pizzaexpressyourself.co.uk

A special day, today, and one which saw me eating in Pizza Express in Bow Street, just outside Covent Garden and opposite the famous magistrates’ court.

Arriving at the peak of lunchtime, getting a table took no time at all – walked in, queued for around five seconds and were shown to a small table (ahead of the group who were there before us). The waiter was Italian, the service was impeccable. Whilst we were a little crammed against a group of somewhat loud girls, we were at least able to have a quiet conversation as we waited for the food.

A Nostrana salad and a Margheurita duly arrived and both were very tasty. in fact, I’d say it was the best salad I’ve had in any pizza Express! What made it so good? I’m not sure – something about the balance of the ingredients and the fact that it wasn’t smothered in dressing for a change. Nice.

All in all it was a good experience – one I’ll aim to repeat!

This is a place I go to reasonably regularly, and on each occasion I get a pretty good experience. Located as it is just outside the main entrance to Freeport it is easy to park and walk to, and you have the option of doing some factory outlet shopping as well. However, on this occasion we went for a meal between films – it was a three film day for us…

The food is good here. Pizzas arrive hot, deserts are well sized, wine is tasty and all in all you can’t go too far wrong.

What’s more, the place is reasonably clean (at least it is in the food hall areas, I didn’t check the other facilities). A peasant ambiance, then… so what of the service?

Yep, service is good, too. I must be getting old as some of the waiting staff (mostly female) appeared altogether too young, but the service was efficient and polite and not at all ‘young’ in the way they deal with you – i.e. they can string words together in sentences and are not afraid to talk to you!

So yes, good food, good service and a reasonable environment… it has to be a solid 8 out of 10 from me!

This was an odd one – the place is familiar enough and I have eaten there before, but on this occasion I noticed something peculiar.

First off, the service was OK – nothing superb, mind you as they were rather busy. It got a little impersonal, truth be told. The food was prompt, and on the whole good, but we didn’t linger for a dessert and this is probably because of the environment.

Strangely, there is a small step just inside the main entrance which presents no issue on arrival. However, on leaving the restaurant there were two incidents where people simply didn’t notice the drop down to another level and actually fell over. The manager wasmost apologetic on both occasions but it left me wondering how many poor diners had suffered a similar fate, and how soon it would be before the restaurant actually did something about the situation. For example, a high visibility edge would be a start, but there is nothing like that in place.

Yes, you need to take responsibility for where you walk, but I got the impression that this was a fairly regular experience in Chelmsford. It shouldn’t be, for sure. For this reason I am going to give this restaurant a ower score – good food needs to be served well and in an environment that you enjoy There’s nothing remotely enjoyable watching old ladies fall over in front of you as you eat… unless that kind of thing appeals to you, in which case, go to Chelmsford!