Pizza Express in Portsmouth - Phone Number, Reservations, Reviews

I usually like pizza express, but on this occasion was not good. We booked, staff were slow to greet us, we wanted to sit outside, however we were not allowed to sit in seat we pointed out even though table was clear and ready. We sat outside on a table that we could sit at, only to have a drip keep dropping onto the table from a pipe above. We asked to move, and a different waiter moved us to the table that we original asked to sit at. Service was slow, taking order, delivering drinks and it seemed to take forever to get out pizzas whilst we could see every one getting theirs who arrived after us. Food was ok but nothing special. This really spoilt my sons birthday meal, and ended up paying circa £80 for four pizzas and a couple of drinks for the displeasure.

The pizza I ordered was horrible no flavour at all I'll be giving this place a swerve for sure

Called in while shopping in the area and decided to sit inside as it was the hottest day of the year. The staff were very friendly and attentive and the comfortable seating made it a lovely place to be. I had a an American pizza which was delicious and the garlic bread lovely. For three pizzas, two garlic breads and three drinks it came to £82 but considering everything I believe it was worth it.

We had Eric as our server tonight , he was amazing! Nothing was too much trouble he kept our glasses topped up was warm and friendly through and even took some nice family photos for us! Thankyou Eric from one hospitality worker to another you were amazing!

2 hours to get a pizza that was under 30 degrees is abysmal. appalling service. probably not even safe to eat at that temperature. I expect a refund.

*Note Delivery only Pizza was cold and chewy Wouldn’t recommend

Manager should be sacked absolute jobworth no help what so ever on the phone. Should not be working in a place like this. Wasted £50 because they wouldn't help me on something so simple. Will never be going back again.

Lovely atmosphere and a warm welcome from staff. Great service and friendly waiters especially ollie who helped me decide which pizza to choose, he was friendly and polite. Food was delicious and didn’t have to wait long at all. Had a great time, definitely recommend 👍🏼👍🏼

We were served by David, who was extremely polite and attentive, the other staff all seemed lovely as well. Food expertly prepared and delicious, go for Romano if you prefer a nice thin but wider base. Calamari just melted in the mouth, not chewy at all. Separate children's menu.

Disgusting chicken wings colds and burnt and pizza cold

Slightly disappointed with my pizza today but as a small business owner myself the staff reaction was above and beyond…nobody’s perfect so feedback is king, but very grateful to you all!

We happened to walk past this restaurant and decided we'd go in there. We were greeted warmly inside and shown to our table. Then one of the very friendly employees came and took our order. The food came relatively quickly and we didn't expect much. But when we tried it, we were simply surprised at how delicious a pizza can actually be. The location was also very good, right at the harbor. That's why I give it 5 stars. I recommend everyone who is ever in Portsmouth to go to this very good restaurant.

I would give no stars if possible. We were waiting for a table on Monday at Gunwharf. There were lots of tables available outside, staff kept walking past and just ignoring us. A male staff member then walked past and abruptly shouted to move to the side and out of the way. We were standing by the sign 'please wait here to be seated' sign. The attitude and behaviour of the staff member totally shocked and appalled us. We left and enjoyed an amazing meal at All Bar One instead.

Visited on a very busy Saturday afternoon. We requested to be seated with a bit of shade and sun. Cleared a table and seated us very quickly. Abi was our server she was really friendly and efficient made us feel welcome. Food and drinks arrived quickly even despite how busy they were. Would recommend this branch. Thank you.

Lovely waiter and waitress. Extortionate prices. Charged approx. £15 for a double JD & Coke. They are charging a double at the same rate as a single, not displaying prices on menu. On querying they have stated they only have one option in their new system so have to charge them at full single rates. Happy to pay prices if expectations are aligned or prices displayed. All other places in GWQ do not charge in this way or avoid placing spirit prices and billing practices on the menu. The food was OK but we paid £105 for 3 pizzas and 4 drinks. Could’ve gone to Blanc for these prices and had some quality food.

Absolutely awful service, management no help at all and staff make you feel not welcome. extremely unprofessional and food tasteless.

Good venue, good service, good menu

food was cold but good quality so tasted nice. delivery guy ignored simple instruction ‘front door to left of main building’ so i had to walk out to collect it, im blind so this is tricky. but was on time

the pizza was cold and soggy very disappointed

the pizza was smashed to pieces and not hot

The Penne Al Forno (GF) was really burnt on the top once mixed in it made the whole meal have a funny aftertaste that I didn’t enjoy I had leave most of it

Very friendly and helpful staff who made the whole experience most enjoyable.

Visited the other day. Mainly writing this review to praise our server, we didn’t manage to catch his name but he had a tattoo on his right forearm. The most professional service, very kind, patient and helpful, giving us updates on our food whilst managing to balance all his other tables. The food was great, as usual, the restaurant was very busy, but the staff all seemed to manage it very well.

Great food and fantastic service.will certainly go back when next in Portsmouth.

Took our grandchildren for dinner and they had a great time. Lovely view out to the harbour as well

One of the nicest locations I've visited for the chain. On what seemed a busy night the food was as good as we are used to. The waitress, Abbie was lovely, friendly and effecient.

The food was due to arrive at 8:20 pm. The original delivery time was delayed 3 times while I waited. I had waited for 25 minutes beyond the delivery time and decided to go to the restaurant myself to get the food. They told me the just eat driver had to take it - and also that they are always late. I then made my way back to the delivery location. The food finally arrived at 10 past 9. Almost an hour after it was meant to come. To top it off the food was freezing cold. I expect a full refund.

I know its not their fault, but a toddler was allowed to walk along the seats. Food very good, highly recommend the Calzones - although they were quite small for the price.

I don't want this food. I need a return because freezing cold.

There delivery service is very slow

the delivery was absolutely fine good job uber eats. pizza express though. food is OK but pizza is tiny for the price and didn't even cut the dam thing.

The pizza was cold and undercooked, for almost £50 for 2 people it was poor quality for money. Won’t be buying again

Wonderful delivery driver, the app changed the deliverytime 3 times, pizza arrived cold, when we had finished dinner, too late 🤦‍♀️

King prawn pizza that had 3 and a half prawns on it and a pathetic amount of halloumi bites that was swimming in grease which was nearly £30 for the extremely disappointing experience.

Sam was very attentive, will definitely come back

It arrived 35 minutes after the later predicted arrival time!

food was stone cold on delivery

not impressed at all with Romano base - very chewy and uncut. toppings very good though. quite cold when they arrived

Dead empty store but just been turned away by manager telling we are short of staff if you dont have table booked , when I says dead empty means no customers 👍🫡

great experience at PEx Gunwharf... team were attentive and friendly... food was great... we'll be back...

We ordered take away pizzas from this restaurant they arrived cold, the delivery driver wasn't interested when we pointed this out. Because they were cold the thin crusts were greasy. We'd waited over an hour and we're hungry, we don't have a kitchen at present so we ate them cold. When I complained to Pizza express they pretty much called me a liar and did nothing. Terrible food and terrible service. At £40 for two pizzas terrible price too. Don't go there.

Awful manager, wasn't interested in the slightest. Very busy atmosphere but pizza was delicious.

Food was good apart from the driver was rude. Said to us “I only wait 2 minutes and then I leave” before giving our food.

Absolutely awful experience at this pizza express. Was turned away because they claimed they could not accommodate our pram, when the restaurant was half empty and others had their pushchairs and prams in there. The manager was abhorrent who completely embarrassed my family, in front of loads of customers. When we asked if we could sit at a table of 6 and remove the chairs she refused, but also refused to give us alternative times to come back when a more child friendly space became available. We have a newborn there is nothing we can do about the pram, just kicked us out. I would avoid this restaurant at all costs, not family friendly! You will be discriminated against if you have young children. Despicable behaviour from supposed manager.

Food is so cold and wet with the rain

Came here for a nice time out as it is usually one of my boyfriends favourite places to eat at, however this was not the case this time. The server was nice enough but after our starters we realised our main order was forgotten about and we waited a hour and a half for our waiter to finally notice our missing order and tell us our food was coming, this was extremely agrovating as we had been patiently waiting, just suspecting that it must be really busy and thats why it was taking so long. Not that they forgot our order!! To top this off, when the pizza finally arrived it was very tough and oily and the waiter took our forks ,from when we had finished our starters, and forgot to replace them so i had to go ask for new forks, then when we got the bill, not only was it very expensive for the quality of food but the waitor forgot to bring over the card machine. I ended up asking for the drinks to be taken off (which they were) as i was very unsaticfied with the wait and i dont normally do this but we were very upset and it completely put us in a bad mood for the end of our nice day out. Not pleased

Wasn't rushed when viewing menu. Needed to ask for salt & pepper, oils etc. Staff were busy so getting their attention was interesting. Food was nice and tasty.

Good restaurant, friendly staff with fast service.

Generally not impressed with service or food quality . Waiter was very hardworking but hardly any wait staff for a big restaurant including tables of Christmas parties, so not his fault about service, although no check back once food was served and we had a problem with our food so took 10 minutes until I was able to find anyone to flag down. It’s myself and my daughter felt unwell afterwards and are concerned about the quality of the gluten free pizza bases as that what we ate. Very expensive compared to the quality of food over 170 for 6 people.

We have just been to this pizza express, we could not understand why we were not being seen too, they said they were too busy, when I came to the desk to ask for our deserts because we had been waiting too long, Reagan (the manager) we crouched on the floor laughing with the other staff, I could not believe that know one was being served and four of the staff were hiding behind the wall laughing and joking…. An absolute joke of a place…

Have been coming to pizza express for years but definitely our last time now. Back in the day, their dishes were fantastic and tasty. Now though, on our last visit we had the grand chicken Caesar which is a shadow of it's former self. Now, no dough sticks, salad is bland and nowhere near as much chicken as used to be. Such a shame. Every time I walk past this restaurant now it's nowhere near as busy as others on most occasions and that should be telling the management something has gone downhill. I recall you used to get three courses for £14.95 and granted got to love this cost of living, but they've not only vastly increased their prices, but the quality in our opinion is not there. I suppose the Chinese owners are trying to maximise the revenue to pay down the debt at a cost of the quality of the items. Apologies we've just not enjoyed our recent visits on account of the cost and overall disappointing aspects of the dishes. Let's hope someone takes note in the company and I look forward to much more satisfying visit if we choose to come again.

I have eaten in many Pizza Express restaurants and had great experiences but this branch is awful. The Manager is unbelievably rude and you can tell their attitude is rubbing off on the rest of the staff. Very impolite and sulky - not somewhere you want to eat or spend your money. Avoid at all costs, there are plenty of other restaurants in Gunwharf where the staff are friendly and attentive. Would not recommend!

food was delivered over 45 mins late. was freezing cold, pizza wasn’t even cut. delivered normal dough balls rather than vegan so couldn’t even eat them. incredibly disappointing

The service was great, couldn't fault it. But the food...... we ordered 2 pizzas. I've never had a pizza so thin. It was like paper, so thin that by the time you got to the middle it was cold. They gave us a pizza wheel to cut the thing. My partner said it was like cutting a car mat with a butter knife ! Luckily we got the 33 % off deal, but only on the food, thank heavens as each paper thin pizza was around £15 ! A bottle of coke was £3.95 ! Don't think we will return.

Despite the delay with delivery the member of staff working on Tuesday night in charge of my order at pizza express was extremely helpful and kind. I really appreciate that he went the extra mile to contact me to update me on my order and that he gave a few free boxes of food to compensate for the delay. Top guy.

Food arrived cold and 15 mins late

Good food, incredible service, good experience all around!

Cold and a very long wait time as it kept getting pushed back on expected delivery times. Not impressed

the wrong order was delivered over a week ago and I have yet to receive a refund.

Mixed Experience at Pizza Express, Gunwharf Quays I recently visited Pizza Express at Gunwharf Quays in Portsmouth, and while the food lived up to its usual great standard, I felt compelled to share a less than pleasant incident with the management. The issue arose when our daughter, peacefully asleep in her trolley, became the center of attention for the manager on duty. Unfortunately, instead of handling the situation with understanding, the manager displayed abrupt behavior, even suggesting that we either wake our daughter or leave the premises. This approach left us feeling unwelcome and distressed. While I understand that different establishments have their policies, the way this particular situation was handled seemed unnecessarily harsh. Such encounters have the potential to discourage customers from returning, and it's crucial to consider the impact these interactions can have on the overall dining experience. I hope this feedback reaches the management team, and improvements are made to ensure every guest feels comfortable and welcomed at Pizza Express. Sincerely, Rafael

Ordered a gluten free pizza. This is what turned up. Awful

Great restaurant, staff very attentive even when very busy, food was lovely.

It's a pizza express. You know what you are going to get. Super busy Saturday night, but they coped pretty well. It's good. What more can you say.

Pizza was lukewarm when delivered. Delivery took longer than expected when delivered, which is fine, but a cold small pizza for 17 quid is not worth the money.

The food was very good but the service was indifferent.

Very nice restaurant on the waterfront with great staff. Their beer selection could be improved.

Pizza Express used to be good! Not anymore! Overpriced menus, hardly any toppings on the pizzas, smaller portions than before.

Possibly the worst Pizza Express experience ever. I've been eating at Pizza Express for 30+ years and have seen the quality of their food drop systematically throughout the years. Their mozzarella pizza bread is now half the size and the side salad bland and fully saturated with dressing - this used to be and should be presented with dressing separately. As for their new garlic king prawn dish, this is some shocking attempt at what I think the Spanish call pil pil. The prawns appeared to be boiled and looked anemic (see photo) whilst the overall dish was bland and saturated. With the cost of a pizza now averaging around £17.50 and the overall bill exceeding £65 (for 2), I think this could sadly be our final Pizza Express visit. On the positive side, the girl who looked after us was incredibly friendly and attentive and the location is great.

Pizza was stone cold ! Really disappointed

I only put a 3 star as we were there at a quiet time so no Atmosphere but I would imagine it can be quite loud Atmosphere at busy times. The food was hot and very nice a little expensive and arrived fairly quickly so no complaints there. I would recommend this place but I think if its busy the waiting time could be long. Between £30-£40 for 2 starters and we shared a pizza. I'll leave it up to you if you think it's expensive or not. Oh plus two soft drinks

Typical Pizza Express. Nice spacious restaurant with views over the Quay. Staff were not overly friendly or attentive despite being empty. Food was good but I've had better in other Pizza Express restaurants.

The food was beautiful, but arrived late and very cold.

Had an excellent experience from start to finish. Great helpful friendly staff, meal was reasonably priced. Food was fantastic. We pre-booked a table which is advisable especially for busy periods (Fri/Sat evenings). Lovely setting, especially the window seats as you get a good view of the ships/boats etc coming in/out of the harbour. Definitely recommend.

Making things easy from booking to service plus consistently good food is what this chain is all about.

So, we were on a business trip, 7 of us, paying a bill, however the waitress “accidentally” heard £80 instead of £18 when my colleague was paying. Saw the guy at the till cashing up, when we requested a refund, he came over saying it has to be authorised by HQ, funny enough 5 min after he grabbed his purse and vanished. This is the first time I know of a big franchise company that needs approval from HQ for a refund, knowing this location is very touristy. If you are on a business trip or passing by, avoid this place, any issues with your bill means adiós to your money

Very expensive for a very mediocre pizza

Not allowed to sit outside with a puppy ???

Horrible service, especially the manager. That man soo was rude. The food is nothing special, so you can find better place. P.s. dirty tables and chairs.

Good food and excellent service.

It was a bad experience for me and my family, the service was poor and they do not treat all customers equally. I will not recommend it to tourists...

Our young waiter was fantastic and very attentive . The manager/ supervisor however was very rude . He seemed annoyed that we wanted a table as he had a member of staff going on break . He huffed and puffed and seemed to want to discourage us from eating there . The restaurant was empty , he said he could seat us but there were wasps ! Food was of high standard though . Won’t return will try Zizzi next door

On 20.8.23 we were halfway through drinks at the Slug and Lettuce next door when they informed us they wouldn't be able to honour our food booking due to a problem with the kitchen. We decided to go next door to Pizza Express instead thinking they'd be glad of the extra trade. There was nobody there to seat us, so we chose a table outside at the front and tried to finish our drinks in peace. Two minutes later we were asked to leave by what I assume was the deputy manager (cold unfriendly attitude/brown mousey hair and stubble in a grade 2/late 20s) because my partner was drinking a drink that they didn't serve I explained that we wanted to order food, he still ejected us to wait in the queue behind another couple that had arrived since and then promptly showed them to the table we'd been sitting at. Two 50 year olds banned from pizza express.🤣🤣 Your manager needs to be retrained in customer service skills and be reprimanded about his complete lack of emotional maturity, from his actions you would have assumed we'd got caught stealing the pizzas not eating them.🤣 Rather than addressing what had happened he completely ignored us. Absolutely disgraceful behaviour and explains how your reviews are dropping through the floor. Zizzi enjoyed our cash and we enjoyed their food.

Cleanliness and hygiene is poor and attendance of waiting staff is not efficient but of course some of waitresses are giving their utmost.

When I go to restaurant, I would expect it to be clean, yet pizza express is the opposite. There were small bits on the table and on the floor, giving us an unpleasant welcome. Once our food had arrived (after a very long wait which involved asking the waiter where our starters and food are), we finally recieved the pizzas. They were as thin as possible, with some areas being so thin it was just rock solid burnt. The overall pizza was nice but it didn't leave a good impression. This certainly isn't a bad restaurant, but I have been to better pizza express restaurants in my lifetime.

The service, from manager to table attendants was very cheerful, polite and efficient. We had children with us, and the waitress was great with them. The food was great and very quick. The kids had the kids 'piccolo' lunch and we had the La Cabana ( like fajita … very tasty), Leggara Padana and Nicoise Salad. I would have liked dessert, but we were truly full! I would not hesitate to recommend this. We had a great lunch (ps We used Tesco Reward vouchers, so it made it great value!

Pretty dirty place. Floor unclean with food all over underneath the table. Has to ask for a clean glass. Service was slow with dirty plates left out and mains bought over when starters hadn’t been cleared. Wouldn’t go back here again.

One of the worst and horrible ever pizza. Very expensive and small . I asked for a thick dough and received one like paper. Do not go there!

My Just Eat driver was great, but Pizza Express got two items wrong in my order (out of three items!). Luckily the items they got wrong were also gf, so not a major problem, but just disappointed.

Our waiter, David, was extremely helpful, friendly and attentive. He helped us manage our voucher payment to ensure we got the most out of them. The La Cubana pizza I had was delicious - one of the best pizzas I’ve tasted.

Great place to eat and lookout to Portsmouth harbour.

Great experience as always with Pizza Express.

Fantastic service from Luke and his team! Luke went above and beyond to make our evening a special one. The food as always was lovely…….. Many thanks!

The pizza was good and I liked the option to have salad in the middle with some of the dough removed to provide a lighter option. The waiter was very friendly and service was quick.

The manager (person who was alloting table) treated us so badly. We went to reserve the place on 30th June at 2 PM in the afternoon and he refused us for space then he said to come after 1 hour. We requested for a place in 30 mins but he denied. We again came in the evening for which he scolded us for not coming in 1 hour and again denied the space. He said you should learn a lesson and will not be allowed to eat here today. I said Sorry as well 3 times but still he was so adamant to punish us and not let us eat. Felt like being in a school. Would never go to any Pizza express again. Not sure what kind of customer service training they provided. Can describe the person (only southasian who was there). Not at all expected from Pizza Express.

Amazing Italian food. Simple and delicious. Highly recommend.

Good pizzas with a kick. Nice calamari starter. Nice atmospheric. Great service from the staff. Restaurant is next to the harbour for good views.

We come here regularly now, every-time the service is amazing and the pizza is delicious, very vibrant place to eat and we will definitely keep returning.

Never again. Got there , the guy was reluctant to clean the table and had bad attitude. Another waiter brought me a dirty glass for my drink. I told him if he would exchange it. He did and brought me a hot glass for a cold drink. I checked the bill at the end of the meal and there was add on food which I asked the waiter to recheck. After we finished we wanted to use the toilet. As we stepped in a waiter told us we could not use the loo as we where not customers. I showed him my bill to prove I ate there. Totally bad experience for a visitor and 1/10. Try anywhere else ,, but do not waste your good money there.

Yummy pizza... complimentary extra garlic bread as it came well before mains was ready. Best view of Gunwharf Quay.... totally recommend 👌

Went into the restaurant which was virtually empty and there was no one at all in the outside seating area. I had barely said one word before he said there wasn’t space for 2 of us. I looked around as it was empty and questioned it and he said he could only take bookings. I walked out of the restaurant at 8:15 went onto the pizza express website and they was availability to book at 8:45. Confused how if he supposedly had loads of bookings how could I book for 30 minutes time baring in mind the restaurant inside and outside were really quiet. So even if a big group were to turn up there wouldn’t be eating and paying the 30 mins time I had to wait if I wanted to book in the website. On top of this the mean we spoke to was really rude didn’t apologise for the inconvenience or anything. Will not be going, awful staff