PizzaExpress - Glasgow

Was awright. That's about as much as I can say. The service was alright, the food alright. Honestly, I prefer Bier Hall's Fiorentina. The base is nicer, there's more spinach and actually, big shavings of Parmesan. Although busy, but not overly, it felt like the (what I assume was the head) waitress didn't seem to be interested in serving us. When asked if we wanted any oils I requested chilli but had the garlic dumped on the table before I could correct the mistake. The younger waiting staff were a bit more pleasant, but it wasn't a dining experience that would drive me back in any hurry.

Popped in for a late lunch on a dreary afternoon, I 'd seen that they had a Vegan pizza on the menu, so I was looking forward to trying out this new addition to Byres Road. First impressions were that the place is huge, like the tardis or layers of an onion it just keeps on going! Sadly due to the lack of customers at around 3pm, it almost felt like watching the maiden voyage of the titanic, having already read the script. The staff the manager in particular looked bored a little disheartened. Anyway, having been sat down in a wee corner booth, I took a moment to look around. As you 'd expect the restaurant looks brand new, they 've gone for a much cleaner, brighter whiter look than their branch on Sauchiehall St. The white tiles and metallic trims on the bar and kitchen give it an industrial look albeit one that 's been done to death . The faux-vintage wall decoration just seemed odd didn 't really fit together. On the kitchen counter, they had two bags with today 's dough preparing written on them, which felt like a bit of a cheap gimmick you wouldn 't want to leave dough to prove in the middle of a restaurant.. I ordered the Classic Pianta, with Artichoke, Mushroom, Spinach and chilli flakes. The pizza was OK, sadly nothing memorable, it was heaped with rocket and lacked pine kernels and garlic oil, so it tasted a bit like most people 's impression of Vegan food: lacking in flavour and covered in grass. It took a longer than expected to get the bill, possibly cause the rest of the staff were on the other side of the restaurant /Byres road , but thankfully the waiter didn 't disappear while the bill was settled. Sadly this first visit didn 't really give a great impression of the latest addition to Byres Road. I 'm sure when the restaurant is full it 'll actually be quite vibrant. The lighter decor gives the impression that it 's been designed to be a social space rather than subdued/intimate. My only concern is that business will never be sufficient to sustain this large space given the number of great pizza options available in the West End and Glasgow as a whole . Maybe Pizza Express on Byres Road is a bit of a slow burner, but for now I 'm not convinced it 'll remain a long term fixture in the heart of the West End.

Ok, so I've only just found this out, but apparently Pizza Express is one of the most polarising restaurants around. People either love it, or hate it so much that they roll their eyes at you and give you a haughty look for even suggesting it. Personally, I'm on the love side of the Pizza Express see saw, so when we were stuck on Byres Road on a Saturday night with no reservations, it was the logical choice! I had never been into this branch of PE before, or it's precursor Paperino's so I had no idea just how massive the restaurant actually was! We got a table for three no bother right in the back of the restaurant, and it was a happy level of busyness, not so empty you're wondering why no one else is here. Since my sister and I have recently gone vegan I asked the server if it was right at all veg pizzas were vegan sans cheese and she was pretty confident that was correct, but checked with the kitchen for us to be super sure (they are ! I ended up going for the Pianta pizza which is the vegan option off their menu anyway spinach, chestnut mushrooms, pine kernels, artichoke, tomato, chilli flakes and garlic oil!! It was AMAZING! I really, really enjoyed this pizza guys, I can't even begin to explain! I opted to get it on the thin base too, because it's my jam, and it was just, ah, so good! My sister ended up going for the superfood salad. I was worried for her that the salad wouldn't be enough for her on its own but it was freaking huge! She asked to swap out some ingredients (spinach and the server suggested extra bread sticks instead, but sadly when we got the bill they had charged us for these (mean Pizza Express! My other half had the Fiorentina pizza (spinach, free range egg, mozzarella, tomato, garlic oil and black olives and despite picking off every single olive, he seemed to enjoy his too! For my drink I got the pink lemonade and it was very nice too, I recommend! The staff we super nice and helpful, the restaurant had a nice atmosphere and was clean and well decorated and most importantly the food was good! I just don't understand why people hate Pizza Express, it's so consistent! I, for one, will be back!

Taking over the location that used to be occupied by Paperinos, Pizza Express has brought new life to the space. This includes some major remodelling that has removed the partition wall from the central area and added the open kitchen that is common to Pizza Express restaurants as well as all new décor and furniture. The fresh new appearance looks great compared how tired Paperinos had become. The menu has the standard options you 'd expect from a Pizza Express restaurant: lots of pizzas along with some pastas, salads and meat dishes. Amongst the pizzas you have the standard and super-thin and crispy Romano bases with some interesting toppings beyond the usual. Overall the food can best be described as Italian chain restaurant plus, not authentic Italian food by any means, but definitely better ingredients and cooking than the standard chain place. On the day I popped in I was there for lunch with my friend and since it was a cool dreary one I decided to go for lasagne and garlic bread. I didn 't think I was that hungry but it was really tasty and I surprised myself by finishing it all. I was the easy sell though, what was more impressive was how the staff reacted to the requests of my friend. If you 've ever watched the movie 'When Harry Met Sally ' imagine going out to lunch with Meg Ryan 's Sally, although thankfully without the scene in the deli..... She orders everything with something added, taken out or changed. Our server took it all in his stride and additional requests were dealt with quickly. This ability will definitely be an attractive factor to be considered when we 're next thinking about where to go for lunch. Overall I really liked what they 've done with the space and was impressed with the service we received. Will definitely be back again soon.

My friend wanted to eat at Pizza Express for dinner so we decided to check out the new one occupying the old Paperino's spot on Byres Road. It's nice inside but unfortunately, our pizzas were a bit bland and the toppings were so sparse my friend asked if anything had been missed off her pizza. Service was polite and prompt enough but the constant attempts at upselling got irritating. I wouldn't say it was good value either with the pizzas priced over £10.