Restaurant Review - Pizza Express, Byward Street, London

Restaurant name: Pizza Express

Location: Byward Street, London

Description: Ubiquitous pizza restaurant chain

Reason for visit: Lunch with my boyfriend before he changed jobs, as this is near his office

I ate: In an effort to stick to my diet I ordered a leggera pizza - a lighter, 500 calorie option as the middle of the pizza is missing and replaced by salad. I had the padana leggera, with goat's cheese, spinach and caramelised onions. I also ordered a side of polenta chips - polenta baked with rosemary and grana padano cheese, served with a honey and mustard dressing on the side.

My companion ate: Margherita pizza, garlic bread

Padana Leggera

The food was: The pizza was very tasty - the middle is usually my favourite part but it's nice to have the mixture of pizza and salad for a change. The polenta chips were gorgeous - lightly baked with a hint of rosemary and cheese and a tangy dressing to dip them in to.
The atmosphere/service was: Friendly and speedy service
Price range/value for money: There was a time when I always had a 2 for 1 voucher when I went to Pizza Express and you could get a meal for two for little more than £15 - so it always seems a little more expensive these days, but it is still good value for money.
Would I recommend it? Yes - it's easy to be dismissive of chain restaurants but they are only successful if they are good, and I always feel you can't go wrong with Pizza Express.

polenta chips and honey mustard dressing