Frequently asked questions

We set up this programme in 1999. Local primary school children visit our restaurants to learn about food. And it lets them see what it’s like to work in a restaurant.

You can take a look at the School Visits section of the website to find out everything you need to know. You can even check availability and book online.

Our schools programme is seriously popular. That’s great, but it means we can only welcome one year group at a time. And it’s done on a first come, first served basis.

You can find full calorie information here.
And you can download our allergen and suitability information here.

Vegetarian and nut-free diets
• Some dishes may contain nuts. We mark them on our menu with an ‘N’.
• If something’s suitable for vegetarians, we mark it with a ‘V’.
• Our Grana Padano cheese. It’s made with animal rennet. So vegetarians should avoid it. Whether it’s shaved or grated.
• Remember that all our food is made to order, by hand. So you can ask for any ingredient to be removed. That goes for pizzas. Salads, too.
• Our pizza bases. Good news. They’re suitable for vegetarians. And vegans.

Vegan diets
Our pizza dough is suitable for vegans and, as all of our pizzas are made to order, you can tailor-make your own pizza from our ingredients exactly how you want them.

Gluten-free diets
All of our pizzas can be made on a gluten-free classic base, and we have a range of dishes that have been certified as NGCI (no gluten-containing ingredients) by Coeliac UK, including a starter, dessert and drink. We have also updated the processes and equipment we use in our kitchens to ensure that there is no cross-contamination. More information can be found on our gluten-free information page, and further details are available on a downloadable file.

Halal
All our restaurants serve pork, beef and chicken. All our chicken is Halal approved but it is important to note that all birds are stunned before being slaughtered. Our chicken supplier is accredited by the British Retail Consortium. This means it meets the global standard for food safety and legality. Our chicken also meets the ‘5 freedoms on the farm’ initiative, endorsed by the RSPCA.

Do you want to know more? No problem. Just email qs@pizzaexpress.com.

Our House Dressing does contain Worcester sauce. But it’s still ok. That’s because it’s made without anchovy. So it’s still completely fine for vegetarians.

To the best of our knowledge - and according to the guidance of our suppliers - PizzaExpress does not use any GM products on our menu.

Absolutely. We are committed to paying minimum wage. In full. And outright. That means tips are extra.

All cash tips go straight to your waiter. But credit card tips and our service charges tips are different. For those, we make a small admin charge of 8%. And the remaining 92%? That’s split 70-30 between your waiter and the kitchen team.

We have a legal duty. So do our waiters. We have to make sure that all credit card tips and service charges are taxed. We use a tronc system for this. The 8% charge is what it costs us to run this. It’s a standard administration charge, that’s all. We don’t profit from this.

We need to make sure that tax gets paid on credit card tips and service charges. The tronc is the standard way of doing this in our industry. If you’d like to know more, no problem. Just call the British Hospitality Association. Their number is 020 7404 7744.

It’s simple. Please email your details. Our email is helpdesk@groupsupplychain.com.

We don’t do franchises in the UK or Ireland. Not anymore. But if you want to know more about franchising abroad, just email international@pizzaexpress.com.

Yes, we are. In fact, we’re a partner. This means we’ve also signed up to their voluntary codes of practice.

We’re doing this by providing real choice for those who want a healthier option. It works in two ways:

In April 2009, we introduced a new range of deliciously skinny 500 calorie pizzas. They’re called Leggera. And they’re in all our restaurants. Leggera is just as beautiful as our other pizzas. Just as gorgeous. With a lighter, crispier dough base you can enjoy your favourite toppings for just 500 calories. All Leggera pizzas are inspired by a classic fresella bread from Naples – an Italian bread with a hole in the middle – where the dough at the centre of the pizza is replaced by a fresh salad of rocket and ricotta salata cheese.

Remember that you’re in control. Our pizzas and salads are hand made. Every time. To order. So you can tweak your menu choices to suit your needs. So if you want to cut calories, it’s easy. Just ask for your pizza to be made with light mozzarella. Swap the dressing on your salad. Knock out the dough sticks. Or cut out some ingredients. The ones that are naturally higher in fats and calories. Like pepperoni, for instance.

If a customer wants calorie information, that’s fine with us. They should have it. You can find calorie information for our menu right here. And if you’re eating with us, just ask. All our restaurants have calorie crib sheets.

You can find full calorie information here.
And you can find information about eating healthily at PizzaExpress here

Oh yes. Music is a big deal at PizzaExpress. It’s part of who we are. And we’re just as passionate about great music now as we ever were.

Live music has been at the heart of PizzaExpress for over 40 years and has played host to an array of celebrated performers, from Mose Allison to Jamie Cullum to Charlie Watts of The Rolling Stones. PizzaExpress’ music loving founder Peter Boizot thought pizza and live music went well together and opened the PizzaExpress Jazz Club in Dean Street, Soho, in 1971. It is now known all over the world as one of London’s best live music venues. Other PizzaExpress venues dedicated to live music include the legendary former Pizza on the Park, the Music Room in Maidstone and The Pheasantry on the King’s Road. Music is championed across all restaurants through PizzaExpress’ eclectic playlist and in over 70 of its restaurants, local musical talent entertain diners.

If you want to know more, visit our PizzaExpress Live website.

We don’t add salt to any of our dishes. You won’t find salt in our restaurants, either. (We removed it some years ago.) We’ve also signed up to the Department of Health’s salt reduction programme. It’s part of their Responsibility Deal. We’re one of the only pizza restaurants to do this.

What does this mean? That we’re working hard to reduce salt in our restaurants. It’s not always easy (for instance, salt helps us prove our pizza dough). But we’re on it.

And remember. You’re always in control. All our pizzas are made to order. Each one, every time. That means you choose what goes on them. So if you’re trying to eat less salt, no problem. Simply ask for your pizza to be made without ingredients that are naturally high in salt, like pepperoni. Instead, go for toppings that are naturally lower in salt, like mushrooms. Our staff will be happy to help out.

We’re on the case. You should be able to read about our salt levels within the next 12 months.

We’ve spent the last few years reducing the amount of salt in our supermarket pizzas. Specifically, in the pizza dough and passata. It takes time to do it properly, without compromising on taste.

Now we’re doing the same with the pizzas in our restaurants. For example, we don’t add salt to any of our dishes. And you won’t find salt in our restaurants. We removed it some years ago. We’ve also signed up to the Department of Health’s salt reduction programme. It’s part of their Responsibility Deal. We’re one of the only pizza restaurants to do this.

And remember. All our takeaway pizzas are made to order. Every time. That means you’re in control. So if you’re trying to eat less salt, that’s fine. When you order your takeaway pizza, just choose toppings that are naturally lower in salt, like mushrooms. And avoid ingredients that are naturally high in salt, like pepperoni