Mark Pack

Ssssh. Don’t tell Pizza Express head office. But they do the chocolate glories differently in Pizza Express Bishopsgate. Rather than drip chocolate sauce over the ice-cream, it’s hidden away in a middle layer waiting to be found with by your spoon, oil-prospecting style. No prospecting oilman has every got as excited at striking gold as I did at finding the chocolate sauce.

Whilst the last Pizza Express visited (Millbank) has some of the fastest service in their branches across London, here the service is rather more languid. “Slow” wouldn’t quite be the right description as, once you wave at a member of staff, response is quick. But rather the classic rush rush menu order starter main course sequence is run at a much slower pace.

It’s one of the smaller Pizza Expresses in terms of floor space – save for the fact that there’s two floors. However, as going in and asking for “two tables for one, on different floors please” might have been going a bit far, all I can tell you is that the ground floor is (a) on the ground, (b) has a floor (along with walls and ceiling) and (c) has huge glass windows right up close to where lots of people walk pass. It can be a little disconcerting to look up from your pizza and see people almost walking straight towards you. It’s a good incentive to eat neatly mind you.

Anyway, that’s 9 down and 119 to go.