~ Have you tried out the new Create your Own piccolo menu and if you have, what did you think of it?
No, haven't been to a Pizza Express since the new menu has been launched.
~ If you hadn't seen it yet, what are your initial reactions to the menu?
Mixed reaction - Nice to see that there is an element of choice and that you can choose to make it a bit bigger if you've got slightly older/hungrier kids who can't eat a full adult portion but want more than the piccolo version or that you can make it even smaller if you have a very young kid or one with a small appetite. Also good to see that you can cater for gluten free too.
On the not so good side - Pizzas - it's not clear if kids decide to add an extra element or three how much extra it will cost, I'd like to know that from the menu rather than the server to know whether or not to encourage them to add more. Petty maybe but if it's going to be a pound for an extra topping and and you've taken 3 or 4 kids with you who all want an extra two or three toppings, it soon adds up! It would be nice to be able to order a piccolo size of any of the adult pizzas rather than just the limited selection.
And the big splash about 'create your own' is only really for pizzas - doesn't apply to the pasta, dessert or starter, so it's not really as big a deal as it is trying to be. It's flagging it up like it is something new and revolutionary whereas it's something that you get in pretty much every pizza place I've ever been to, it would be more of a shock if they didn't let you do this!
If you read down the columns in order you go from Starters to Prefer Pasta? which makes the pedant in me wonder if the pasta is instead of the starter rather than the pizza. I know you've said it is instead of the pizza elsewhere but if you just dive into the main bit of the menu and read it logically, then it isn't clear.
Regarding the pasta - would have hoped to see pesto on there as one of the options. Also it doesn't say - can the sauce be served on the side or is it already mixed in? Speaking as a despairing parent of a fussy child who adores pasta - but only if they can have the sauce separately from the pasta, the number of times I've been somewhere and thought that ds will be able to eat and then it's been a waste of money as he won't eat pasta if it isn't plain and separate from the sauce.
On the one hand you say that there are dough balls and a side salad implying two different things but then when you get into the detail it's all together. In the photo, there looks to be a teeny smidge of garlic butter for the dough balls and the side salad is incredibly minimal, more of a garnish than a side salad.
There are a nice selection of desserts but would have hoped to have seen one that was a fruity one - even a bowl of strawberries given you have them in the kitchen to garnish the desserts. And it's not clear what a baby cone is for the sundae - is it on the top or holding the ice cream? Sundaes should be more than just ice cream and sauce and a bit of cone - it's the extra sprinkles and cherry (or strawberry!) on top that turn it into something special and make it exciting when you're little - and different from just the ice cream and sauce you'd have at home.
Nice to see that there is milk on the menu as a drink but not good if it is the only drink that comes as part of the meal. Would expect to see fruit juice and water and maybe lemonade on there too as options. otherwise it seems another underhand way to extract more money from those parents who have kids that don't like to drink milk (yes, I'm one of those, but I've met a lot of others. And certainly even if kids like milk, I'm not sure that they would necessarily want to have it as their treat drink when out having a pizza, it's not something I would want to drink at home with pizza, I don't think it goes with it particularly well. Would much prefer a glass of apple juice.
~ Do you think your kids will enjoy the 'create your own' element of the menu? Will it make them feel more involved and interested in eating the food? What combinations would they choose?
I think that they would expect it anyway if they were ordering pizza! DS1 would probably just want cold olives (ie put on after the pizza has been cooked as he doesn't like cooked olives but adores cold olives) and he might like pesto too - as an extra too or instead of the tomato sauce base. DS2 would want ham, olives, peppers, maybe pineapple, broccoli, roasted vegetables and green beans...
Are you offering fewer 'extras' that can be added to the pizzas than you normally would do with the adult menu - is there any reason for this? Are you just offering things that you think are child friendly or cheap or for some other reason?
(And from a personal point of view - I had a rocket, parma ham, soft garlic boursin-type cheese and melon pizza in France a couple of years ago that was fab, very refreshing in the summer, the melon and boursin was added on cold after cooking and it was the best pizza I've ever eaten; so the ability to recreate that would also be nice!)