Though I am not entirely sure how environmentally delivered pizza in a pizza box is… but I guess if you do order pizza, it would be better in a box like this!!!
Do you know I don’t think I have ever had pizza delivered… well maybe once.
At the Hut
Pizza Hut is not my first choice for pizza, but on my most recent I did quite enjoy the pizza we ordered.
We went with the Best Ever Supreme on a thin Italian base. It came with chicken, black olives, beef, pepperoni, red onions and mixed peppers.
Now if you are expecting classic Italian pizza, then you are in the wrong place, this is Pizza Hut and not a traditional trattoria or ristorante.
The pizza was cooked well and the toppings were just right, not over generous and not measly either. Most of the toppings were fine, though the black olives were a little disappointing.
I enjoyed the pizza and would, if I was at Pizza Hut, order it again.
Salad Bar
On a recent visit to Pizza Hut I was once more disappointed with the salad bar. Credit to Pizza Hut in that they are currently giving away unlimited salad if you order a main course, so maybe I am been slightly disingenuous as the salads are free.
Yes there was lettuce, but it was iceberg lettuce. Yes there was cucumber, but it was thick chunks rather than slices. No tomatoes though… The coleslaw was okay, however the potato salad lacked texture and bite.
I think part of my disappointment is the result of a memory from the early 1990s when I visited a branch of the Deep Pan Pizza company and on their salad bar they had chicken wings, fresh pineapple slices and a fantastic range of salads.
Of course as Deep Pan Pizza closed in 1998 there is no chance of visiting them again!
Four Seasons
On a recent visit to Pizza Express (had some Tesco vouchers to use up) I chose for my starter, the Bruschetta Salami, for my main course I went for the Four Seasons pizza.
Four different quarters: mushrooms, pepperoni, anchovies & capers, mozzarella, finished with olives.
As is usually the case with Pizza Express the base was thin, in the Italian style and generous toppings without too much cheese. I really enjoyed the different toppings, but had forgotten how salty anchovies can be, but enjoyed that quarter. The sliced big field mushrooms worked well, as did the mozzarella. I thought the pepperoni was a little too thin, so was crispier than I liked, but had a good flavour and not too much heat. The olives finished it off.
I do like the pizza at Pizza Express and compared to other pizza chains, it is a much tastier and more authentic experience.
Monte Bianco Pizza
So after a visit to the Bristol Aquarium we headed off to the Bristol Harbourside Pizza Express for lunch.
It’s quite a small Pizza Express so can get crowded. However we had a warm welcome.
After looking over the menu I went with the Mariann Bogdan created new pizza, the Monte Bianco. It was very different to the other pizza on the menu. It consisted of a base, but on top it had chicken, béchamel, fontal cheese, courgettes, red and yellow peppers and garlic oil.
So no tomato.
However I really enjoyed this pizza, it was lighter than a traditional pizza and lots of flavour, to be honest I am not sure if even needed the chicken. I might have replaced the chicken with mushrooms if I was cooking this at home.
Pizza Express
So there I was needing a bite to eat, I had had no lunch and it was looking like that working late that night I wouldn’t have a chance to get anything decent to eat and would have to grab a takeaway…. didn’t fancy that.
Luckily I had in my pocket some spare Tesco Clubcard Reward vouchers that were about to expire, so I thought lets use these, have a really nice meal, but where?
Well (from the title of this blog posting) you guessed I went to Pizza Express. Using the vouchers does restrict you to specific places, I had considered Café Rouge, but traffic was bad and to be honest did I want to be disappointed again? So the only place left from which to choose was Pizza Express. I have been to Pizza Express quite a few times before and have enjoyed my meals there. I also quite like their range available in the supermarket.
I did consider not going, as the place was empty (well it was late afternoon) and I wasn’t really wanting to be the focus of all the staff as the sole eater in the establishment, however time was against me and I was hungry!
As I was hungry I decided to have a starter and though there was a fair bit of choice, I went in the end for the Calamari Al Forno, breaded calamari with house dressing.
So no rings here then! More chunks of squid that were breaded and cooked. I did like the presentation and it was a nice portion, not too small and not too big. Alas the calamari was a little chewy, partly I guess as it was either overcooked (unlikely) or double cooked (more likely). The house dressing was a wet mayonaise with probably too much vinegar, but there was lemon for those that like me who prefer that. I did eat them all up and did enjoy it, it’s just I know that calamari can be so much better than this, however this is much better than a lot of calamari I have had at other places.
After my started I went with a Romana Pizza Pollo Pancetta.
This pizza has a stretched very thin base, similar to those (allegedly) you can find in northern Italy. The base was covered in red pepper (peperonata) sauce and topped with chicken, yellow peppers and what was suppose to be crispy pancetta.
Not this was really nice, what I did like was that it had flavour, wasn’t salty (as some pizza places to do with their pizza) and looked great. The chicken looked to be real chicken that was ripped and placed on the pizza, rather than processed pre-sliced chicken you can find on some pizzas. The yellow peppers were nice and crunchy. However one slight problem, the crispy pancetta looked like it had been replaced with proscuttio! It was neither pancetta or crispy. I didn’t complain as it was still nice, but it would have been nice to be told that this is what they had done.
I was quite full at this point, however the waiter pointed out that they had a selection of small desserts served with a coffee. Now that sounded just right. So I went with the Caffé Merenghina and my choice of an Americano.
The dish comprised os a small individual lemon pastry tart topped with a, in my case, slightly droopy meringue. The tart was great, not too sweet and not too tart and just the right size. The coffee was also decent.
The bill (I already had a coffee) came to just £21 which wasn’t bad at all in my book for a really nice meal. I will be going again.
Ortolana Pizza
I do enjoy the pizza at Bottellino’s.
This is the Ortolana Pizza.
On top it has roasted courgettes, peppers, aubergine, olives and mozzarella cheese.
The pizza are quite big, so if you’re not hat hungry, I would recommend sharing one. If you do order your own, then they will provide boxes to take home what you don’t eat. Not that I am a fan of cold pizza.
Calamari and Calzone
Went to Bottelino’s again.
For starters I had the calamari again.
I do like calamari, this was okay, certainly not the best I have ever had, but also not the worse. Would be nice if they were a little more authentic. Next time I go I must have something different, though looking at another table I don’t think I will go for the mushrooms. Quite liked the look of the anti pasta.
They do a lunchtime special at my local branch where any pizza or pasta is just £4.95, so I decided to try the calzone.
It comprises a pizza base folded and stuffed in this instance with bolognaise sauce and mozzarella cheese.
I didn’t enjoy this as much as other pizzas I have had at Bottelino’s, it was a little too rich for me.
Overall not the best experience I have had, but didn’t put me off going again.
Bottelino’s is an independent chain of Italian restaurants in Bristol and North Somerset.
Bottelino’s Special Pizza
This is Bottelino’s Special Pizza.
Very nice it was too! With cheese, olives, onion, pepper, anchovies and then some…
Bottelino’s is an independent chain of Italian restaurants in Bristol and North Somerset.
They do a lunchtime special at my local branch where any pizza or pasta is just £4.95. This makes this £10.95 pizza even better value.
Wot no Pizza
I do expect cafes and restaurants to sell out, but doesn’t mean I am not disappointed when they do.
Was at the Cafe @ Bristol today in @Bristol in Bristol.
I ordered the pizza and salad and was told (and this was at 11.45am) that they had run out…
Initially couldn’t believe it, but then it is Easter Sunday and they probably ran out yesterday or the day before… though the menu says homemade pizza, surely they could have more some more! Maybe it wasn’t homemade pizza in the sense they made it, but a company makes them… wouldn’t be homemade then would it!
So what did I have instead?
Nothing.
Should have gone to Pizza Express instead…
…but then I read this yesterday and decided that it probably wasn’t such a good alternative.
Going to cook pasta at home instead.