PizzaExpress

I love pizza very much, and if I was a little bit thinner, would have pizza every day! Recommend Pizza express, because they are really nice and tasty – mmmm!

PizzaExpress Studio in Shepherds bush is called so because it was opened, as a franchise of the company then controlled by Peter Boizot, by two entrepreneurs who had connections with the BBC. At the time there were quite a few BBC studios around the area.
I used to work there for a number of years and can recall some very happy times.
As staff members we were encouraged to treat both the staff and our customers as if this were extended family. We often knew people by name and they us. It worked and we had many loyal customers and staff members alike.
This has sadly changed as the new company who owns PE seems to want to ring every drop of profit they can get from both customers and staff.

Not bad as local pizza places go, it’s not as swanky as some of the other pizza express’ in the chain.

The food here is pretty good, as uniform as most of them are. Love the dough balls, soooo garlicy good. I quite like things that aren’t pizza here tho, the lasagne is nice as is the cesar salad.

Has all the classics, soho / sloppy guisepe / the one with egg..All in all, pretty good!

I like pizza express a lot but not really for this outlet.I have been there only once but the experience was not really that good.The waiting time was really long here before you could sat down,then long waiting again for drink,food.Also the pizza,I have been to many pizza express and I need to say this one got the worst pizza,it was like being burnt,and made you feel not very comfortable,Maybe no good luck for me,but not recommend this one.

I am quite the Pizza Express connoisseur, having been introduced to the chain back in 2001 by an ex-boyfriend. I’m sure I’ve been to at least 20 across the UK!

The Shepherd’s Bush branch is about a five-minute walk from the central line station, tucked behind the West 12 centre on Rockley Road. It’s never overly crowded, nor empty, and the staff are incredibly friendly and efficient. I use discount vouchers in there all the time and never once have they been less than enthusiastic about accepting my coupon!

I’m a fan of the mozzarella garlic bread as a starter, or the dough balls can also be quite nice, but not so filling. It may be a surprise that I don’t actually like any of the pizzas as I find the creme de la crème is the lasagne (excuse the pun!) and the pollo pesto (chicken and pasta in a pesto sauce). Both are absolutely AMAZING and worth their weight in gold – or c.£9 as they’re priced.

I tend to stay away from dessert as I remember the chocolate fudge cake being too much to cram in at the end of a big meal once. But I hear the tiramusu is very nice.

All in all, Pizza Express is your bread and butter eatery of the restaurant world: fab value for money, tasty food and great service at a very reasonable and affordable price. Bon appetito!

I have been eating far too many pizzas recently …
I still favour Pizza Express and almost always opt for the Vegetariana (onion, capers, pine kernels, olives + donation to save Venice from sinking). An advantage of this rather unimaginative eating behaviour is a close-to-objective comparison of branches across London.
The Shepherd’s Bush branch is located in a side street in one of West London’s least attractive boroughs, just off the horrible Shepherds Bush green. The address suggests that it is part of that off-putting shopping mall.
However, once inside it’s actually a lot more interesting than many other pizza chains.
To answer some of BushGirl’s questions - I think the P.E. simply and boringly stands for Pizza Express. However, the pictures on the wall are of old-time BBC presenters, etc. With the BBC studios just around the corner in White City, this starts making sense.
Back to the pizza, this branch serves one of the best Venetianas. They generally seem to make a bit more of an efford with their food, within the limitations of being a major chain.
Unfortunately, service tends to be on the slow side, letting down the E in PE.

I toured the length and breadth of this fair country in 2005 and in nearly each town, I would sit down to feast at a Pizza Express. In some ways it was a UK Pizza Express tour. It has left me as quite the Pizza Express connoisseur.

The branch in Shepherd’s Bush – tucked round the side of the West12 multiplex, is mysteriously a Pizza Express “Studio”. It is unclear what this actually means, there are some photos of jazz musicians on the wall and a big ‘P.E. Studio’ sign (which suggests to me netball practice and climbing ropes). Perhaps the initial idea was that they would have live music played or recorded here.

The intrigue is probably the best thing about this representative of the Pizza Express name. It is also a fairly good looking restaurant, airy and stylish.

However! (oh, yes, the dreaded ‘however’) the last time I came here they were understaffed and overbusy. We were in a bit of a rush so were made acutely aware of the slow-running, stressed out, scatty staff. I had aged considerably before my salad arrived. Usually I love the salad but clearly the chef got over excited with the bottle as this one was saturated in dressing and left me feeling quite sick afterwards.

Generally Pizza Express is a reliable, tasty, well made, well presented chain restaurant. Only one occasion has it fallen short for me, so I still heartily recommend it.