Pizza Express (Norwich Forum)

We decided to have lunch out today. This is decision was met with some trepidation from both of us as son no1 and son no2 have been in rather, errrr "tricky" moods recently. Anyway off we went and hoped they would behave.

 

We went to the branch at the Forum in Norwich. This is an amazing building which also houses Norwich Central Library. The original library stood on the same site but was destroyed by fire in 1994. The best thing about this branch is the location. The Pizza Express runs right across the front of the building and we were lucky enough to get a seat right in the middle at the front so could see the comings and goings down below.

The boys chose their food very quickly. Pizza Express do a great Piccolo menu which includes a starter of 4 dough balls with garlic butter dip, a small side salad, pizza or pasta, ice cream and a babycinno. All that for £6.10 is good value as far as I'm concerned ! Son no 1 went for his usual margherita pizza and son no 2 was more adventurous and went for a mushroom option.

The husband and I shared garlic bread with mozzarella to start with and then he had a Sloppy Guiseppe (spicy beef, green peppers & onions) and I went for my usual Pollo ad Astra (a pizza with torn chicken breast, peppadew peppers, red onions and cajun spice). Son no1 and I also shared a caesar salad although I got all the anchovies being the only person in the family that likes them.

For dessert the boys had a chocolate sundae each but by this point son no2 was full so we ended up with ice cream slop. They do this great idea (well I think it's great anyway) of what they call Dolcetti. This is a coffee and a small piece of a dessert (£3.50) which is great if you want something but the thought of a pudding leaves you unbuttoning your jeans ! I had a mocha and a small lemon meringue pie which was a perfect size and lovely and zesty. The Husband had an espresso and some semifreddo which he pronounced to be perfect.

Service was with a smile, but slightly slow at times given they weren't that busy. Our waitress was lovely and really made a fuss of the boys which is always a plus point. Minus points for forgetting the Husband's request for a second diet coke though.

The food when it arrived was very tasty as usual, hot and decent size portions too. It might not be fine dining but it's great for a nice lunch out with the kids in tow. The only thing I'd suggest would be service could be sharper but I'm still sold on the coffee and pudding idea for £3.50 ! The whole meal including drinks came to £65.00 so not an every day thing but fine for an occasional treat.