Pizza Express, The Strand - Guide Review

The Bottom Line

Right at the start of The Strand, this Pizza Express is a great restaurant on the edge of Trafalgar Square.

The location is the biggest selling point of this Pizza Express. It's just on the corner of Trafalgar Square opposite Charing Cross Station. On a fine day they can offer al fresco dining, but I visited on a typical London day so it was bit too chilly to be outside. The ground floor has good disabled access and therefore is also good for pushchairs. (There's a disabled toilet with baby-changing facilities on the ground floor - unfortunately some poor diners have to sit right next to the door.) The restaurant's ground floor is popular with families and I spotted a few pushchairs around the room. If you prefer to get away from the kids, or yours are a bit older, then the downstairs dining area will be right up your street. I was there early in the evening and really liked the subdued lighting downstairs which made you feel like you were getting your night out in London off to a good start. With the bar area downstairs it has a bit of a nightclub feel to it.

Address:
The Strand
London
WC2R 0RG
Telephone:
020 7930 8205
Nearest tube station:
Charing Cross

A trip to Pizza Express wouldn't be the same without having Baked Dough Balls for your starter (£1.95). These bite-sized chunks of baked pizza dough are served with a garlic butter dip and disappear very quickly - order more than one portion!

I usually order the Veneziana pizza which is very reasonably priced at £5.75 and 25p goes to charity. Like all the pizzas at Pizza Express, it is on a thin base and is not smothered with cheese like the pizzas you order for delivery at home. All the pizzas are freshly made when ordered so you can specify if you want to omit some of the ingredients.

This time I decided to try something new so chose the new Bocconcini vegetarian salad at £8.25. It included everything I would want in a Pizza Express salad: chargrilled Italian peppers, aubergines, and courgettes, creamy mozzarella balls, sunblush tomatoes, olives, rocket, spinach, a marinated artichoke heart, served with baked dough sticks. That's a lot of ingredients so maybe the price-tag is justified.

Pizza and pasta is best accompanied by some fine Italian beer. I would recommend Peroni Nastro Azzurro at £2.95 for a 33cl bottle. Or if you prefer a non-alcoholic drink, try the new Sicilian Lemonade at £1.95 a glass. They say there are more than 40 lemons in a glass of this still lemonade.

There is quite an extensive dessert menu but I must say I was disappointed with the Banoffee Pie (£3.75) which had far too much whipped cream and not enough 'pie'. (Banoffee Pie is a favorite of mine - it's banana and toffee.) I would recommend the Caffè Reale (£2.95) which is "baby figs in a cinnamon and white wine spiced syrup with a dollop of mascarpone, served with a coffee of your choice". Yum, yum. Very nice indeed.