We went to the Pizza Express in Street. We had had a long afternoon buying school shoes and were in the middle of a week's holiday camping nearby. The children were all excited, not only to be eating out as this has become a rare event for us, but also as we had just been spending some holiday money in The Works so they all had new small toys (including putty!) To top that, I have a broken ankle so we probably looked a motley crew but the staff were all lovely and we had a lovely experience.
- What did your DC have off the new summer Piccolo menu? Did they enjoy it?
All three had the dough balls to start, they all had pizza (2 American and 1 margarita) and then 2 had the brownie to finish and one had the sundae.
They all enjoyed their meals and there were empty plates all round. DD1 (who is nearly 11) is probably ready to have a larger pizza but we would end up taking/leaving some as she is unlikely to actually manage all of it. DD2 (who is 8 would probably also like a larger pizza just because this is one of the places where she likes pizza as she is not usually a fan. DS (who is 4) found it to be the right size.
The dough balls are one of their favourites things - we occasionally buy them at the supermarket as a treat to cook at home. I had an adult portion and both DDs had an extra by swapping their tomatoes for my doughballs! DS loved the salad as tomatoes and cucumbers are two of his favourites. He actually prefers the salad to the doughballs but all were eaten.
The brownies went down really well as did the little chocolate sundae. We did have to ask for bambinochinos but, when they came, DD1 enjoyed them all (the other two are not fans of hot milk but DD1 loves these - DD2 would really love it if it was a mini hot chocolate, DS has no interest in hot drinks at all).
- Would you recommend the new Piccolo menu to a friend or family member and why?
It is really nice that the children get a proper menu that looks like a mini version of the real menu. The food is all mini versions of the adult food which is another plus. For three courses, it is good value but the price really goes up once you add drinks. DD1 had a coke and DS had a juice carton (DD2 only drinks water which was free). The drinks were okay but all bar DS topped up with water after as we only had one drink each.
- How did you and your DC find the new in restaurant activity pack?
The children all enjoyed the activity packs (and meant it was easy to get the putty put away with no fuss). DD2 and DS enjoyed colouring in their masks and chef hats. DD1 and DD2 both enjoyed the puzzles on the pack - many of which were beyond DS. DS especially was impressed with the crayons as he had never seen such things before. he spent some time experimenting how far out he could wind them. DDs both expressed preference for these crayons than others as they don't need sharpening and do no snap.
DD2 and DS also enjoyed adding the stickers to their doughball and we brought all of the stuff home (well, back to the tent, although not sure any of it actually made it home).
- Did your DC enter the Dough Ball adventure story writing competition? If so, how did you find it? What was your DC’s story about?
As we were on holiday, neither DD was interested in entering the writing competition. Had we been at home, I expect they would have been more enthusiastic as we could have followed up straightaway. However, we saw nothing about the competition in all of the stuff the children were given.
- Would you consider PizzaExpress to be a family friendly restaurant? If so why? If not, why not?
We have enjoyed eating at Pizza Express as a family in the past. We have celebrated special occasions their with family and friends and both DDs have chosen to go their with me during one-to-one days out in the past. The staff where we went on holiday, and in our local restaurant in the past, have always been very good and never fuss about having children at the table (or in the vicinity).
That said, we were surprised at how expensive the bill was in the end - although as we had the voucher, I had a starter and both DP and I had a coffee with the small dessert. I think these and the drinks certainly add to the price which would have been too much for us normally. However, for a special occasion it was very nice.
Thank you for the voucher as this enabled us to have a special treat in the middle of a holiday.