pizza Archives - Page 5 of 8 - Time for a coffee

December 5, 2018September 24, 2023

One of these is not like the other

On my most recent visit to Prezzo, I decided to have something different, however they had a run on the Calabria Burger so I had to choose something else. I had enjoyed the Fiorentina Pizza on a previous visit. So needing to make a quick decision, I decided to go again with the Fiorentina Pizza that I had last time.

The Fiorentina Pizza is a classic pizza with spinach, olives, mozzarella and an egg. The last time I thought this was a very tasty pizza, I really liked the toppings and the base was cooked well.

So as you can imagine my expectations were quite high, however though my pizza was nice, the egg, which last time had a nice soft yolk, was fully cooked this time. The flavour was still there, but I had a slight twinge of disappointment that it didn’t look like this.

I did contemplate complaining, but wasn’t sure if I had grounds for a valid complaint, especially as I wasn’t sure how the egg was supposed to be cooked on the pizza, maybe the last time I had it, it wasn’t supposed to have a soft yolk.

November 2, 2018November 16, 2020

Another visit to Prezzo

It took five years from my first visit to Prezzo to visit it again. This time is was less than month since my previous visit to go there again.

Having had an enjoyable meal at their branch in Euston, this visit was a family celebration at the branch in Weston-super-Mare. This is quite a new branch, less than a year old. We arrived early evening on a Saturday, or you could have even described it as late afternoon. It’s a nice smart clean restaurant with a variety of seating options available. We were quite a large party so we just had some tables pushed together. We were given a warm welcome and we sat down perused the menu. Unlike a lot of places these days, their set menu is available all the time, seven days a week and it is quite a good set menu at that.

I started with the Caprese Salad, tomato and burrata cheese with basil pesto and balsamic glaze.

The tomato was ripe and the burrata cheese was fresh and tasty. A really nice starter.

I had the Fiorentina Pizza, a classic pizza with spinach, olives, mozzarella and an egg.

This was a very tasty pizza, I really liked the toppings and the base was cooked well.

I wasn’t going to go with a desert, but I did fancy a coffee, looking over the dessert menu, I went with the Affogato. Two scoops of vanilla ice cream served with a double shot of espresso and a lemon cannoli. Wasn’t too enamoured with the cannoli, but did enjoy the espresso over ice cream.

Overall a tasty meal. The service did leave a little bit to be desired, initially it started off well and our food arrived in a timely manner. However we did get asked three times if we wanted dessert, seemed they were desperate to provide us with dessert. They also provided us with the wrong bill. Ah well, it was a tasty meal.

October 5, 2018March 3, 2022

Late night visit

I had spent most of the day travelling, so after arriving late into London, and my first choice having closed their kitchen I popped into Prezzo.

The last time I went to Prezzo was five years ago (in York). We had some great food there, but in the end the service let us down. Not that I remembered any of that when I walked into the Euston Road branch of Prezzo. It’s not as though I have been avoiding Prezzo, but as a high street chain, which is slightly more expensive than other high street Italian chains, the other chains usually win out when making a choice. We have a new Prezzo down in Weston, but when we went out to eat we went to the Pizza Express next door. Both serve pizza and pasta and though the choices in Prezzo look inviting, they’re not inviting enough to make us choose them, it would seem. This time, even though there is a Pizza Express on the Euston Road, the branch of Prezzo was closer to my hotel than the Pizza Express branch. So into Prezzo I popped.

Despite the hour, I was given a warm welcome and shown to a table. They had some interesting choices on the main menu, and I was tempted slightly by the calamari, but decided to save some money and go with the set menu. It was nice that their set menu was available at that late time, so I went with two courses, the stuffed mushrooms and the chicken and pepperoni pizza.

The stuffed baked mushrooms were topped with mozzarella, onion and garlic.

I thought these might be bigger, and have more cheese. Having said that I did like them.

The Tre Gusti Pizza was topped with pepperoni, seasoned chicken and pancetta.

This was really nice. The base was doughy but nicely crisp on the surface. The sauce wasn’t too salty. I did think it could have had some more pancetta.

Service was quick, excellent and friendly. Food was rather nice, I enjoyed the mushrooms and the pizza was fresh, hot and tasty.

August 26, 2018

Yes, it was okay

Staying up in Ealing for a couple of nights on our second night we went to Pizza Express, in the main as they do a very nice gluten-free pizza and the other places we liked the sound of, didn’t have a strong or varied gluten-free menu. Well to be honest the little one who is on a gluten-free diet wanted pizza, so pizza it was.

Though it was Friday evening and we hadn’t booked the place did have space for us and we were given a warm welcome. Compared to other Pizza Express establishments, this was rather crowded and cramped, but we weren’t elbowing each other, so was okay.

I did consider going with the pasta, but from the menu it sounded like everything was cooked in the pizza oven, al forno, anyhow, so I went with the pizza.

I ordered the Quattro Carni Pizza. Finocchiona, Coppa, Milano salami, pancetta, tomato and buffalo mozzarella, finished with rocket and shaved Gran Milano cheese on a Romana base.

The food arrived quite promptly and I loved the fresh rocket and Gran Milano cheese on top of my pizza. I did think the pizza was a little over-cooked for my liking which meant it was difficult to discern the four different meats on the pizza, but there were some good flavours in there. The rocket and cheese on top added some nice freshness and bite to what otherwise could have been a somewhat salty pizza.

The service was excellent, and made what was otherwise an okay pizza experience, into a good pizza experience.

April 23, 2018November 4, 2019

Time for a pizza and some antipasto

I don’t always get my first choice when looking for somewhere to eat as a family, even when it’s my birthday. It’s not that I like different places, a member of the family has a gluten-free diet and despite the wider choice you have these days, it’s not always about the choices. So after a game of bowling we ventured off to Pizza Express.

I do quite like how the different branches of Pizza Express reflect their locality. The Pizza Express at Southampton has a ocean liner styling, whilst the one up at Cribbs Causeway has a lot of Banksy style artwork up on the walls.

Though it was a Friday night, and we had booked, the place wasn’t too busy. I wonder if it’s busier during lunchtimes, because of the shopping.

As it was my birthday I decided to start with the sharing antipasto platter.

On the menu this is described as containing a selection of Italian meats: Finocchiona, Coppa, Milano salami and Calabrese sausage, with olives, artichoke, roasted tomatoes, buffalo mozzarella, sweet Peppadew peppers and dough baked with Gran Milano cheese, accompanied by garlic butter and pestorissa, a harissa spiced tomato dip.

We went with the bigger sharing platter and that was just about right for five (combined with some gluten free dough balls). Okay if you are really greedy then you might want to order two of them. The salami was nice and fresh. Sometimes with these kinds of things, they are prepared so far in advance that the salami has dried out. The bread was interesting, but tasty. It could have done with some more artichoke, there were just two pieces.

For my main course I went with the Campana on a thin crusty Romana base. On top was crumbled pork & fennel sausage, friarielli, tomato, garlic oil and mozzarella, finished with Gran Milano cheese and parsley on a Romana base.

This was an enjoyable tasty pizza. I think it could have done with a little more friarielli. Friarielli or rapini is sometimes referred to as broccoli, but is actually a kind of turnip greens. Quite tasty.

Overall it was a really nice meal and I did enjoy it.

October 16, 2017August 29, 2023

Rusty Pizza

There are times when I want to eat pizza and then there are times I do not. Then there are times when I have no idea what I want to eat, I am hungry, but the choice on the menu is giving me a challenge on what to choose. It was the latter challenge when on a recent Saturday we decided to have lunch during a shopping trip to Bristol. We chose Zizzi in Cabot Circus in the main as we had some vouchers to use there, so at least that was a choice I didn’t have to make!

Though this is a modern shopping mall, and despite that, I do like the decor of Zizzi and the environment. The use of old cupboard doors on the walls for example add a really rustic, yet modern feel to the space. It was quite early for lunch when we arrived, but even so they had no four cover tables left, so we had two twos stuck together in a quieter part of the restaurant. Well I say quieter, there was a large table reserved for a party, which thankfully didn’t arrive until after we had finished and left.

The welcome was warm and we spent a little time looking over the menu. There were lots of things on the menu which took my fancy, but in the end I went with the Autumn Special: Smoky Chorizo & Wild Boar Rustica Pizza.

This stretched thin crust pizza was described as coming with smoked mozzarella, Trealy farm smoked chorizo salami, wild boar meatballs, sunblush tomatoes, grated riserva cheese, purple basil & chilli threads.

Alas I didn’t get the purple basil, just the regular green kind. I also didn’t read the menu so wasn’t sure what the threads were until I checked the website later, they were certainly not spicy.

I do like the rustica style of pizza from Zizzi. The crust was nice and the toppings were really tasty.

February 8, 2017November 4, 2019

Spicy

After going to watch a film at the cinema for a birthday treat (not my birthday) we decided to follow up with a meal at the local Pizza Express.

They have created an interesting environment for the Pizza Express at Cribbs Causeway, with a lot of Banksy’esque style artwork on the walls.

I have had some excellent pizza at Pizza Express and was looking forward to another one. Perusing the menu I reminded myself that I should choose one that I hadn’t had before. I have been trying, when going out to eat, to not have what I have had before.

In the end I went with the Calabrese, this is described in the menu as fiery, soft ‘nduja sausage and spicy Calabrese sausage D.O.P with fresh red chilli, Roquito peppers, roasted red and yellow peppers, mozzarella and tomato, finished with light mozzarella, rocket, pesto and Gran Milano cheese.

pizza fiery, soft ‘nduja sausage and spicy Calabrese sausage D.O.P with fresh red chilli, Roquito peppers, roasted red and yellow peppers, mozzarella and tomato, finished with light mozzarella, rocket, pesto and Gran Milano cheese

I really liked this pizza, nice base and a great mix of spicy toppings. This was quite a spicy pizza, so don’t get it if you don’t like spicy.

We also had some great service, so overall a really nice meal out.

October 31, 2016January 27, 2024

…but you don’t like it!

Down in London for a family visit, it was time for lunch. Kingston has a lot of wonderful places to eat, however with young children we chose Zizzi, partly as one wanted pizza and the other is gluten-free (and Zizzi do a nice gluten free pizza).

It was a Saturday lunchtime and the place looked packed standing outside, I didn’t hold out much hope that we would be able to get a table, especially as we hadn’t booked. However the branch of Zizzi in Kingston has an upstairs, which was a lot less crowded and we able to easily find a table for the seven of us. I quite liked the nautical theme of the decoration and furniture.

I do like the rustica style pizza at Zizzi and have had their Carnosa before which I enjoyed. Going over the menu I was tempted to have the Carnosa again, but saw the new Rustica Pizza Pulled Pork Roma. This was described as slow-cooked pulled pork and crispy crackling on a white base of Fior di Latte and smoked mozzarella with pepperoni, sunblush tomatoes, thyme & smoked chilli jelly.

I almost always avoid menu items with pulled pork in them, as I don’t like it. They usually contain a sticky sweet barbecue sauce, from the menu description it was apparent that this pizza didn’t. I should point out I wasn’t certainly expecting any kind of authentic Italian experience here either.

I like how they use the term, Fior di Latte mozzarella to make it sound exotic and authentic, what it actually means this is cheap mozzarella made from cow’s milk and not the buffalo milk that “proper” mozzarella is made from. However when it comes to topping a pizza, I don’t believe it makes too much difference when it comes to flavour. I do though think it’s amusing they are using the Italian terminology to make the pizza appear more “authentic”.

The rustica style pizza is a stretched pizza base, which is more authentic than most pizza you can buy, it’s also similar to the Romana style pizze you can get Pizza Express. I like the crisp and texture of this pizza. I liked the crunchiness of the crackling and tasty pork. The other toppings all added to the overall experience.

I did enjoy this pizza and found it a delicious combination of tastes and textures.

The service was friendly and fast, however though I ordered a starter, it never arrived, the waiter had forgotten to put it through to the kitchen!

The other starter arrived just as we started to eat it, all the main courses arrived, it was bread, so less of an issue, but even so…

So, nice environment, great pizza and okay service. Even if it is busy, you should still as a restaurant be able to manage, I was expecting Saturday lunchtime to be busy, so should Zizzi.

August 31, 2014January 27, 2024

You need more staff…

I like great service, actually I almost expect great service. Generally most people do not go out to a restaurant to eat, they go for the whole experience. The welcome, the opening drink, the perusal of the menu, the choosing, the ordering, the anticipation, the actual eating, the reflection and leaving the table, knowing you don’t need to do the washing up. It’s the atmosphere, the furniture, the music, or no music, the ambience. A good restaurant will try and ensure that the whole experience is just right, and good customer service, is critical for a positive dining experience.

Down in London for a short break, we went to Pizza Express in Kingston, in the Rotunda. Though they said the air-conditioning was broken, it wasn’t that hot, so it didn’t appear that was going to be an issue.

Looking over the menu I decided upon the Toscana Romana Pizza, which is described as having a bigger, thinner, crispier pizza, topped with crumbled chilli & fennel sausage, mozzarella and tomato finished with baby mozzarella, Gran Moravia cheese, fresh basil and extra virgin olive oil.

Though on my pizza I got slices of sausage rather than crumbled sausage and I think the pizza works better for it. The Toscana Pizza was delicious and I really enjoyed it.

My wife went with the Leggera Superfood Salad, this is made with baby spinach and seasonal mixed leaves, roasted butternut squash, beetroot, light baby mozzarella, avocado, pine kernels, cucumber, lentils and fresh basil, finished with balsamic syrup.

She really enjoyed it, she though was disappointed that it had no seafood in it! Always read the menu carefully.

Unfortunately, a lack of staff meant for me that the dining experience, specifically the service, was not as good as the pizza. We had to wait long amounts of time between getting the menu, placing our food order, ordering additional drinks and getting the bill. One of the results of the lengthy service delays was in the end we decided not to have pudding.

I don’t mind slow service sometimes, it’s nice to take your time and not be rushed, however, I do find there is a difference between slow and indifferent, which appeared to be the issue here. Too often we were ignored even though we had indicated or even said we wanted some attention. I got the feeling that this was down to a lack of staff, who were probably too rushed and forgot about the key elements of good customer service.

The food was great, just a pity about the service.

August 29, 2014

A lunchtime Calzone

Taking lunch at Bella Italia in South Kensington the other week, I decided that I would go down the Calzone route.

Bella Italia in South Kensington is a short walk from the Science Museum, which we had just visited. The lunch menus inside the museum cafés looked interesting, but my children’s choices were quite limited. Can be quite a challenge for eating out, when your youngest is adamant she is going to eat nothing unless it was pizza!

If you have visited a Bella Italia in most parts of the country, you probably have gone in quite a large spacious restaurant, the one in South Kensington is very small in comparison over two floors, probably only a third of the covers you would find another Bella Italia. This one did though look much more inviting and cosy than others I have been in.

We were seated upstairs and decided to partake the lunch menu, at £7.95 for one course, this was two pounds more than the same menu, for example in Bristol. This London weighting probably pays for the higher rental costs and high staff costs, though less value for money was a result.

Looking over the menu, I decided upon the Calzone Diavola. This is described in the menu as “The perfect portion for lunchtime with N’duja sausage and pepperoni, chicken breast, cherry bell peppers, green chillies, red onion and mozzarella on a spicy arrabbiata base, served with mixed salad and arrabbiata dip.”

I was quite surprised when it arrived the find the edges were crimped like a pasty.

The pizza “base” was well cooked, crisp on the outside and soft inside. The filling was spicy and tasty, but I did feel it wasn’t that generous. Now I am not sure if that was because this was the “lunch menu” version or if this was the size it was. The salad was nice, but I don’t think I did get the arrabbiata dip!

So what about the service, well they were obviously under staffed, the waiters were trying their best, but the whole service from start to finish took a really long time, this wasn’t going to be a quick meal. They also slightly messed up our order, though that was quickly rectified.

Overall I enjoyed the Calzone, and even at £7.95, thought it was good value for money, alas it was a pity that the place was so under staffed and as a result the service suffered.