Review: Pizza Express Old Town

Pizza Express in Old Town has always been a firm favourite of ours. Having been in Swindon since the 90s, it’s seen many a birthday, family meal out and even the odd date.

This summer, Pizza Express in Old Town has undergone a rather swish refurb. With décor to rival any city centre restaurant, and a series of trendy James Bond inspired motifs and canvases, we sent our Lifestyle Editor Emily along to see if the dining experience lived up to the 007 interior. And of course, it did.

If you’re a regular at Pizza Express you’ll know they pride themselves on the quality of their food and their top-notch service. If you go to Pizza Express, you are almost always guaranteed a fantastic evening, and none more so than in own very own Old Town branch.

When we arrived we were greeted quickly by our waitress Samantha and lead to our seats. A quiet corner, perfect for a Tuesday night supper and catch up.

Samantha was warm, friendly and really attentive. She brought us our drinks and a large jug of water – it was a very hot day!

We decided to have some nibbles whilst we were musing over the menu.

A very generous helping of plump marinated green olives arrived at our table - and were devoured before we’d even ordered our mains! They were juicy and perfectly flavoured with Italian herbs and garlic.

To start we shared Dough Balls Formaggi, their famous dough balls rolled and baked with Gran Milano cheese, served with a delicious garlic butter, and Bruschetta Con Funghi; chestnut and closed cup mushrooms, drenched in béchamel sauce and red onions served on freshly baked dough, with chopped parsley and balsamic syrup. Both of which were exceptionally good.

For our mains we both opted for Pizza, after all, that’s what Pizza Express is famous for!

I went for a newbie to the Pizza Express menu, the Margherita Bufala. A tastily thin and crispy base, indulgently topped with torn Buffalo mozzarella, plump tomatoes, garlic oil and fresh basil. I actually added some topping to the pizza - which I had no idea that you could do. I opted for pepperoni and crispy pancetta to make my pizza that little bit more special – and boy was it good!

My date for the evening decided on a meat pizza and went for the Diavolo. A thin base topped with hot spiced beef, pepperoni, tomatoes, green peppers and red onions. Being slightly worried about the level of heat, he chose not to have jalapenos or Tabasco added to his toppings (Light weight I know!).

The staff and chefs at Pizza Express were extremely helpful and accommodating. It’s great to know if there is something extra you fancy on your pizza, or maybe you too shy away from extra heat, they are at hand to ensure your pizza arrives exactly how you ‘d like it.

I could only manage half of my pizza, following the starters, but my date ate every last crumb of his. Needless to say, we took the rest of my pizza home. Which didn’t even last until the next day, we ended up eating it a few hours later.

We were definitely in a food coma when the by the time the dessert menu arrived. We’d scoffed too many dough balls and pizza slices to even contemplate having any pudding. The start and mains were just too good not to.

We both really enjoyed our meal, and Samantha was a fabulous waitress. It was a good reminder as to why Pizza Express in Old Town is still and will always be a firm favourite for dining out.