Pre-theatre Dining at Pizza Express, Oxford Street, Manchester

If you’ve followed me on social media for anytime at all, you’ll know there are two main things in life I like (aside from pugs and makeup) and it’s Pizza and Prosecco. Okay so, I must admit that on my recent Pizza indulgence session I didn’t get my Processo fix, but I did truly have my cheese-and-tomato carb cravings well and truly satisfied on my recent visit for Handmade Pizzas at Pizza Express, Oxford Street, Manchester.

Located on one of the busiest roads in Europe no less, Pizza Express at Oxford Street is a classic take on the pizza restaurant chain we are all familiar with. The décor inside the restaurants does tend to differ on location – albeit all with those recognisable blue glasses and striped napkins – and the Oxford Street restaurant is quite minimalist compared to rest. It is a couple of doors down from The Palace Theatre and just a stone’s throw from Manchester Opera House, so when I visited on a Saturday lunchtime it was packed full of matinee viewers having a pre-theatre treat. Just a word of warning that depending on what’s on at the theatre, the clientele does tend to be influenced, and so on this lunch time when Grease was showing, there were a  whole load of kids. Great if you’re a family, mind.

Jonathan and I started with a bottle of sauvignon blanc (classic lunchtime choice for us) and a starter each. I went for a Vegetarian starter of Bruschetta con Funghi (£5.80) which was a delicious chunk of bread dough covered in béchamel sauce topped with red onion and closed cup mushrooms. This was delicious and a really decent size for a started (I must admit I did leave a bit as I wanted to save room for my pizza and to avoid carb-overload), but it was refreshing to start with a white sauce before going on to a tomato base for my pizza. Jonathan chose the Classic Italian Antipasto to start and costing £7.40 this was great value for money. It contained a range of Italian meats including Finnochiona, Coppa, Milano salami and Calabrese sausage, served with a range of vegetables including of olives, artichoke, roasted tomatoes, buffalo mozzarella, sweet Peppadew peppers alongside a range of breads. Oh, and doughballs – because obviously you can’t visit Pizza Express without getting some of these delicious balls of warmth!

For mains, we went for pizzas – obviously! – and I just really find that you can never, ever go wrong with a Pizza Express pizza. Say what you want about chain restaurants, but when they get it right (and Pizza Express totally do) there is just such an advantage in knowing that you can go somewhere for a delicious meal no matter where you are; including pre-theatre dining at the Oxford Street restaurant! I went for a Classic Margherita Pizza and added on extra mushroom, pepper and fresh chilli; at £8.35 plus £1.95 per topping it’s a decent price and it did not let me down! Jonathan also went for a pizza and chose the American Hottest which was a spicy version served with Pepperoni, hot green and Roquito peppers, fresh red chilli, spicy, hot, soft ’nduja sausage, tomato and buffalo mozzarella. At £13.95 in the Romana size it was a beast of a pizza and he thoroughly polished it off!

Over all, our experience of Pre-theatre Dining at Pizza Express, Oxford Street, Manchester was exactly what we were looking for; a quick, delicious meal and the same high quality food standard we have come to know and expect from Pizza Express. For me, you always know you’re going to get a delicious handmade pizza from Pizza Express and that’s exactly why I visit – the Oxford Street restaurant is no exception.