Pizza Express

The two stars I’ve given Pizza Express in Sauchiehall Street represent the effort the cook put in to prepare our food. The restaurant was busy when we arrived at 6:30pm and we were distractedly attended to by two man-​boys who seemed to spend a surprising amount of time wandering about for the lack of service they delivered. Perhaps they were popping to the loo to attend to their perfectly ruffled hipster hair and statutory mandalf beards.
We had to ask three times for a jug of water even before two out of three starters showed up. After failing to attract the manboy’s attention we gave up on the third starter: a challenging bowl of Noci (nuts). At his stage we were one of only 4 tables being served and all the remaining staff seemed to have vanished. I cancelled the third starter only to have it delivered 30 seconds later by man-​boy II, roughly 10 minutes after the starters had been cleared away. I sent it back and asked it be removed from the bill.
The main course passed without incident, albeit one pizza arriving five minutes before the other two. It was the bill that then provided entertainment — the starter that I’d cancelled made a reappearance and there was a charity donation on £0.25 that I don’t remember agreeing to pay. Had I been asked, I wouldn’t have flinched but I had to insist that both be expunged from the bill and, unsurprisingly, I left no tip.
Pizza Express — when your staff are swapping shifts, remind them that the customers still expect service. Train your staff in customer service, listening to customers and talking to one another. Do not add guilt-​dripping Charity donations to people’s bills to give yourselves ethical marketing kudos — leave it to the customer to decide whether they wish to contribute or not.
Worst service in a long, long time.

Using a voucher I got for my birthday, my partner and I headed here for dinner. It’s always reliable if not stellar and tonight provided no different.
They had some Christmas items on the menu, a pork belly and crackling pizza that my partner ordered, whereas I went with my favourite Padana (goats cheese, caramelised red onion and spinach). Both pizzas were well fired, although the pork belly did make that pizza a little on the greasy side, and the crackling was sparsely distribute, but didn’t stop it getting eaten!
Dessert of fudge cake and vanilla ice cream was ok, although the cake is nothing to write home about.
The service was a little brusque, my partner was still chewing the last bites of pizza when our plates were whisked away (it wasn’t that busy so I don’t know why there was such a rush), and the lack of friendliness from the waiting staff was the main downside.
Amazing how much difference a little bit of good customer service can make. We only ate here as I had a voucher and despite the food being ok, I won’t be in a hurry to go back.
If you are on Sauciehall Street head elsewhere (try the burgers at Nice n Sleazy!).

So, having gained plenty of poundage over Xmas break and finally ensconced in the diet from hell, the first Orange Wednesday after New Year is finally upon us. Where better to go on than Orange Wednesday’s 2 for 1 at Pizza Express pre-​film nosh up… Seriously? I hear you cry… Yeah Seriously!
Ok, so perhaps its not the best idea on a diet and the Pizza /​Pasta temptations on the menu were mouthwateringly irresistible. I however managed to keep it together and resist the urge to go head long into carb heaven and opted for the Warm Vegetable and Goats Cheese Salad… Mmmmm! Never thought I’d enjoy a salad so much. Admittedly it does come with 4 strips of pizza dough but again I managed to flip them to the side of my plate. Ok. I lied, I flipped 3 to the side… Yom!!!
The waitress was an absolute delight! Very friendly and exceedingly helpful.
This is most definitely going to be a Wednesday night regular haunt for me.

I have to say I do love a little Pizza Express despite being a bit of a self confessed food snob! I think of Pizza Express as a chain restaurant with a bit substance which isn’t something you see all that often! The décor isn’t luxurious but if I compare it to TGI’s, Frankies & Bennys, Chiquitos or Nandos… suddenly it doesn’t look all that bad! You have to accept the place for what it is and it’s a reliable, kid friendly, chain restaurant which serves great pizza (unlike the Crap Hut… I mean Pizza Hut).
The menu is constantly being updated but my current «go to» dishes are the delicious classic bruchetta and the pollo ad astra pizza.
***Awesome Tip Alert***
If you have an Orange mobile phone you are probably familiar with the Orange Wednesday’s deal which gets you 2 for 1 cinema tickets every Wednesday, but did you know you can also get 2 for 1 pizza’s with FREE garlic bread or dough balls at Pizza Express every Wednesday? You simply show the server your Orange Wednesday’s text the same as you do for your cinema tickets.

I really like Pizza Express pizzas they are tasty, addictive and more-​ish, but to be honest I’m not too keen on Pizza Express as a restaurant. Yes, I guess it’s nice. But describing something as «nice» shows just how bland it is, I really can’t think of any better adjectives to describe it.
It’s just so bland, the bright lighting gives me a migraine and every time I’ve been in it’s so busy that you have to wait an age on your pizza and all you can hear is screaming kids. I came here last Christmas after ice-​skating in George Square, we waited ages for our meal and we were ready to eat the napkins but thankfully it arrived.
At the end of the day, I suppose it’s just a pizza restaurant so I shouldn’t expect so much, but when it costs just as much to eat here than other better restaurants in the city centre, I’d rather go to Pizza Hut or McDonalds as the service here is no better than takeaway restaurants. The staff always seem really stressed out and the whole dining experience is very impersonal even though it appears they want it to come across as a fancy pizza restaurant.
My recommendation: just buy your own Pizza Express pizza from your local supermarket and eat it in the comfort of your own home, watching the TV with your feet up on the sofa.

I love Pizza Express! I only first learned that it existed from the beloved Orange Wednesdays. The pizzas are the best I have ever tasted, the salads are the best I have ever tasted, and the dough balls are yum yum.
I do look forward to my weekly visit to Pizza Express, and a good helping of their secret recipe dough. I would have to say that there are other Pizza Expresses that my experiences with this particular Pizza Express on Sauchiehall St are mixed. On my first visit I had a very friendly waitor that went out of his way to make my friends laugh and I feel comfortable. Don’t you always love when you get smiles (real ones), and generally a good zest for life from staff you encounter in a restaurant? I do. He was worth a good tip which he got, but my second visit here was with the good old Mr. grumpy himself, launching our food at us across the table, muttering words before dashing off and being quite snappy. This man I think may have been having a bad day but, he certainly put me off going back to this Pizza Express… not every one, but definately this one.
I recommend going to try the new range of pizzas at Pizza Expressby renowned chef, Francesco Mazzei! So terribly delicious! Thin base is my preference, and if you get a chance and like mushrooms try the Mia Sofia! My favourite by a long shot. No meat but it is not missed.
When I say go to Pizza Express, try go to a friendly one because the last time I looked in the window of passing Sauchiehall st, Mr. Grumpy was still working there. Shame.

Pizza Express is so much more than a pizza place and has established itself well as a pretty decent restaurant amongst its greasier competitors. The food here is delicious, offering up a wide selection of pizzas as well as a variety of pasta dishes, garlic bread and dough balls.
I am particularly fond of their new leggara pizzas that are 30% less fat than their regular pizzas, probably due to the hole cut out in the centre, which is filled with a tasty rocket salad with a lovely Italian dressing.
Pizza Express usually do some good special offers for regular customers, so it’s worth checking out their website and signing up to take advantage of their special deals that make it all the more tempting to pop along for a leggara pizza and a glass of red.

My friend and I ended up here after wandering the length of Sauchiehall Street three times over in search of a tasty, affordable meal in a nice place — which is what we found.
Although a pizza chain, there is no comparison between this set of restaurants and other pizza chains. With a sleek interior you feel you are in a classy Italian restaurant rather than a café, pub or fast food place and you don’t have to fight to be heard above blaring music or screaming children.
Their pizzas are sooooo good. My friend and I weren’t particularly hungry and considered sharing a pizza but when they arrived we polished them off — far too delicious to waste.
Great for a middle-​of-​the-​road relaxing meal. Thumbs up!

Pizza Express is a great pizza chain. Their pizza’s are always fresh, and so so so tasty (Capricciosa — Prosciutto cotto ham, anchovies, red pepper, capers and olives, topped with a free range boiled egg, is AWESOME). Even their Leggera pizzas (the pizzas with the whole in the middle filled with salad, for the health concious folk amongst us) are yummy. They also serve pasta and salad dishes, if pizza isn’t your thing.
They always have some form of offer on, whether it’s buy one get one free, or 2 for £X — they don’t really advertise them, except on their website and selected newspapers, but if you can find them, they are worth it, as it can be seen to be slightly pricey otherwise. In fact, I was in this particular venue 2 days ago, armed with a «Two Pizzas for a Tenner» coupon. So what did we do? We ordered the two most expensive pizzas. Fantastic.
If you haven’t been before, it’s worth a visit.