NOW CLOSED: PizzaExpress have a new kids Piccolo menu. Tell them what you think of it and be in with a chance of winning one of two £80 vouchers

[AnnMumsnet]

PizzaExpress is releasing a new kids menu and to coincide with the launch, they'd love you to hear what you think of it.

PizzaExpress say "We know how stressful meal times can be, so we have worked hard on our new Create Your Own Piccolo menu to make sure that your kids can have more choice, they can now even choose a Gluten-free base. We believe in treating kids like mini adults, they should be able to choose exactly what they want and therefore enjoy eating their favourite pizza".

Here's a link to the new menu if you haven?t had the chance to try it out for yourself yet.

So:

~ Have you tried out the new Create your Own piccolo menu and if you have, what did you think of it?

~ If you hadn't seen it yet, what are your initial reactions to the menu?

~ 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?

Everyone who shares their thoughts on this thread will be entered into a draw in which two winners will each win a £80 PizzaExpress voucher for a family meal.

Thanks and good luck!
MNHQ

PS check out their Facebook comp for a chance for your child to win an Italian cookery lesson.

Have you tried out the new Create your Own piccolo menu and if you have, what did you think of it?

Haven't been to PE for a while so haven't seen this menu.

If you hadn't seen it yet, what are your initial reactions to the menu?
I like the fact there is a lot of choice for vegetarian children.

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 asked my son (7) and he would like to try this however the options he would choose to add to a pizza were not available, specifically pineapple ( his favourite) , sweetcorn and pepper.

~ Have you tried out the new Create your Own piccolo menu and if you have, what did you think of it?

Haven't tried it yet.

~ If you hadn't seen it yet, what are your initial reactions to the menu?

Pleased to see vegetarian choices, not just a token dish. The chance to remove an ingredient widens that choice. Great that GF is now available too as I know a few people who could now eat there.
I'm not quite getting the 'create your own' thing though as to add anything costs more - I was expecting a 'choose any 4/5 toppings' type set-up with a wide variety of toppings to choose from, not just those deemed to be popular with children.

~ 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 don't think mine would be too bothered about the create your own element as the ingredients are pretty limited. It would probably help families with fussy children though.
DS would go for Spag. Bol (always does as he's a die-hard pasta fan!) followed by choc. fudge cake, DD would possibly go for the La Reine and the Brownie.
They would both like the doughballs and salad to start too .

Like the look of the new menu, and the option of going bigger or smaller with meals is good too.

As a family we like Pizza Hut because they offer the salad bar and ice cream factory, The salad bar is always popular and is a great way of getting some of the 5 a day in, in a fun and nutritious way.

The PizzaExpress menu options are a bit limited I think, although my children would like that they can add/omit toppings with the create your own piccolo. Would be nice to have a salad with the main meal.

Chicken, mushroom and extra mozzarella would be top of my children's list.

~ Have you tried out the new Create your Own piccolo menu and if you have, what did you think of it?

Not yet.

~ If you hadn't seen it yet, what are your initial reactions to the menu?
It's good that there are gluten free alternatives however it looks similar to the old menu.

~ 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?
The greater flexibility is appreciated however DS is a creature of habit and will probably go for a Margherita. DS loves salad however the presence of the cucumber has always put him off so if he could substitute the cucumber for leaves that would be better. More important than choice of toppings is ensuring that the pizza isn't cut into slices before it arrives at the table. DS likes to be independent and to cut the pizza up himself!!This would avoid lots of tears!!!

~ Have you tried out the new Create your Own piccolo menu and if you have, what did you think of it?
I Love it! I like that there are different courses, and I like that there is plain food (perfect for DS1) and more adventurous food (for all my friends' children, it would seem!). The sundaes are very very exciting for my DSs, and I like that they finish with the bambinoccino.

~ If you hadn't seen it yet, what are your initial reactions to the menu?

~ 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?
Yes, but they only choose plain stuff, so will stick with the margherita for both.

Have you tried out the new Create your Own piccolo menu and if you have, what did you think of it?
No, I haven't

~ If you hadn't seen it yet, what are your initial reactions to the menu?
It looks good. I like that there are a few more options than just the usual suspects of spag bol, penne with tomato sauce, margarita and salami pizza (though my daughter always chooses salami pizza anyway.) I really like that you can order just a main and not the starter and dessert as my children are small and can't manage 3 courses.

~ 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'm not sure, I think it would make it more likely there's be something they fancy. My daughter usually goes for salami pizza, but she might try chicken, or chicken and salami, and I think both my children would like pasta with garlic butter.

I think my two sons will be absolutely devastated that you no longer offer dough balls and Nutella for dessert. Devastated!

We haven't tried this menu.

It's an ok kids menu for an italian restaurant. It's not vastly different from anywhere else to be honest.

The 'create your own' isn't really creating is it? It's just choosing a topping for your pizza. Or what kind of side salad you would like.

I'd prefer if it was less gimmicky and just a good and varied selection. Kids don't need gimmicks to be engaged where food is concerned!

Haven't tried it... Yet!
It's not all that different from the old one (DS always wants X pizza with Y and without Z, the fusspot)
He always likes considering what he wants as he loves cookery shows on tv (and often marks his dinner out of ten)

Haven't tried it out yet.
Looks good, but would be good to have another choice of started, sadly DS will not go anywhere near cucumber etc :(
DS is two so probably wouldnt be that faffed by the choose your own yet, however he is a mega fussy eater so it's good to have a lot of options! Prob would go for spag Bol.

The new menu doesn't look radically different to the old one as far as I can remember. I think there are more pasta choices but my children usually choose pizza anyway.

Pizza Express have always been great with kids and have been really flexible if we wanted to change any toppings anyway, so it is not that different in practical terms to what we already do. However, it probably does look more exciting to the kids to know that they can create their own pizza.

It is great that they include the little salad with the dough balls because a lot of places just scrap any healthy bits like that for kids which is a real shame - but pizza express are great and basically do a decent menu of good quality food but for kids. Fantastic!

~ Have you tried out the new Create your Own piccolo menu and if you have, what did you think of it?
Not tried the new menu yet no.
~ If you hadn't seen it yet, what are your initial reactions to the menu?
Good selection of dishes although only one of the pasta dishes has a protein element in the dish which I find concerning. I think the children will love the "bambinoccino", it will make them feel all grown up. It's good business strategy too as it will make parents more likely to order themselves a coffee.

~ 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?
The menu doesn't make me think it's truly create your own, rather you can modify the pizzas they have on offer. I think it would be great to bring the pizza bases and ingredients to the table and let the children make up their own pizza and them take them away for baking.

~ Have you tried out the new Create your Own piccolo menu and if you have, what did you think of it?

not tried it yet, just looked now. it looks good, not anything massively different than how i thought it was before though?

~ If you hadn't seen it yet, what are your initial reactions to the menu?

i like it, but dont think its anything that unusual

~ 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 they would stick with magherita for pizza, but i do like having the choice available

We haven't tried it yet, but I'm sure we will soon.
I really like the different choices on the new menu, you can eat quite healthily if you want to which isn't the norm in pizza restaurants!
Kids will enjoy having their say in the "create your own" section, it's ideal for getting them to engage with their food choices and think a bit about the balance of what they are eating.

My friend and I took our ten year old dds (who are fussy eaters) to Pizza Express for a treat last week and came across this menu by accident (neither of us had been in a Pizza Express for a while).

Have you tried out the new Create your Own piccolo menu and if you have, what did you think of it?

Both girls loved the menu and enjoyed choosing and ordering their own food. They both went for dough balls for a starter, then dd had pizza, her friend had pasta, they had icecream for pudding and loved the Bambinochiini. My friend and I liked it as both girls actually ate everything they ordered, which does not happen often!

If you hadn't seen it yet, what are your initial reactions to the menu?

Saw if for the first time last week, pleasantly surpirsed and it actually made me want to go back to Pizza Express as I know dd will eat a decent amount of food for a change. (Sadly financially not an option really, special occasions only)

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?

Yes, both girls enjoyed this very much. They had the same starter, then dd opted for Pizza Margerita, her friend for a cheesy ham pasta dish. They then had icecream and loved the Bambinocchino.

The latter was a good move by Pizza Express as both my friend and I orderd a cappuchino to enjoy whilst the girls had theirs.

All in all I loved the idea. It is still clearly a kid's menu, but dd and her friend (both ten and wanting to appear grown up) felt it grown up enough to enjoy ordering from it.

Oooh, and yes yes to the salad bits which came with the garlic dough balls. Dd and friend enjoyed the cucumber, both ate the chopped up pepper and dd's friend encouraged dd to try a cherry tomato (something I had not managed to do)

We haven't tried it, but it's a great idea. I have very adventurous eaters, who enjoy trying new things and we go to Pixza express because it's 'proper' food on the children's menu

~ Have you tried out the new Create your Own piccolo menu and if you have, what did you think of it?

No, not yet but I do like the idea of it.

~ If you hadn't seen it yet, what are your initial reactions to the menu?

The majority of kids' menus are pretty boring so anything to make them a bit more adventurous. I do worry that there might be a bit you much choice though and we could take a long time to get a decision!

~ 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?

My eldest is pepperoni all the way so I don't think it would make any difference to him but I do think this is because usually kids menus only have margarita or pepperoni as options. My youngest is too young for pizza just yet but u would definitely like her to be a bit more adventurous. I know for a fact my 6 year old nephew would LOVE it, he'd have loads of veggies and olives, preferably arranged into a smiley face

I haven't tried it yet but I think I will now I've seen it. It looks like a good set of options but I know that my 3yo would want a main and a pudding and there's no price option for that. We have this problem a lot when we eat out. He's too little for a 3-course meal as if he has a starter he's too full for the main course but he always has room for ice cream!

We always involve him in choosing his own food when we eat out - it makes it a lovely experience for him to have that bit of 'grown up' independence.

Looks good, should keep little ones happy.

Looks good but for our gluten and dairy free DD (4) still no pudding . Fed up paying for three courses when she medically can only eat one Pizza Express so the opt out of the whole menu is great!!!!!!! Good to see olive oil and balsamic with the dough balls and gluten free base though. Big improvement. Thank you. Gluten free dough balls would be great though.

Agree with Katiebeau, it is frustrating not being able to have three courses. Oh for a nice dessert out that isn't fruit salad. Though we are dairy free by choice. I would say it is medically too though - I suggest whoever dreams up all these dairy-heavy menues watched Forks Over Knives.

Not tried before but like the idea of less fat, salt and calories. I like the create element. It would be even more fun if they could be made into faces.

~ Have you tried out the new Create your Own piccolo menu and if you have, what did you think of it?

Yes tried it today. I really liked it and so did my dd (2.5). Rather than battle with her over food I just try and put a range of healthy options in front of her and see what happens. This menu was ideal - she had the little salad with the dough balls (ate the toms) and mushrooms and olives on her pizza (devoured). I also like the portion size although if j had older children, perhaps they'd want more (my daughter left half her pizza but that is par for the course).

~ If you hadn't seen it yet, what are your initial reactions to the menu?

~ 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?

My daughter is too young for this ... Choosing between pizza and pasta was exciting enough! She did like the perceived grown upness of the babyccino though.

My only other suggested improvement would be kids' cutlery.

~ Have you tried out the new Create your Own piccolo menu and if you have, what did you think of it?
No

~ If you hadn't seen it yet, what are your initial reactions to the menu?
Looks good, love all the pictures
would prefer that there was nothing written in capital letters so that children found it easier to read

~ 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 they would love the choice element
i have 1 DC that will be super adventurous and the others will be plain :)