Ode to Pizza Express
After a
pretty boring lunch of ham sandwiches today, I remembered a few snaps I took at
a recent Pizza Express lunch. The setting was Darlington, the occasion was
UNIVERSITY IS COMPLETE, and I needed a simple, relaxing lunch with Andy (the
boyfriend).
Pizza Express is one of those restaurants you can always rely on: everyone has their favourite
dish, and the restaurants and relaxed and friendly. I lived in Darlington for 2
years before recently returning to Manchester, and visited the Darlington Pizza Express a fair few times, with various friends and family members. Twitter has
been busy recently with news of the summer and gluten-free Pizza Express menus,
so we were tempted back for a relaxed and yummy lunchtime.
The
Darlington Pizza Express is right in the centre of town, and is a big space
with high ceilings. It never seems too crowded, and the service is usually
friendly and fast. On this particular day, it did take 10 minutes of standing
being ignored at the door before we were seated, but they did apologise nicely
for this and were very attentive for the rest of the meal.
We didn’t
actually sample new dishes – we both have our favourites!
For drinks,
Andy opted for coke and I for apple juice: it was a hot day and I needed something
cold. We had the obligatory (scrumptious) dough balls, before moving onto our
main courses…
Andy is
definitely a pizza kind of person, flitting between the American Hot and this
day’s choice: the Diavolo Romana.
If I’m
having a pizza, I tend to opt for the simple American, but at lunchtimes I’m
often tempted by the lovely salad selection. I opted for my favourite, the
Pollo Pancetta Salad. The Pizza Express salads are that great balance of being
fairly healthy (better than pizza, anyway), but they’re filling and feel like a
proper meal!
We both
really enjoyed our meals, and my salad was possibly one of the best-prepared I’ve
had across the (numerous) Pizza Expresses I’ve tried.
The prices
at Pizza Express seem to have climbed fairly steeply over the last few years;
it used to be a fairly cheap option, but now a main meal is usually £9 or £10,
putting it more on a level with places like Zizzi. However, alongside this,
their production of vouchers has completely soared. It’s got to the point now
where the waiters tend to ask if you have a voucher, and you almost feel a bit
silly for setting foot inside without one when they’re everywhere! For this
meal, we had a 25% off main meals voucher – even more reason to head there.
Pizza Express is one of those places that just doesn’t really let you down. Everyone likes
the food, there’s an enormous range of options, there are naughty and healthy
choices, and there’s a relaxed family atmosphere. My family have always loved
it, and I’m sure we will for many years more!
What’s your
favourite Pizza Express dish?
Sophie x
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