Pizza Express diverted to sidings

10 April 2012

Not so long ago Pizza Express enjoyed being the acceptable face of fast food. Its successful fusion of simple flavours in a sophisticated setting led to a branch on nearly every high street.

But last week, the company's chief executive, Ian Eldridge, surprised and puzzled the City when he left, saying he wanted to plan his next career move after 20 years with the chain.

The subsequent downturn in the price of its shares has led to fears that Pizza Express is heading for significantly troubled times and the question is being asked: has the chain lost its appeal?

Before 11 September, Pizza Express shares were trading at about £9 but plummeted to about £7 after the terrorist attack. They then crept slowly back up to £9 at the start of this year but have slid downwards ever since, and were last night down 161/2p at £7.371/2.

The events of 11 September hit the tourist trade, but the proliferation of outlets is not helping prevent a creeping air of market stagnation.

Competition from rivals is fast biting at the company's heels - rival group Ask is currently reaping the most benefit in copying Pizza Express's well-tested formula. Pizza Express has also had to absorb losses from trying to break into the US market, resulting in the closure of two restaurants, although a single venture into the Japanese market has become profitable.

It was all so different when Peter Boizot, now 68, introduced good quality pizza to Britain after falling in love with the peasant dish in a Pisa restaurant.

In 1965, he bought a troubled restaurant in Wardour Street for £600, and a phenomenon was born. Looking back on the struggle to launch that first restaurant, the jazz-lover said: "I scrimped and fought battles, as anybody must when they are starting a business. I staved off creditors, scraped through. An old friend from Cambridge lent me £10,000."

But 37 years later, the decline in Pizza Express's fortunes should provide an opportunity for its rivals.

To find out if they are up to the task, we took Tom Norrington-Davies - head chef of The Eagle in Farringdon, London's first gastropub and a regular in the Good Food Guide - on a whirlwind trip across London to try out four well-known pizza chains, including Pizza Express.

What he tasted left him disappointed, and his conclusions make depressing reading for fans of the pizza parlour.

"What should make pizza so great is its simplicity. The Napoletana pizza, for example, was created by the people of Naples simply by using local fresh ingredients, virgin olive oil, basil from the garden, anchovies fished locally and olives hand-picked from the trees," said Mr Norrington-Davies.

"Attempted stabs were made to use fresh ingredients, but none of the restaurants were fully able to provide these basics, despite all of them now being freely available around the capital.

"That is the real shame," he concluded, "but also strange was the numerous outlandish varieties and ingredients on offer and the stingy portions."

Tom's pizza ratings

Pizza Express
Coptic Street, W1

Napoletana Pizza with capers, anchovies, olives and tomatoes
Price - £5.25

Appearance: Very appetising. Looks like it has been cooked in a proper oven. But lacked the addition of fresh basil.

Taste/Generosity of toppings: Not cooked in wood burning oven but pretty good flavour. Well proportioned, although there could have been a bit more cheese and a fewer anchovies for my liking. Good quality dough ensured the base was pleasantly crispy.

Service/Ambience: Friendly, quick, and efficient, in pleasant surroundings.

Conclusion: A tasty snack, a good pre-theatre meal when time is of the essence, but no excuse for not using fresh ingredients.

6/10

Ask
48 Grafton Way, W1

Napoletana Pizza with anchovies, olives and onion
Price - £5.40

Appearance: The silver anchovies shimmered on top of the pizza making me want to dive right in except it was littered with huge blobs of onions. The mozzerella had caught the grill nicely and browned on top.

Taste/Generosity of toppings: Dough limp and soggy and dried oregano not fresh. Plenty of topping, including cheese and tomato, although need more of the yummy olives. Unfortunately the toppings weighed down the dough.

Service/Ambience: Helpful and knowledgeable about ingredients.

Conclusion: For under a tenner you can have an average tasting pizza and a glass of wine. The lack of fresh ingredients such as basil let it down.

4/10

Pizza Hut
Oxford Street, W1

Napoletana Pizza with olives and anchovies
Price - £5.75

Appearance: The least appetising of all four pizzas - it looked tired and sodden, glistened with oil and looked more like cheese on toast.

Taste/Generosity of toppings: Terribly salty with cheese congealed on top of tomato conglomerate.Too little cheese and far too many tinned olives.

Service/Ambience: Very helpful and quick but looks like the inside of a service station or an airport hanger.

Conclusion: Pizza ingredients are not expensive and toppings could be better. However, this is a family-friendly place and service is quick.

3/10

Gourmet Pizza
Swallow Street, W1

Napoletana Pizza --Create your own with anchovies, olives
Price - £5.25

Appearance: This pizza was very colourful and looked great, decorated with whole tomatoes and fresh basil.

Taste/Generosity of toppings: Tastes very fresh, cheese stringy but juicy and anchovies melted in nicely. Let down by pitted tinned olives and slightly sodden dough middle. Generous quantity of toppings.

Service/Ambience: Very accommodating and professional. Good wine menu. Sleek and modern-looking restaurant.

Conclusion: Decent enough and the restaurant has its heart in the right place. But the menu is screamingly outlandish when simple with a twist would be best.

8/10

Reviews by Head Chef Tom Norrington-Davies of The Eagle , Farringdon Road

RESTAURANT REVIEW: Pizza Express
RESTAURANT REVIEW: Ask
RESTAURANT REVIEW: The Eagle

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Tom's pizza ratings