Pizza Express (Balham)

The streatham one is the best in every way and has a completly different feeling.

In the balham branch its very loud and uncomfortable and the service is terrible.

The staff look very tired and always p****d off. My second time was the last .
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Overall rating
Food 5 | Service 2 | Atmosphere 0 | Value for money 5
Sunday, December 09, 2007

I would normally directly complain at a restaurant if there was an unsatisfactory meal, but it was pretty clear to that the fault wasn't with the chef or the staff, but with management.

There appears to have been a bit of a change in Pizza Express. Formerly fairly reliable for reasonably prices pizza and pasta, it has now started a steady decline.

The first course served was a mushroom bruschetta with a creamy sauce.

The sauce itself was insipid, watery and being soaked up by what appeared to be a small greasy pizza base.

I searched in vain for something to grab my attention that wasn't a pizza, but clearly they've given up entirely when it comes to pasta. Generic dishes like lasagne, cannelonni and ravioli were all that was on offer.

I went for a Melanzane Parmigiani, my date went for a Goats cheese and chicken salad.

I don't know how it's possible to mess up cheese, aubergine and tomato sauce but somehow they did it. The meal looked dead when it arrived, the aubergines swimming in a tomato sauce so artificial and sugary it could only have come from a jar.

Meanwhile, my date's salad was drenched in something that tasted exactly like Heinz Salad Cream. Again, it tasted artificial and excessively sweet. Surely it can't be that tough to make your own salad dressing?

The service was ok, but throughout the meal we were pestered by small midges which is a tad disconcerting considering we were inside the restaurant rather than on some kind of terrace.

Unless you're desperate I would avoid this place like the plague. If you must go, order pizza only. Nothing else is worthwhile.
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James
Overall rating
Food 3 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 4
Thursday, July 19, 2007

GREAT PLACE TO EAT, GOOD SERVICE, FRIENDLY STAFF, AND FABULOUS PIZZA'S
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ANN ENEVER
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 9
Monday, December 04, 2006

Hard to differentiate between one Pizza Express and another, though I think that Balham has to be one of their best sites. The staff are hit and miss...some are great, very attentive but not too much so, but on occasion, we've had to wait a long long time for any service. Pizza Express is Pizza Express though...inexpensive and good enough food though, so can't fault this place too much
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Tom
Friday, October 28, 2005