The food at Pizza Express needs no further review: It's reasonable fare at acceptable prices. But in this particular branch, I experienced some pretty poor service.
The branch is one of the smaller, and less atmospheric ones. The tables and chairs are a bit plasticky and the lighting is bright and cool. It was a Saturday night, the restaurant was hardly half full, when my significant other and I decided on dinner here. No one greeted us when we entered. Only when we approached the counter an unsmiling, distracted and seemingly not caring waiter waved us towards the nearest free table.
The same waiter either forgot or didn't hear the first half of our order, but didn't think it odd that two people would order only one pizza. When our single pizza arrived and we asked about the second one, he all but apologised. It also took two tries to get him to replace some dirty cutlery.
The second pizza was served by what was apparently the manager of the branch, who was very friendly and forthcoming, although by that time the first pizza had gone cold. Dessert orders were taken by a third waiter, who came back to apologise and say that one of the sides (cream) we had ordered with the (mediocre, tbh) chocolate fudge cake was unavailable and whether we would like ice cream or mascarpone instead. We told her ice cream, but were served mascarpone.
It came to £20pp for cold/late pizza, wrong orders, and a rude, unapologetic waiter. I know PE isn't supposed to be high-end, but this is exactly the kind of hassle that I want to escape by going out to eat. I just want to treat myself and relax. Needless to say I won't be returning to this branch, and maybe not to Pizza Express at all, unless they seriously step up their game. read more