Pizza Express

Very high quality Caprese salad. Good pizzas. Excellent for Coeliacs!

We went at lunch time and were the only people in the restaurant when we arrived. We were served by Prashanth who was really friendly and helpful and pointed us to some good deals as well as being very kind to our toddler. Food came quickly and was nice and suited us with a coeliac in the group as they are coeliac accredited so you can have confidence that the meal is prepared correctly.

Not a very good Pizza Express. Took a long time for food to arrive. Dough balls came after 35 minutes, mains ahout 50 mins in, which isn't what you expect for a Pizza Express. I have Coeliac disease and was clear about this when ordering but I believe I was served gluten as I experienced very bad gluten exposure symptoms after the meal. Usually Pizza Express is a good place to go to when you're gluten free but this one isn't at all. I was sitting in front of the kitchen and saw that the chef and all staff were preparing food with their bare hands. It didn't like hygienic at all. I saw one staff member tearing up prosciutto with his bare hands and then not washing them before putting basil on another dish. Not great for vegetarians. Also, I was with another person who was paying for the meal but the waiter randomly placed the bill right in front of me. My companion took the dish and put their card on it. It was in front of them with one card on it. The waiter then returned and asked "how do you want to split the bill?" looking at me. There was clearly only one card on the dish and I felt like he felt I should pay and was trying to make some kind of point. Given he knows nothing about me or the circumstances, it felt awkward and irritating. Won't be returning to this Pizza Express again. Also the restaurant was cold, which made the long wait for food even more unfortunate.