The interior is undoubtably beautiful, but I wanted to know if the same could be said for the pizza
The interior of Pizza Express in the Burton Building is bright and eclectic(Image: Sofie Jackson – staff)
As we headed into Valentine’s Day weekend, I visited the new Pizza Express in the city centre’s historic Burton Building. The Grade II listed 1930s Art Deco landmark in in Whitefriargate looks new and shiny after its makeover, with a high polish on its iconic black granite facade.
In search of a new place for eating out and curious about the interior decor, I visited the restaurant on a rainy February afternoon. It was quite busy – there were already five other covers – but we were quickly shown to a table by a friendly member of staff.
I was a little shocked at the prices – the cheapest Romana pizza now costs £17.95 – but it’s been nearly 10 years since I’ve entered a Pizza Express so I probably needed a reality check. Very, very unromantically, I used to always take my dates to Pizza Express, rather than a charming independent bistro, because of the endless supply of 40% off vouchers they seemed to spam you with back in the day.
I was also partial to the spiced figs with mascarpone cream for dessert, ‘Caffè Reale’, served with a coffee. Although I had no voucher, I did note the rather generous Valentine’s deal of two starters, two pizzas, and a bottle of wine for £50.
As I looked around the restaurant, I took in the various different styles of the interior. It was mostly a mix of Art Deco and mid-century design, with an eye-catching sea foam green bar.
The same bar was adorned with a very Art Deco ornamentation – gold detailing in a geometric pattern running almost as high as the ceiling. Meanwhile, the exposed brickwork in the other corner was like a Manhattan loft.
A huge collection of wicker lampshades making a sort-of lighting feature in the centre of the restaurant was not really in keeping with the other styles, but still rather cool to look at. Perhaps the best thing about the design is the huge windows, offering plenty of light and a prime advantage for people watching.
After perusing the menu and the tempting Valentine’s offer, I decided I was not really in a position to get hammered on half a bottle of wine, as wonderful as that sounded, and went off the main menu.
I used to get a giardiniera pizza, a rich and oily feast of artichokes and olives, but I decided to try something a bit different and went for a fiorentina pizza on a ‘classic’, and therefore thicker, pizza base.
My dining partner picked a garlic prawn pizza with the bigger, thinner, crispier ‘romana’ base, inspired by pizzas from Rome. It’s a bit pricier, and I wondered if there would be a noticable difference in flavour and quality.
One thing I love about Pizza Express, is that you can see the chefs preparing your pizza in the huge ovens in the centre of the restaurant. Beautiful dough smells wafted across the room, stoking our appetites.
Luckily, we did not have to wait long for the pizzas. We were each given a giant pizza slicer and offered seasoning from the comically huge pepper mills, then politely left to get on with it.
I must confess, my pizza base was better than average, but it did not exactly blow me away. It was… alright.
The toppings – egg, mozarella cheese, olives, and spinach – were a little bland and I felt did not really add much. The cheese had a good texture, but not a memorable flavour.
I tried a bit of the garlic prawn pizza and was struck by the difference. The ‘romana’ base was delicious, with that just-fired-in-a-pizza-oven flavour and a crispy texture, as promised.
But the tomato sauce also seemed superior, with a slightly sweet, juiciness to the tomatoes. Fresh herbs and the little drizzle of lemon added complexity to every mouthful.
It was altogether a more grown-up and sophisticated main meal. And it was bigger.
I was pretty jealous, bordering on distraught, to be honest. If I return to Pizza Express – perhaps with the enticement of one of those 40% off deals – I will definitely pay the extra dough for a romana base.
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