don’t like to go there. Weird my partner enjoys it so do the kids - so he takes them most times.

For those that like it, download the app.
It takes very little to build up the rewards on there. I think straight away you get something free, and then 50% off kids meals. And then you rate the meal and get free doighbslls next time.
I got to gold status quickly
one child eats free (if you spend over £10). I get free doughballs, soft drink and hot drink and some other bits. My two kids eat, I have doughballs and drinks and we spend £10 usually.

Around your birthday you then get free pizza or bottle of Prosecco.

The Pizza Express where we live is always busy, and we like it. We know what we’re getting. The service is good. With the app there’s some reasonable freebies which makes the price ok. We find some of the independent restaurants near us not as great for kids and much more expensive. It wouldn’t be my first choice for a meal just OH and I, but it’s a solid choice for an easy pizza dinner.

It was great 25 years ago. Proper Italian food good wine and a nice ambiance. Now it's not much better than the other pizza chains.

I love Pizza Express, not least as it’s one of the only places my coeliac daughter can reliably eat out whilst we still enjoy a nice meal. The staff are all trained in coeliac awareness and it’s amazing!

I worked there as a teen 20 years ago. The dough came in frozen. The toppings were pre-chopped. All the pasta came in frozen ready meal type tubs. Even the chocolate fudge cake was a packet mix. I think it used to be tolerated because it was clean, relatively cheap and you knew what you were getting. Now it's really expensive even by comparison to much nicer places.

Yes to the jazz. I used to love Pizza on the Park. Also the Soho branch had live jazz. That was back in the early 80s. I’ve come over all nostalgic now. 😂

About 15 years ago, yes. It used to seem a little upmarket to me in my first job 25/30 years ago, at least a little aspirational and far better than Pizza Hut. It was certainly, in my crowd anyway, a standard place to meet for lunch for young professionals in London.

When my daughters were little it was one of the more fun and child friendly places where the food was decent and reliable. And they did pizza-making birthday parties.

But now there is so much competition and I would want something else if I ate out. I don't mind it though if I do go there.