Pizza Express, Gluten Free. The Good, The Bad & The Ugly

The Good, Daleks look on Last Sunday started as a wonderful day. I took my daughter and her friend to the Little Theatre, an independently run local cinema, to watch Dr Who 1966 style in "Daleks - Invasion Earth 2150 AD". The film was introduced by Who-Ology author Cavan Scott and the girls were transfixed throughout.  After the movie, we'd booked at table at Pizza Express. Pizza Express was my favourite pizza restaurant before I was diagnosed as a coeliac and so when they announced their new Gluten Free menu, I immediately wanted to try it and of course the girls love Pizza. When we left the cinema  they were still in Dr Who mode and ran all the way to the restaurant, arms outstretched in front of them, shouting "exterminate, exterminate". My wife, not a fan of Sci-Fi, met up with us at the restaurant, where we were seated in an alcove at the back - a great location as we could be as noisy as we like without disturbing the other diners. Green's Pilsner Whilst we were deciding on what to eat, our waiter brought us a couple of beers and some large Sicilian olives - Pizza Express have given their Gluten Free options serious thought and offer a Gluten Free beer from Greens - a rather lively Pilsner. Sitting there with the sun shining in through the window made us feel like we were back on holiday in Italy. With their recent revision to their menus, Pizza Express offer two gluten free starters, two side dishes, two main courses and a large range of thin crust pizzas. New to the starters is a Gluten Free Butternut squash risotto, which we ordered along with a Gluten Free Veneziana for me, a GF Capricciosa for my wife & two Piccolo for the girls. Although my wife isn't a coeliac, she knew that I'd want to try whatever she ordered.

The Bad, Although not immediately obvious due to the mop of roquette on top, when the risotto arrived it was more akin to rice soup than the lovely dish pictured on the menu; far too much liquid remained. Risotto picture from the menu Risotto served to us Unfortunately, rather than the sweetness introduced by the butternut squash and the saltiness from the Gorgonzola  the risotto's overpowering flavour was that of garlic and although the rice was cooked through, the squash varied between under and over cooked. I'm not sure what the roquette was meant to add to the dish, if it was for a hint of colour, then some fresh parsley to balance the garlic or the more traditional sage, would have been better. I think I'd be fair in writing that this was pretty much the worst dish I've eaten out in a long time and as it was prepared for us, I wouldn't recommend it. Gluten Free Veneziana Pizza The pizza wasn't that much better. Although a Gluten Free pizza base is never going to be as good a texture as a regular one, simply due to the lack of gluten, this one also lacked the yeasty flavour of a freshly made pizza. I also felt that it was also not cooked properly, so whilst crunchy around the outside and cooked on top, the centre of the base was, although not soggy, certainly not crispy. Finally we ordered desert. Pizza Express have gone to the trouble of adding a Gluten Free chocolate brownie to their desert menu, which is a great addition, though I'm a little confused as to why they haven't marked the three naturally NGCI dishes of Caffe Reale, Rasberry sorbet or Gelato as suitable for a gluten free diet? The brownie was good, chocolatey with a gooey centre and although it doesn't mention it on the menu, it did contain nuts, so may not be suitable for everyone. It's part of their Dolcetti range of mini-puddings served with a coffee. A good combination at the end of the meal.

The Ugly,

Unfortunately about half an hour after leaving the restaurant I started to get those "you've been glutened symptoms", which meant an early night feeling sorry for myself. Luckily they only lasted about 24 hours. The previous time I was glutened I had bad stomach cramps for about 3 days, so I imagine that this was a minor cross contamination issue, rather than a dish containing gluten ingredients.

Understanding what a massive investment Pizza Express must have made introducing a gluten free option in to their restaurants and knowing that they've worked closely with Coeliac UK developing suitable procedures and practices, I can only put my experience down to teething troubles at my local branch which possibly needs to revisit their training, though the waiter that served us certainly gave the impression of being Gluten aware. I've spoken to other Gluten Free bloggers and although not every pizza has been perfect, no one else has experienced such a poor risotto nor being glutened.

I mentioned my experience on Twitter yesterday, without any mention of this blog and was promptly contacted by Pizza Express anxious to discover what had happened, which is great customer service and helps to give me confidence that this problem will be dealt with in an efficient and professional way.