I was looking for a quick bite to eat and decided to try Pizza Express in Durham, a rather large chain of restaurants, up and down the country, boasting over 300 across the UK. It was lunch time and it was quite busy with say 10 tables filled.
When me and my partner first entered the restaurant there was no-one to greet us, and we got the feeling that everyone was looking at us, this was a shame as it does make you feel quite uncomfterable. A chirpy young lady soon showed us to our seats, a stupidly small table which was no bigger than 3 foot wide. The waitress took our orders and brought and poured our drinks, she was pleasant and very helpful, as the thing with Italian restaurants a lot of the menu’s are in, you guessed it Italian!
While waiting something caught my eye and that was I was able to see the chef at the far end of the restaurant, I like the idea of seeing my food prepared in-front of me and noticed the chef always washed his hands after handling anything, which was impressive and reassuring. I find when you wait for a meal you notice a lot more than when you first enter a establishment, it might just be me, but uncleaned window sills and left overs of food under the table doesn’t do it for me, the cutterly I used although custom produced for Pizza Express could have been cleaner.
I had ordered Tortellini which was presented uniquely in a metal dish and with a spoon, most of the dish had been sprinkled with a very light cheese and created a thin layer over the top of the pasta rather than the paste being filled with cheese, the dish was excellent but not the best Tortellini I had eaten, the serving was plentiful and I could not finish the entire meal. But a great dish and the presentation was excellent!
The dining experience let Pizza Express down and felt that the restaurant was very dull and mundane, I accept that it’s trying to appeal to a mature audience but it did not give of the feel of an Italian restaurant nor ‘roman’ which is their current advertisement. Decorated in white and marble tables it wasn’t my cup of tea, I believe atmosphere in a restaurant is important, especially for a good dining experience and even on a busy Monday lunch time, there was non, despite the influx of students.
Tags: 2 out of 5, durham, italian restaurant, pizza express, tortellini
