Restaurant Review – Pizza Express, East Midlands Designer Outlet
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Pizza Express, East Midlands Designer Outlet, Derbyshire
One Saturday in January 2018 we decided (i.e. needed) to make a trip to East Midlands Designer Outlet for a rather special and important reason, and after that was all sorted (well partly) we decided to have a bite to eat. Among the small array of takeaway joints there is a sit-down restaurant at the shopping outlet, this being Pizza Express, so we settled upon this option.
Now I do often enjoy eating out at pizza restaurants, as can be empathised by our recent visit to Zizzi. So would this visit to Pizza Express satisfy our taste buds? Let’s find out…
Firstly the starters
Dough Balls with Olive Oil
Rather unusually we both opted for the same starter, the Pizza Express Dough Balls – and these are available as a vegan option by swapping the garlic butter for olive oil, which is what we both did (just to keep things simple). For some people this may seem like a plain and bland choice of starter but we both liked the dough balls, quite filling enough but still leaving us with plenty of room for the main dishes – speaking of which…
Now for the mains
Pollo ad Astra Romana pizza
For our main meals we both opted for, wait for it…….. pizza! My choice was the Pollo ad Astra Romana pizza, which consisted of Chicken, sweet Peppadew peppers, red onion, mozzarella, tomato, Cajun spices and garlic oil. Being a Romana pizza meant that it was a stretched pizza, resulting in a thinner and crispier base – something that I often prefer when having pizza.
Vegan Giardiniera pizza
My vegan dining partner opted for a new-recipe Vegan Giardiniera pizza, consiting of Artichoke, closed cup mushroom, red onion and black olives, with tomato, vegan mozzarella alternative and garlic oil, finished with fresh parsley. This pizza was also ordered in the Romana-style.
Both of our chosen pizzas were rather tasty and enjoyable to eat, and opting for the Romana pizzas was definitely a good decision in both cases.
Desserts anyone?
We did have a look at the desserts menu, but unfortunately the only option available for my vegan dining partner was the sorbet. In the end we decided to pass on having desserts. The lack of vegan desserts available will be of disappointment to the growing number of vegan diners and this is something that Pizza Express (and many other restaurant establishments for that matter) need to look at improving.
Overall verdict
We did enjoy our visit to Pizza Express overall – the food that we had was enjoyable, and the pizzas were quite large which made them all the better for us. We will happily visit Pizza Express again.
Address – East Midlands Designer Outlet, Mansfield Road, South Normanton, Derbyshire, DE55 2JW
Website – https://www.pizzaexpress.com
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/pizzaexpress
