Pizza East Shoreditch

Pizza East is a small chain of three restaurants located in Portobello, Kentish Town and Shoreditch. It describes itself as a place where you can get "honest food with rustic simplicity" but how does it really fare?

Walking into the Shoreditch branch, I found a relatively large and bustling restaurant - so clearly a popular place.

Bethnal Pale Ale action.

Naturally I ordered a pizza and found it had a good crispy base and crust - just how I like it. The toppings were a bit sparse though - see below.  Nonetheless overall it was a good decent-sized pizza that filled me up.

Anchovies, tomato, mozarella, capers, olives.

As a restaurant with the word 'pizza' in its title, you'd expect there to be a good choice of different pizzas and you're not wrong; there are 11 different pizzas overall ranging from £8 to £14:

Pizza menu at Pizza East, source. 

But despite the name, there are also non-pizza dishes on the menu.  My colleague ordered the mac 'n' cheese.  I can't say I tasted any of it, so I'll have to reserve judgement on its taste, but it certainly looked tasty.

Mac 'n' cheese.

Overall I had a good time at Pizza East and I wouldn't mind giving a few of the other dishes a go.  Maybe that man 'n' cheese...

Pizza Express' Diavolo Romana Pizza: thin, crispy, tasty, but not very spicy

This is how Pizza Express describes its Romana Pizzas: "Enjoy the flavour of each ingredient on your pizza with our thin and crispy Romana. The Romana, inspired by pizza in Italy, lets the topping be the hero".

Sounds good, doesn't it? So when I headed to a Pizza Express in London for lunch, I ordered the Diavolo Romana Pizza.

Spicy action? Hot spiced beef, pepperoni, red onions, Tabasco, hot green, jalapeno or roquito peppers.

Looking at the list of toppings, I was expecting a fiery experience. This was not the case (my taste buds barely registered any spice) but that doesn't mean it was a bad pizza. I was actually pretty satisfied with both the taste and portion size. The base, as promised, was also very thin and crispy. 

It probably could have done with a few more toppings though. I had completely forgotten my pizza had any onions, for example. And it was perhaps a little too dry, so extra tomato sauce would have been nice.

Get your 25 per cent discount...but check the restaurant beforehand

I love a good deal. Sometimes it feels like eating out at Pizza Express is like buying a sofa at DFS; you rarely pay full price, such are the discounts available.

First I get the e-mail...

Offer in my inbox, received on 10 February 2014. "Restaurant restrictions apply" :-(

Then I check the website...

Offer advertised on the Pizza Express website, retrieved on 11 February 2014.

Unfortunately the branch I visited wasn't participating in this offer on this occasion. But many others are, so check their latest offers page for more details.

The Pelt Trader: Pizza and Beer in the City of London

If you like beer, you like pizza and you work in the City of London, then check out the Pelt Trader near London Cannon Street.

They have 16 beers on tap and a selection of giant pizzas - all 18 inches of it (12" also available). It's as simple as that.

We ordered the pepperoni, chorizo and red onion pizza. The GF and I couldn't finish it (I let myself down), but the bartender was kind enough to provide us with a takeaway box to ensure none of it was wasted.

They also do 'beer sticks' - dried meat in stick format, which are perfect for snacking on while you sip your drink. I certainly wouldn't mind going again to try some of the other pizzas.

Nearest Tube: Monument, Bank, Mansion House
Nearest station: London Cannon Street
Address: Pelt Trader, Arch 3, Dowgate Hill, EC4N 6AP

Does prawn and lobster belong on a pizza?

The answer is yes. I've long been a fan of shellfish on pizza (as a kid, my favourite Pizza Hut pizza was the Seafarer) but I'd never seen lobster pizza on a menu before. So of course I had to order it when I saw it on the Prezzo menu.

The sad thing is, the pizza was a let down, but not because of any of the toppings (king prawns, lobster, courgettes, cherry tomatoes, roasted peppers, red onion, rocket). No, the thing that ruined it for me was the bechamel sauce, which replaced the familiar tomato sauce base. This was of course my fault, as it was clearly labelled on the menu, but it does not go well on pizza in my opinion. It is far too rich and creamy, especially when the pizza is quite sizeable.

I'll stick to tomato sauce next time.