Pizza Express has opened a branch in Summertown, on Banbury Road!
With about 370 restaurants across the UK, there is always a Pizza Express around the corner.
We decided to make this invite our Bitten summer social catch-up, which was well overdue! Walking down Summertown High Street, you definitely won’t miss it.
Now, on to the meal…
As there was such a variety of food ordered between the six of us, I will (try) to keep this as simple as possible, or you will be reading forever.
A variety of starters was the way to go
- Dynamite dough balls
- Hot honey dough balls
- Mushroom arancini
- Calamari
- Buffalo mozzarella and tomato salad
The hot honey dough balls were the recommended starter. They were tasty and to be honest, you can not go wrong with hot honey. We enjoyed the dynamite dough balls too- both were nice to share across the table and very moreish.
The buffalo mozzarella and tomato salad was refreshing and well-balanced for a hot summer day (when we are lucky enough).
We were disappointed by the calamari. The breadcrumb was too dense and a little burnt, which did not help. The squid itself was a good consistency, but the coating let the dish down.
Overall, the consensus on the starters – not too bad.
Time for the mains…
Between us, we ordered:
- American hottest pizza
- Chicken Italiano calzone
- ‘Nduja calzone pizza
- Margherita pizza with olives
- Leggera American hottest pizza
- Potato salad
- Mixed salad
- Rainbow slaw
All three pizza options were not too bad, the thin and crispy base was perfect. I did not find the American hottest spicy at all. Given they pride themselves on their pizza, we were not blown away.
Both calzones were underwhelming. The flavours were bland and just did not live up to the description on the menu. The ‘nduja one was soggy too! Sad times.
The potato salad was served to us with raw potatoes and when we flagged this, we were told this is how they serve it- we were rather stunned as this isn’t the potato salad we Brits know and love!? Maybe they’re trying something new, but it wasn’t working for us.
No dessert this time…
You will be shocked to know that no dessert was ordered on this occasion (it is shocking, I know)!
We were all quite full, and to be quite honest the service was quite slow throughout the evening and we didn’t want to hang around – we had already been there for a while! The summer menu sundaes did look tempting though…
Time to wrap this up
Honestly, the service needs work as everything took a long time to arrive. Drinks would take at least 15 minutes to come out and considering we were mainly ordering soft drinks, this was a bit of a stretch.
Whilst our waitress was very friendly, there was a lack of attention and we had to ask for basic things like having our table cleaned when we were clearly all done eating.
Cost-wise, prices seem to have shot up since I last visited. Very pricey and not great value for money, unfortunately.
I am hoping these are all teething issues given it’s a new branch, and that service and attention to detail will improve. It was very busy and can imagine it will stay that way, considering the location and easy menu.
Let us know in the comments what you think about Pizza Express! It’s one of those venues where people’s opinions can vary quite a lot so would be keen to get your thoughts.
Pizza Express, Summertown
232-236 Banbury Rd, Summertown, Oxford OX2 7BY
Bitten were invited as guests, all views are our oqn
Went for an early Sunday Lunch (12.00). Asked twice for the air conditioning to be turned down as we were cold but nothing changed. Being cold spoilt the experience. Food served on cold plates. Calzone just about ok but a bit soggy and bland. Food took too long to arrive so kids got bored. We won’t be back.