Pizza Express in Kingston upon Thames

Walked in at 4.20pm this afternoon with my wife and children to a near empty restaurant, apart from 2 customers tucked away down the back, and we didn't even receive a hello just a 'do you have a reservation?' To which we replied 'No' as it was 4.20pm on a Tuesday afternoon and we thought that we would treat the boys to an impromptu Pizza Express. The waiter proceeded to check with a member of staff, maybe a Manager, who was eating. Returned to us and lead us to the only table in the entire restaurant that was not properly set, so we couldn't even scan the QR code to do any ordering and also next to the only other table in the restaurant. At this point my wife & I sat there and we were both actually gobsmacked at the atrocious level or service. We both looked at each other and said 'let's go?' as neither wanted to spend our money at this Pizza express. At this point the waiter came to our table and asked if we would like to order, no engagement whatsoever, just looking at his handheld ordering device. And the response to us saying we were leaving was 'ok' that was it! I would not call myself a regular at this Pizza Express but my family and I have dined here for the last 3 years on Christmas eve when my brother is back from the USA and we have created some cherished memories that are now tarnished. As fellow hospitality employee with over 20 years experience and the General Manager of a pub I can honestly say this is some of the worst service I have ever experienced. The lack of interest in wanting to give the correct Pizza express experience: inviting, warm, engaging, prompt service, hot food and good value was utterly devoid. You have clearly just spent a lot of money on a lovely refurb of the restaurant but if you entrusting the running of this outlet to the staff we encountered today then you will not succeed. The one word that comes to mind from this whole experience as to how my wife and I have been left feeling is 'inconvenience' , we were an inconvenience to your staff. Our trade is not in a strong enough position for an outlet to have people walk out because we were an inconvenience to them.

Probably my least favourite pizza express I’ve been to in the country to-date. Personally my food was good but Wifes pizza base was under cooked and kids pasta poorly cooked despite sending back once it still wasn’t good. The atmosphere was massively spoilt by a clear discontent between the staff. You could see staff arguing in kitchen and between serving staff and management. Poorly run and not up to usual expectations of pizza express. Ask and Zizzi way ahead now. Plus point was the new app… could quickly pay & get out!

Ugh. When we arrived the waiter was grumpy. No welcome and no niceties. This continued to the point that even my son commented on it. My calamari was in breadcrumbs that weren’t cooked properly. Food was ok otherwise but we could have done without the hostile vibe. I did raise it with the waiter only for him to get all defensive and then go and tell his manager about us which we could hear! Not at all cool.

Very nice pizzas and excellent service.

Great, friendly quick service. Food always tasty. Very local to me

Lovely food, but the star of the evening was Filipe! Super friendly, accommodating and a joy to be around. Thank you Filipe - we had a great time thanks to your amazing service.

We celebrate my sons 13th birthday today and decide to have a pizza as he love it. I am impressed and absolutely can recommend. Staff was amazing and so friendly. I don't know the name of our servers but it was a lady and a man from Poland. I would like to thank you for your attention my son loved the time and enjoyed his birthday. Perfect service guys :-) Will be back soon.

Another trip for a bite on a Monday night with a friend. Not been since the refurb. Looked good. Restaurant was quiet and staff were very attentive. Good pizzas and friendly service.

I get it delivered and the pizza is never pre cut, it’s not that deep it’s just anoying. Food is very nice!

Awful service. Terrible food. I’ve no idea why someone thought that pouring half a pint of oil over Pollo Pesto before serving it was a good idea. I would have complained and let them bring another… but no-one came to ask if everything was ok. But then, no one cleared the starter dishes either. Easily the worse Pizza Express I’ve ever been to, for both food and service.

Has been recently redecorated and looks much better, more adult and nicer vibe.

Great meal out with my daughter and her friend. With child friendly prices it did not break the bank.

The food was so good , very lovely staff and management. Highly recommended 👌

Went for lunch today with a friend and was served by a lovely lady called Hannah. Great customer service and very friendly. And great food as usual

This place has gone done hill badly. Pizza was okay but the dough was tougher than the pizzas before but the thing that really stuck out was the fact that I don’t think it has been refurbished since it was opened. The passage and stairs to the the toilet just made you worry about how much care was being taken with the food…

We ordered food and after that we were forgotten about. No one approached our table again. We was not offered the dessert menu or if everything is ok. We had to get the attention of the waitress for another drink at 22.10 to then be told we can't order anything as they are closed. I expressed but no one approached us to say last orders or can we get you anything before closing. She just shrugged and didn't know what to say. We just paid and left. Won't he back here again. Most pizza express have good service and the waiter checks up on you but here they don't care. First and last time here. I'll stick to other branches.

Horrible nearly 2 hours waiting the pizzas and when arrived they are super cold...i dont recomended at all

Great restaurant, lovely food, nice staff!!

Haven’t been here for a while hardly anybody in there it was so grubby there was even a dirty tissue on the window ledge won’t be rushing back

2 stars for the food. As everything else wasn't to my liking. Was greeted my a person I thought was a customer but was the manager wearing his coat. Was asked to throw my drink I had away. No smiles, no happy welcome. Felt unwanted and judged as soon as i walked it. Will not be going back to surbtion again.

Loads of little fruit flies which drove me nuts. Good pizza. Think I'd have the thin crust next time

Incredibly awful service.We ordered home delivery and after waiting nearly an hour they cancelled our order. They gave no explanation. If you have a busy night do not accept the order. Cancel after almost an hour is unacceptable!!!

What an awful experience my wife and I had here.We ordered a starter each only one turned up massively over cooked.We then had the misfortune of having our next course which comprised of a cold pizza and a Pollo Pasta dish that looked like it had been hanging around for a while.I ate part of the pizza and explained to the waiter that I was unhappy about my pizza.He mumbled that he was sorry and just walked away.!! Its the worst meal we as a couple had had in a long time coupled with really rude and incompetent staff.(at one point there were more staff than customers). All in all a very bad experience…

What an awful experience we had this afternoon in your restaurant this afternoon. Despite there being more staff than customers your still managed to get our order wrong.We eventually received a really cold and soggy Pizza and some really sad looking Pasta Pollo meal.I said at the time that the Pizza was cold and sloppy I was given a sorry and the waiter walked off. I then complained at the checkout and the waiter then said I’ve already said “sorry”!! All in all a rubbish meal with badly trained staff.

Great service and great food thank you

I ordered through just eat and when I received the food it was ice cold. Really unhappy with the experience. When I contacted just eat they added £7.70 to my just eat account as credit and told me they can’t give me a refund. I think robbery is the term to use. Really atrocious.

Nice place, good selection on the menu.

Great food ,super fast,super friendly 5 star's. For sure we will be back. Love the Romana American hot Nhami nhami

This branch of Pizza Express either blows hot or cold when it comes to service. This occasion it was freezing! Woefully understaffed. Pizza express managers need to help their line staff. Long wait for food / missed dishes / stressed staff. A pity because it’s a prime location and should be firing on all cylinders

Ordered food online and there was chicken on my vegetarian pizza. Tried to call the restaurant multiple times and no answer. Just awful

Came here with my family and my dad received the wrong order. When questioning the waiter, he shrugged it off and proceeded to say how he had received the right order, not even reviewing what we had ordered. My mums pasta was also extremely dry, and looked as if it had been sitting cold for weeks. The food is also so overpriced for the quality it is, as I saw the waiter plonk a cheesecake onto the plate from a plastic box and serve it for £7! I’m aware this is a chain, so obviously they can’t make cheesecake every morning, but at least lower the prices for something that looks as if you bought it from Asda for £1.50.

Nice, large and open Pizza Express with good service.

It looks like it needs a new coat of paint. The service is usually pretty slow despite the fact it’s never that busy. It is never my 1st choice and I would rather do Kingston just down the road.

Dishing up soulless food at unreasonable prices, but can save the day if you're hungry

This place is TERRIBLE!! The food took way too long to come and when it did it wasn’t great. The restaurant looks rundown and dirty. The staff are AWFUL!! Especially one waiter who had a DISGUSTING attitude. It’s over priced for what you get and I won’t be returning. Don’t bother with a reply. Fix the problem!

Great food as always and lovely waitress that served us. Sadly, the manager is a horrible person and is visibly grumpy. I did not enjoy hearing the conversation between her and a customer over the phone which resulted in the manager shouting back and telling the customer that they were wrong even though they got the wrong order! She is horrible and I don’t know how she has the privilege of managing a lovely group of employees. Disgraceful.

The very friendly staff have all gone out of their way on many occasions to host us for family gatherings, including excellent wheelchair access. Thank you so much Cheryl and team.

Unfriendly , unwelcoming staff Well over priced We tried a few times in the past giving them benefit of the doubt but no more

Always amazed by the taste, and this ambiance, and hospitality at this branch are really great! Love spending time with friends and family at the pizza zone, essepiclaly this pizza express 😍😍😍!

Disgusting food. I would have been better coating rubber bands and burning them which is what was delivered instead of calamari To make it worse the buffalo mozzarella tomato salad had been transported between hot items and had gone cold so set melted so also inedible. Very disappointed. Will never order again.

Very bad service. Food was average. The toilets were disgusting.

Great food, amazing service .Tharun and Sara were really friendly and professional. Will visit again

Big fan of pizza express, and this is our favourite one. Friendly, welcoming staff, food always prompt and done to a high standard

Served by Giu. He was really kind, welcoming helpful and patient. Thankyou for your great customer service.

Very average pizza. Not much cheese/tomato and a little bit dry. Only slightly better than their cook at home pizzas. Service was good

Good service throughout but our pizzas had a doughy undercooked base. It would be good to be asked how the pizzas are to be cooked. Desserts were expensive for what they were £7.45 for Tiramisu and Fudge cake each and £5.45 for 2 scoops of ice cream - now that is extortionate

Foods are nice and services are good but it is little cold for me

Great food and fab atmosphere for all the family

Good service and nice staff and amazing pizza

Absolutely disgusting turned up burnt and cold I promise u avoid like the plague..

I don't like Pizza express generally. But this one is exceptionally good. From the food to the staff, from the facility to the desserts, it's just to good to be a pizza express. I've seen in full, I've seen empty. But the quality of service of foods all the same. For Celiac people, they have options which you never think you can find in a pizza restaurant. Staff is nice and cheerful. Keep it like that. Feels very local and friendly.

Gluten Free options have got much better

Helpful staff, really good tasting food options. You do need to book on weekends as the place becomes busy.

Waitress was nice. Pizza was delicious. Like the new app too.

Typical PE. Always a good meal out.

Pleasant service and food was of good quality. Food arrived in a timely manner.

Hi, I'd like to post a review on behalf of my mum who visited Pizza Express in Surbiton for lunch on Saturday. My mum has recently been diagnosed as coeliac and therefore can't tolerate gluten. The staff at the restaurant were so brilliant with my mum. They gave her all the gluten free options (which there were a good selection of) and then even offered to swap parts from 2 different gluten free dishes so that it was exactly what she wanted. My mum and her friends all raved at how nice the food was and how lovely all the staff were - nothing was too much trouble. We would definitely recommend this restaurant!

Nice pizza but they have shrunk! Used to struggle with two plates opposite each other fitting on the table.Service was good.

Poor food quality my wife’s food was cold we asked for the king prawns to be added to a main the prawns were Iceland frozen rubbish. Beware cost £55 could have cooked better for £10 at Iceland beware.

I think people can be a bit snooty about chain restaurants but where else offers the quality and value of pizza express? Another lovely lunch with the grandchildren today, super smiley service and the food was just as you would hope, no more to say.

The place lacks any ambiance. There was no music. It looked a bit filthy. The artwork was basically a paint colour selection. It just felt weird to be in here...like it was undergoing refurbishment but it wasn't. My Mrs said the same thing independently of me thinking it first. Food was good but neither of us said we'd go there again because of the weird and hard to explain lack of ambiance.

The service was awesome and the food was delicious, cant ask for any more.

We had a lovely early evening meal with our Tesco vouchers. Unfortunately the waitress didn't really understand how the vouchers could be used which meant we spent ages trying to sort out the bill (embarrassing) and also meant I wasted a £15 voucher.

I love the Vegan menu here, The service is quick and i love it!!

Great food, lots to choose from, good for kids and allergy as my daughter has a nut allergy, never had a problem with that at any PE branch.

Never in my life have I experienced service like my friends and i did tonight in Pizza Express. The waitress came to our table and shouted ATTENTION LADIES to take our order, we had only just arrived. The waitress was extremely abrupt and rude making snide comments throughout the night. We were absolutely bewildered by it! The food was not at all great and there were delays with the food. When we complained she seemed completely unbothered like she had heard it many times before. This is the worst experience and service that I have ever had.

My nan is celiac and she specifically asked for the gluten free menu and still got gluten traces in her food and is now unwell

Great service, good food, loads of cream on my chockie cake xx.

Issue with a manager, she was rude and long before closing time was pushing us out and when we paid said to us she thought we’d never leave after making rude comments to our server about wanting to go home loudly and saying she thinks we are probably ready to leave now . Embarrassing service .

Pizza Express is usually ok. You know what to expect and it tastes good. It’s not cheap. However, this was not the case tonight. Our waitress was new and learning the job, so this is not directed at her. It took a long time from sitting down to get a drink. Our food arrived very quickly but it wasn’t piping hot. We sent one dish back as it was cold. Had to request more cutlery. Deserts did not arrive all at once. Felt very rushed tonight and the restaurant was ready to close when we left at 9.30pm. Lots of staff but not enough attention to customers. Restaurant was nearly empty at 9.30pm on Friday night.

Average pizza express. Service was good but the pizza,dough balls and calamari weren’t quite usual to chain standards.

Zero stars. After calling in advance and advising them of a gluten allergy and then checking twice with the server that we were given gluten free food, they served a normal pizza. I only found out after my child had already eaten a few slices and complained he was feeling ill. This is disgraceful for such a large pizza chain that markets themselves as catering for people with food allergies.

Always good food and the young waitress was very good. We went at lunchtime.

Nice table, all three courses I had were prompt and well-made, reasonably priced and customer service was perfect. Only issue I had with it was that the food was not overly filling, but I cannot take that away from my rating.

Had a great night very kindly let us drop our balloons off early . Service was great our waitress was fantastic Friendly staff and lovely new menu .

Very good staff and very nice location

Great location, consistent quality and service always with a smile.

Pizza Express never fails to impress. New menu inviting, good service, good location near station in Surbiton.

I was really disappointed by pizza express today I wanted a margarita with free extra olives they tried to get me to buy a more expensive pizza and remove toppings until just olives. When I pushed further on the matter they awkwardly admitted that I was right. Ridiculous that they tried to trick me into paying such a petty amount of money more. Won’t be there again. P.s the rocket salad was a joke - literally just poured out of a bag.

Surbiton pizza express is in desperate need of a refurb. The place is looking tired and grubby. Most of our orders were wrong. We even had a pizza delivered without any cheese.

Was rubbish experience. Expensive food and starters not nice at all except the pizza itself which was good. Both regretted going.

Good service but food was poorly..well I try something ones

Really disappointed of my lasagne disappointed not worthy to pay that amount No meat you will see just runny cheese ? M/S LASAGNE is taste more better . But Pizza was good ..definitely Pizza yes the rest is rubbish taste and to much expensive cost me £70. For medium Pizza lasagne 2 tea 2 stater squid and 1 more can't remember. Not sure if going back again...

Only went there because a friend celebrated her kids birthday party there. Overpriced for what it is and the food we ordered was tasteless. Learned my lesson not to eat there again. Staff were helpful but the food is over priced.

Mmmm Pizza! Not too busy on a weekday.

We grabbed a take away from here for 4 people. We ordered by phone and then came to collect. Placing the order was a bit hard work as the person taking the order appeared to be trying to do other jobs at the same time. There were 2 people in our group with food intolerances so understand why some things were needing to be checked, but concentrate on one job at a time! The food was reasonable Pizza Express, although the vegan cheese was a bit sparse. There was no garlic butter in either portion of dough balls, which we didn't realise until opening all the boxes sat at our dining table.

This was my first visit to this branch for some time and I wasn't disappointed. The customer service was excellent and efficient. I'm allergic to nuts and the waitress ensured that I had access to their allergen book before I settled on my choice of main meal. As a result I was able to continue with my first choice, pollo pesto and I highly recommend as it was delicious.

The food ordered via Deliveroo arrived on time, however was stone cold, congealed and had clearly been sitting on a counter for some time. Very poor indeed.

Good food and service, very covid aware which was good

Pizza Express staff are normally delightful but this one is inhabited by the rudest waitress I have ever encountered. Having sat down, I decided to change tables as there were noisy children nearby. The waitress told me not to do so again as it meant she had to re-sanitise the table. I would have thought this should be the least of her worries given the number of people Pizza Express is having to make redundant. I offered to leave in order that I wouldn’t need to inconvenience her again, at which point she had another go at me along the lines that she couldn’t help it if there were noisy children present. I ordered an American pizza for £10, currently on offer. She informed me only the American Hot is on offer so I told her not to worry, I would remove the jalapeño myself. She didn’t ask if the food was ok and actually it wasn’t, as the Romana base was soft, not crispy. Also, I had to remind her to bring my drink. The place was empty when I left at 3pm. Thank goodness for that, no tables would have needed sanitising until some other annoying customer like me came in to dirty one and spoil her day.

Consistently good food, great service and reasonable price. What's not to like!

Lovely Pizza followed by ice cream, served by very nice and friendly staff.

The staff at this branch are always so friendly & helpful, the food is always hot and quick service.

Good pizzas as usual and staff were great

High quality food. Friendly staff

**I went a couple months ago but the review didn’t post** I liked the dough balls and pizza it was nice but definitely not my favourite pizza place. The kids menu pizza is very small. It is in a convenient area near Surbiton train station and I have been there a couple of times with a positive experience.

We haven't been to Pizza Express for some time but found the Surbiton branch brilliant. It was clean , tidy and good food. We shared pizza and some extras and although it was a very busy Saturday evening we didn't have to wait very long for our food. The staff were helpful and informative so it's well worth a visit.

Delicious Fioretina - cooked to perfection and service impeccable.

Great pizzas and fresh with a wide range to choose from

Fantastic service! I am coming to Pizza Express Surbiton for my lunch once a week and I am always in rush. The staff looks after me well to make sure I can manage in time. Food is great every single time. Pizza carbonara to die for! The manager is welcoming with smile on his face which makes a huge difference to the whole experience. I highly recommend this place to everyone. Well done and keep up the great job!