Review - Pizza Express

We don't get chance all that often to go out for dinner at the moment. The money is a little tight with the run-up to Christmas and I frankly don'’t have much spare evening time.

My good lady and I opted for Pizza Express last night. I always forget about this place for one simple reason: the name of it.

I remember the first time I went there was about 3 years ago, down in London, with my dear friends Hope Of The States. We met down there for dinner just before going to the NME Awards. I remember wondering why anybody would choose Pizza Express as a half decent place to go and eat. I thought it was like Domino's or Perfect Pizza. To me, that's what the name suggests - it just sounds like a fast food chain where you mostly get pizza to take-away, but that you can eat in there too.

I guess I'’ve never fully gotten over this idea and so I inevitably overlook the fact that there is one such establishment a mere 6 minutes walk from my humble abode.

This is what we had:

The Noci was particularly good. Alongside the hot, salty and savory flavours, there was also a sweetness in there. Quite possibly caramelised sugar. A great little appetizer to enjoy with a glass of cold Pinot Grigio before the mains arrive.

I invariably go for the Fiorentina pizza when I eat here. I love the combination of egg and spinach. This time I thought I might try something different, going for the Capricciosa (albeit not that dissimilar). Being a sucker for anchovies and capers I went for this and was not disappointed. I really like the thin crusts and the combination of toppings here was really very good; not too over-loaded, not too many salty anchovies - just right.

The salad (of which I had a little taste)
was really very good. The combination of texture with the almonds on top of the chicken was great. Also the aubergine which was thin crinkle-cut and char grilled, combined with the dressing of mustard, honey and lemon, made for a great salad.

Total cost of the meal (with bottle of wine) £32.75

This really is very inexpensive for the quality of food and good, straight-forward service. There's nothing here that's going to win any awards, but it's certainly great value, good food with minimal fuss.

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