Good food, scary prices, portions sometimes a bit small. (Pizza Express)

Member Name: chrissteel1985

Product:	Pizza Express
Date:	09/08/09 (62 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great location, really friendly waiter, nice buzz in the place.

Disadvantages: £9.85 per pizza is a tad steep for Newcastle. Maybe not in London.

The missus received a £20 gift card for her birthday last week so we thought we'd go and splash out at the new pizza express restraunt that opened in Jesmond, Newcastle last month. Having been at pizza express before, I was a little wary of their prices (a bit high) but with £20 already in the pocket, we decided to go and fill our boots. And our stomachs.

The restraunt is sited on the old Bar Bacca site, situated over two floors with a prominent position on the affluent Osborne Road. Inside has been lovingly done out and despite the recession, it was full to bursting. Luckily, I had pre-booked a table so we had no wait at all until we were shown to our seats by a pretty efficient waiter.

An impressive menu beckoned and I went for the Crostini Pomodoro. For £3.30 it was toasted slices of ciabatta bread topped with tomatoes, garlic and fresh oregano. Served on rocket leaves, finished with mozzerella cheese. Not too filling but a lovely way to start the meal. My partner went for the Garlic Bread with Cheese for £3.05. My only gripe is the portions are quite small for the price and could do with having some potato skins or calamari on the menu for some extra sustenance.

By now the restraunt was starting to fill up with the pre-night out crowd and it added to the overall good atmosphere in the place. Our main courses came and I had the Diavolo Pizza for £8.95. Presented in the menu as "devilishly hot with jalapeno peppers, chillis and spicy beef" it was as good as it's word. It wasn't too hot to eat and it was nice and soft so I didn't need to hack at it like you do in other pizza places.

My partner went for the Four Seasons pizza (£8.35) with a mixed salad (£3.15). She finished with an empty plate so I presumed it was nice. "A bit more anchovy would have been better" was her only complaint, which isn't really a complaint, she's just being picky.

After clearing our plates, the dessert menu was thrust upon us. Normally, I say no to dessert but the atmosphere was cracking and we decided to "go for it" before heading home. I went for the Caffé Merenghina (£3.30) which was a really small lemon tart but it was served alongside a double cappuccino so was a fitting way to end the night. My greedy partner went for the Banoffe Pie (£4.55) which came with a strawberry and some ice cream. I stole some of it and it tasted fantastic, a lot nicer than maybe forcing down a fudge cake or something.

All in all, with a drink of lemonade each (£2.00) the total bill came to £38.65 which I think is a little excessive, especially in a recession. But considering we already had £20 to blow the actual bill came to £18.65 with a £3 tip and more or less 6 courses served it was a bit of a bargain.

I'd recommend anyone to go to Pizza Express but for me, it's always going to be a "treat place" rather than a weekly event.

Summary: Nicer than Pizza Hut.