{"id":56,"date":"2014-03-01T01:51:00","date_gmt":"2014-03-01T01:51:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sparkles-suitcase.com\/2014\/03\/01\/pizza-express-review\/"},"modified":"2024-06-13T23:58:53","modified_gmt":"2024-06-13T23:58:53","slug":"pizza-express-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sparkles-suitcase.com\/?p=56","title":{"rendered":"Pizza Express: Review"},"content":{"rendered":"
\nI was recently invited to visit my local Pizza Express to try out their new Seasonal Specials menu<\/a>.<\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n
\nI have only been to Pizza Express once before and that was for takeout food, so I was looking forward to trying it out properly as I hear a lot of positive talk about it from friends.<\/div>\n
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\n<\/a><\/div>\n
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\nOur nearest Pizza Express is in Torquay, so that’s where we headed….we decided to go just after lunch time, which meant the restaurant was very quiet – there were only 2 or 3 other tables filled, and by the time our meal was over we were the only people in there – very relaxing!<\/div>\n
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\n<\/a><\/div>\n
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\nThe staff were extremely friendly on arrival, I wish I had got the waiters name (he had a west midlands accent if that helps!) as he was very friendly and accommodating.<\/div>\n
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\n<\/a><\/div>\n
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\nI was immediately struck with the decor of the restaurant – I particularly loved the rather unusual & funky chairs dotted along the walls going up the stairs!<\/div>\n
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\n<\/a><\/div>\n
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\nThe menu was pretty extensive and I had a hard time deciding what to have…in the end I asked the staff for advice as I simply couldn’t decide between pasta or pizza, but they suggested the pizza and – given that this IS Pizza Express after all – I decided that’s what I would go with!<\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n
\nOur starters arrived very quickly….the kitchen is very open plan and you can see the chef working away, so I knew our main courses wouldn’t be far behind as I could see him preparing them as we tucked in to our starters!<\/div>\n
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\n<\/a><\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n
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\nI ordered the Bruschetta Con Funghi which is chestnut & closed-cup mushrooms served in a creamy bechamel sauce with red onions & balsamic vinegar served on baked dough.<\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n
\nThe mushrooms were beautiful and complimented so well by the delicious sauce which was creamy without being too rich, the crusty-on-the-outside but soft-on-the-inside dough was a welcome change from the classic bruschetta and the balsamic vinegar was the perfect finishing touch.<\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n
\nI would absolutely order this again.<\/div>\n
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\nJon ordered the Dough Balls Speciale – which are dough balls baked with a Gran Moravia cheese centre served with garlic butter.<\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n
\nI of course had to try one for review purposes! They were absolutely to die for! I could literally eat them all day long – the cheese was gooey and delicious but not overpowering, and the garlic butter dip…oh my word. You could dip anything in that and it would taste divine.<\/div>\n
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\nNext up were the main courses….<\/div>\n
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\n<\/a><\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n
\nJon ordered the Cippolini pizza which is a little different from your standard pizza as it has a sweet potato base!<\/div>\n
\nIt’s topped with spinach, red onion, sweet baby onions, garlic oil and rosemary and lashings of Gran Moravia cheese.<\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n
\nThe sweet baby onions were a really lovely touch – I wasn’t sure they’d work on a pizza but the sweetness complimented the cheese very well.<\/div>\n
\nThe sweet potato base was an unusual taste and perhaps an acquired one – personally I missed the traditional tomato base, but it is certainly worth trying if you fancy something different.<\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n
\n<\/a><\/div>\n
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\nI ordered the Polpette Bolognese pizza – which was beef meatballs, spiced bolognese sauce, roquito peppers, gran moravia cheese and rocket.<\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n
\nI thought it was perhaps slightly light on the cheese, but other than this it was pretty delicious – the meatballs were perfect (and I am very fussy with meatballs, any sign of gristle or fatty bits and I do not want to know…) and the bolognese sauce had a real spicy kick to it which worked really well.<\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n
\n<\/a><\/div>\n
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\nFinally it was time for dessert – I went for the Chocolate Glory which was vanilla ice cream, pieces of chocolate brownie, chocolate flakes and chocolate sauce.<\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n
\nThe ice cream was lovely, but I have to say I didn’t really enjoy the cake – it tasted a little stale though I suspect this may be the effect of it being sandwiched among layers of ice cream – it’s unusual for me to not enjoy chocolate cake though, so I did find that a little disappointing.<\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n
\n<\/a><\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n
\nJon ordered the Lemon Torte which was pretty huge! He said it was very zingy and creamy, and that he enjoyed it.<\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n
\nAll in all, I enjoyed our meal at Pizza Express – I was pretty pleased to see that they do offer takeaways and will be sure to take advantage of this service when a babysitter isn’t possible – it’s worth a trip for the starters alone but the pizza is pretty fantastic too!<\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n
\n<\/a><\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n
\nI’m looking forward to trying the pasta menu next time we visit.<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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