Pizza East

The pizzas are lovely and the venue and decor are all very nice, I certainly wouldn't say I didn't enjoy my meal there. However it did have a slight feeling of trying too hard to be trendy. Staff are a bit stuck up and where the place is so big service is slow and its gets very noisy. They wouldn't leave our wine on the table, which was fine, but they also didn't keep an eye on when our glasses were empty so we had to keep asking for a top up. They also serve wine in glass tumblers which I found a bit weird as wine just tastes better from a wine glass.... but maybe that just me being fussy!
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7 Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 6
Monday, June 07, 2010

Absolutely love everything about this place - very warm, cosy buzzy interior. Friendly and helpful service and probably the best pizza I've ever eaten. Very surprised at the negative comments below, so I'm compelled to write a positive review. I can't wait to go back, it was outstanding.
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Leigh
10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Wednesday, May 05, 2010

Good pizza, the dough is very tasty. Very noisy but it was a Saturday night, don't know how the people on the bigger tables can hear one another though. Poor service (we waited 40 mins for some olives).

I would return at lunchtime for a pizza as they were very good and it might be quieter then.
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garnervee
5 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 2 | Atmosphere 4 | Value for money 5
Monday, April 12, 2010

Complete rip-off. Do not go in a group and agree to the set menu. (£30 a head for 3 courses.)

The bill came to £61 EACH for a mix of starters (which were good) then 8 pizzas followed by 8 desserts to share between 11. Plus 6 bottles of wine, a couple of pots of tea and some limoncello. The limoncello cost £6.50 a shot - we normally get it for free at our local in Kensington.

The quality of the ham on the pizzas was good, but apart from that the pizzas themselves were no better than Strada or Zizzi. The desserts were also good (though the cinnamon doughnuts were very dry and the choc dip was more Cadbury than Valhrona).

We will not go back.
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2 Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 3 | Atmosphere 3 | Value for money 1
Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Really poor experience!

Sat on one of the large tables, could not hear the person opposite me, as people were packed onto the table like battery hens. I was whacked on the head twice by waiters that were serving bottles of water, due to the lack of space at the table. When I complained to the waitress, she laughed, thinking that I was joking.

The pizza was really average - loads of dough, little toppings. Much better value pizza round the corner at Pizza Express.

On speaking to the restaurant manager at the end I was greeted with a "well you could have asked to be moved!"

Really poor. Save your money, eat at Pizza Express......you are basically paying for their decor at Pizza East.
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Wilson
3 Overall rating
Food 3 | Service 2 | Atmosphere 4 | Value for money 1
Friday, March 12, 2010

The Saturday evening that we spent in Pizza East was excellent. The place was very busy and the atmosphere was buzzing, yet the attentive and proffessional staff ensured, with grace, that waiting to be seated was a positive experience in itself. The carafes of white wine, and Prosecco, recommended by the staff were wonderful and would justify a personal recommendation alone. We ordered pizzas and several side dishes to share from the extensive menu. Everything, honestly everything, was delicious, fresh and bursting with flavour. Throughout the staff were attentive, friendly and helpful. My personal favourites were the potato, garlic, rosemary, fontina, parmesan pizza, perfect with the wild rocket salad. The decor, and indeed the ambience and atmosphere, encourage conversation and relaxation: well done to all concerned.
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Julie Bickerstaff
10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Friday, February 12, 2010

Great restaurant, great food and priced very well - House Red (on tap) is brilliant for the money too, as is the House Red (on bottle).

It's really busy and sometimes a little slow re service but that's not a problem in a place where half the appeal is the atmosphere.

Also, David Tinney - you must have one big appetite.....I can eat for England but the size of the portions (Pizza) verge on stupidly large, luckily they offer boxes to take them home in....
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bs - View all reviews by this user
9 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 8
Friday, January 15, 2010

I went to Pizza East last week and all I can say is don't go expecting amazing food. This place is more about the atmosphere and the experience as it is (to be fair) an amazing space. All of the food we ordered (which consisted of the mussels to start and two pizza's) arrived barely warm so much so that we both couldn't finish the mussels as they were cold within minutes of arriving at the table.

I would go again but my advice is keep the ordering simple- don't stray from pizzas!
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Giles Sutton
5 Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 5
Monday, November 30, 2009

I went to Pizza East with 3 friends on Friday, 28 nov. I called to make reservations on the previous Wednesday but they informed me that they only apportion a limited number of tables for bookings (fair enough), but without a reservation I should need to wait only 20-30 minutes. When we arrived we were told that the wait was 30 - 40 minutes (it was very busy, fair enough), and we went downstairs to have a drink. After 90 minutes we went upstairs to remonstrate and we were told that our table 'was just made available'. However, by the time we got there other people were in our seats and they refused to move! It was all very chaotic and disorganised. We were seated a few minutes later and a manager quickly approached us with an apology and free drink.

The food was OK. The pizzas were a bit spartan and small, but they have done a good job with their corner of the Tea Building. The staff were new and uncertain but very eager to help. If you're after great food and you have other things to do of an evening, then you might want to look elsewhere. If you want a fun night of drinking and people watching is more you're thing, then Pizza East is the business
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David Tinney
5 Overall rating
Food 4 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 6
Saturday, November 28, 2009

The room and atmosphere are great, with the various stations for prosciutto carving, pizza making, and beer serving. Be wary, the place gets completely packed. They say they hold some tables for walk-ins, but I don't think the system is fully down-pat so be prepared for a wait if you don't have a booking. I think you'd be coming here more for the atmosphere than a straight out culinary experience anyway. I've been a few times, and on one occasion was three pints in with my stomach growling obscenities before we got to the table.

The menu is fantastic on paper... great Italian antipasti as starters, with some more complex dishes like bone marrow and kidneys and polenta winners also. The pizza's all sound amazing, and on the whole are quite tasty, the napoli sauce is spot on and the veal sage and lemon pizza an absolute winner. The base is not my favourite, thick and crunchy with a ton of semolina, but enjoyable nonetheless.

Service is generally good, actually better than expected with its cafe style staff in the know when it comes to food.

This is more of a place to hit with friends to have a few drinks, have a nice feed, see and be seen, and have a few interesting talking points from the menu. Note that by the time you are said and done, though, its up around the £35-45 per head mark with a few shared starters, a pizza each and a drink or three. If your happy to spend that money on the whole package, as I was, then its great. If you want a cheap but great tasting pizzaria, there are plenty of other places that offer better value for money.

The ingredients are beautiful but the cold starters are smallish so the bill racks up once you've ordered your fill. That said, I'll still take people there as it makes for a good night out once you take the whole experience together.
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Lenoir
8 Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 6
Tuesday, November 24, 2009