Pizza Express

An old favourite still measures up

You might be amazed to hear that I was 18 when I first tasted pizza. It simply wasn’t on the scene when I was a kid in Lancashire. My first was in Soho in 1974 at a place called Pizza Express and it was good.
Pizza Express became a regular haunt and particularly on jazz nights when I saw some of the top musicians on the jazz scene over an American Hot and few bottles of chianti.
Now all these years later Pizza Express has become a reliable option for three reasons. When I am out of town and do not know the local restaurant scene I can guarantee that it will offer both value and satisfaction with no risk. When I have come out of the theatre late it will still be serving, unlike so many places that are closed to orders by 10pm, and finally it is an efficient dining experience, the service good and fast, ideal when you are in a hurry.
These of course are the practical reasons but last night I realised that I actually like the food. I was joined by M for a pre-theatre dinner, Shakespeare, so sustenance was required. We started by sharing antipasto, a decent selection of cooked meats, vegetables, cheese and olives served with delicious crisp and peppery bread and a very good red pesto.
I could not resist an American hot and as ever requested an extra topping of capers, my own twist. I ordered the Leggera, smaller and served topped with salad and that distinctive creamy dressing. It was great and absolutely the right size given my later indulgence. M chose the large American hotter, a fiery beast of a pizza the size of a lorry hubcap and loaded with topping, I do hate a spartan topping on a pizza. I would have been daunted by the scale of the thing but he made light work of it. We both made light work of a bottle of rather good soave too!
I should have stopped there, really I should, but the menu offered tiramisu and it called to me. M was less keen but a little gentle persuasion worked and he ordered the cheesecake. Both were good and both very generous.
The menu at Pizza Express has over the years been expanded and now offers a much wider range of dishes than ever before and the pizzas, especially the crisp, thin crusted ones are delicious. The Jubilee Square branch has been given a stylish new make-over too and is looking great with British pop art murals that make more than a passing nod to one of my favourite artists Peter Blake.
It’s good to get reacquainted with an old friend and that is what Pizza Express is, a comfortable old friend.
A3 Block, Jubilee Street, Brighton, BN1 1GE
01273 697691, www.pizzaexpress.com