Great Food, Awful Service (Pizza Express)

Member Name: adamp111

Product:	Pizza Express
Date:	05/06/09 (19 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Food, Value

Disadvantages: Service

I always find when it comes to Pizza Express that it's a tale of two experiences; the food and the service. My most recent visit is a good example. I went for dinner on a Wednesday and used the excellent 'Orange Wednesday' 2-for-1 and a free starter offer, which provides excellent value for money; a 2-course meal for two for under £10 is very reasonable.

When we arrived it was over 5 minutes before we were seated; not a great start. When we were seated our waiter came to take our order, and seemed disappointed when we said we just wanted water; again, not great. Then he came to take our food order, and despite looking disinterested, that all seemed to go swimmingly; a Theo's Favorita and a Margerita with extra cheese were allegedly on their way. Then things got worse. My margerita arrived in due time, followed by a Fiorentina. A Fiorentina? No, we ordered a Favorita. The waiter, not wanting to be wronged, turned on us in accusatory manner and simply said "what did you order?"...when the answer was 'Favorita' and not 'Fiorentina', he stormed off.

The disappointing thing was that the food was excellent; the garlic bread and dough balls were nicely cooked, and my pizza was just the way I liked it. So why does the restaurant have to let itself down by giving such awful service?

Obviously, this may not be the experience in every Pizza Express, but certainly in Oxford I have had consistent problems with service. It's worth visiting, but you should be prepared for the worst.

Summary: Worth a visit and excellent value, but be prepared for bad service