Pizza Express (Cardiff)

After the enormous last post from Whistler, this one will be a fairly short one and keeping straight to the point. So off we go.

We got some 50% off vouchers for Pizza Express and since I've never been there, I figured it would be a great way of combining a romantic evening with Tinka with some pizza hunting. Off course, it was mainly about the romantic evening! :-P .

Actually, (to drift off the main point right at the beginning) I had applied to Pizza Express once, before coming to the UK in September 2015. It was a funny period for me where I kept pondering life choices and contemplated ditching IT for something else, at least for a while. And since I had fun making pizzas the summer of 2012 in US, it seemed like an obvious choice. But since applying for a pizzaiolo position on the internet is like trying to hit on girls with programming jokes (it does not work out and you look like a weirdo), I did not get it. And luckily, I didn't get it, I must say, although I did become a full time pizza chef for a few months. That was, however, in Real Italian Pizza Company, which I found through a really funny coincidence, described in one of the previous posts.

Pizza express remained, though, an unchecked point on my list. On the internet it all seemed very good: "traditional" here, "Italian" there... Furthermore, quite a few colleagues from Real Italian used to work there and thus I felt like checking for myself.

We paid a visit to the branch on Saint Mary street. Though on a mid-week evening, the place was quite full, but then the location by the Castle is simply priceless. The atmosphere inside was quite cozy, although perhaps a little too much, as we sat at the table so close to the old ladies next to us, that we felt like on a family grandma outing (a bit of exaggeration there, but bit of truth too).

We studied the menu - there's quite a few options and even different types of pizza base. The "classic" one is a bit smaller and thicker (though we realized this only once it came) and also less expensive, while the other one (Romana) is, well, the opposite. We decided to try one from each: Classic Soho 65 and Romana Padana. The first one is kind of a typical-ingredient thing with buffalo mozzarella, rocket, parmesan and black olives, while the latter is more of a goat cheese, caramelized onion and garlic oil sorts.

The pizza chef was no longer busy and started our order pretty much straight away, so the "express" part of the restaurant's name definitely ticked the box. Wonder, though, if the same would happen on a busy day, as I heard the trend is to keep the staff on a "just enough" level. On the other hand, the process in Pizza express is much simpler than the one in Real Italian: pizzas are baked on trays, which makes life easier for the chef (e.g. there's no sticking to the stone in the oven), though at the expense of a  less properly baked bottom. Also the ovens are different, so called "deck ovens", stacked on each other, and likewise easier to manage than wood-fired ovens. Finally, many of the ingredients, including the dough, are brought in ready to use, rather then prepped fresh.

We observed the chef a bit and I cannot not comment - he looked a bit sad, like if he was fed up with the job. Of course, it's all speculation but we both felt the same way and, well, sometimes you can literally "taste the chef's mood" in the pizza. The service was better, at least up on the surface but again it felt a bit as if they had enough under the hood. Be it as it was, we smiled for this picture, with all the honesty, as usual.

I started off with Soho 65 while Tinka grabbed Padana. So let's taste that traditional Italian thing that made Pizza Express break through! But already the first bite already hinted I'll write no poems about Pizza Express. I guess the biggest disappointment came from the crust. I truly expected more. Especially the classic, Soho 65 pizza came on a thick, gummy and tasteless base. It could be just a bit undercooked but I think that was only one part of the problem. The crust was simply not enjoyably on its own, and I can imagine it comes down also to the freshness of the dough.

Soho 65

Soho 65 was, however, a disappointment in general. I recall the ingredients there, but the taste was just missing. So was olive oil on the rocket, which ended up quite dry, and just "thrown over". I tried to compensate it with chilli oil, but that one ended up tasteless too, far from what I call spicy. I guess garlic oil would have helped bring in some taste, but it was not around and thus overall this was one of the worst buffala-rocket-parmesan pizzas I've ever had.

Padana

 

On the positive side of things, Padana scored some good points, especially with Tinka, who really loved the caramelized onions, although they too come imported. I liked them as well, especially with the mentioned goat's cheese or garlic oil. Even more important for me, the pizza was bigger, thinner and (perhaps for that reason) more crispy, although there still wasn't any of that nice round tasty crust which I enjoy so much in Real Italian.

What to say in conclusion... I definitely expected more. Although Pizza Express presents itself in superlatives, I could not find any. The price was not among the cheapest (~ £10 - 12 for a pie), quality failing expectations, service trying their best, but yet unimpressive, and pizza chef far from including any enthusiasm as that extra, free, but very vital ingredient. There's quite a few pizzerias in Cardiff and I had just scratched the surface, but one recommendation can be already made. If you find yourself by the castle, head past Pizza Express and turn left at the first junction. You see that church in front of you? Around there you will find Real Italian Pizza Company. And some proper pizza for the same price.

At least we had that romantic evening : -)

Dough - 3
Ingredients - 7
Sauce - 6
Atmosphere - 6
Service - 6