Remember in my last post about dining at Pizza Express when I said that I had been invited to try the summer menu again? Well, guess what, that's today's post! (Y'know, if you hadn't already guessed from the title...) Not long after me and Martin had enjoyed our evening at the Pizza Express White Cloth Hall in Leeds, an email arrived in my inbox asking if I would like to visit the River House restaurant in York. Now, seeing as Martin and I - well, I, if I'm honest - were planning a day trip to the city for within the next few weeks for some serious shopping, I decided to take up the offer. We ended up visiting on 20th July, at around 2pm, to try something new from their exciting summer menu.



The main difference between this visit to York and our visit to Leeds, other than the obvious change in restaurant, was that this time we were not part of an event. Therefore, the atmosphere was quite different - although it has to be said, not in a bad way at all. The River House restaurant, with the picturesque view of the river out of the French windows and from the balcony, felt very relaxed and definitely more in keeping with the summer season. Being able to sit outside[bxA] was a bonus to the restaurant, as was the more intricately designed, Grade 1 listed building, both inside and out. Also, the large windows let a lot of natural light flood in the building, and it felt more like we were eating somewhere abroad, not in Yorkshire! The White Cloth Hall restaurant in Leeds was full of character, and was overall a lovely restaurant to eat in, but for me lacked that something special. The only downside to our trip was that the weather was particularly grim and murky to say that it was the middle of July (Although it was still very warm) - but you can't have it all, can you.




Seeing as me and Martin were going to be trying the summer menu for the second time, we made a point of choosing different food to what we had previously. To start, I decided to try something new; the Bruschetta Con Funghi, which was garnished with "chestnut and closed cup mushrooms, béchamel sauce and red onions and finished with chopped parsley and balsamic syrup". Martin decided to go for something less filling and simpler, and chose the Garlic Bread. When my starter arrived, I was quite worried that I had set my aim a little too high - it was very generously piled high with mushrooms and onions! However, despite the sheer volume it actually turned out to be quite lightweight and enjoyable. The flavour of the balsamic syrup really came through, and the two types of mushrooms combined with the béchamel sauce was very smooth and creamy. However, much like Martin found with this starter in Leeds, the onion was raw and I would have much preferred it being cooked. As such, I found the taste to be overpowering and ended up leaving the majority of the onion on the plate. Martin found his starter to be quite enjoyable for what it was; the bread was the same as mine, but obviously with a lot less on it! He was pleased to find that it was still crunchy on the outside, despite being covered in garlic butter, yet very soft on the inside. Sometimes, the simpler, more traditional starters really work the best!





Starters swiftly demolished, it wasn't long until we were chowing down on our mains. I have to say that the service at this restaurant was very good indeed - we didn't have to wait as long for our food as we did at the one in Leeds. However, seeing as we visited that restaurant during an event in the evening, and we visited this one at lunchtime on a regular day, it's not something that I can criticise at all. Our waitress (I didn't manage to catch her name, unfortunately), was friendly, chatty and polite, although a completely different personality to our previous waitress - not a bad thing at all. She was patient with us when we requested some changes to our pizzas, which turned out to be of no trouble whatsoever. I decided to go for the Pianta, on a classic base. This was "spinach, chestnut mushrooms, pine kernels and artichoke on a spicy arrabbiata base, finished with rocket and extra virgin olive oil". Clearly, I was in for a mushroom fix that day! However, seeing as I am an avid hater of artichokes, I asked if they could left off from my pizza. As for Martin, he went for one of his old favourites, the Fiorentina, also on a classic base; "spinach, Gran Moravia cheese, free range egg, garlic oil and black olives". Instead of asking for something to be left off, however, he asked if he could have extra tuna added. My pizza was quite interesting in the fact that it contained no cheese whatsoever - something I only noticed when I was halfway through the pizza! I didn't miss it at all, which says something for how good the pizza was. It was spicier than I expected, but was still fine for me to eat (I don't handle spice at all well) and the mushrooms were very tasty indeed. My only criticism is that I thought there was too much rocket; I like it as much as the next person, but there was an awful lot of it and it was sometimes overpowering the other flavours in the pizza. Martin throughly enjoyed his pizza, being one of this favourites, but there is one test that must be passed with a Fiorentina - was the yolk in egg runny? It wasn't! It had been cooked for just a bit too long, and it was disappointingly solid all the way through. However, I was assured that it was still very tasty and he proclaimed that the extra addition of the tuna was a stroke of genius - it took the pizza from being good to being excellent! It's something that I will have to try in the future. The bases, although thicker than the Romana ones we had last time, were still satisfyingly crunchy and enjoyable on both of our pizzas.




Finally, it was time for dessert. I have to shamefully admit that I didn't quite manage to finish my pizza, having to leave a little bit, just so I could leave some room for dessert! I knew exactly what I wanted without having to look at the menu; the Strawberry & Cream Glory. Much more rich and calorific than what I'd had the last time, this was an abundance of "gelato with fresh strawberries, double cream, fresh mint and a sugar curl". It was decidedly less pretty in appearance than it looked on the picture, but it was nevertheless incredibly delicious and very indulgent. The strawberries were very fresh and perfectly sweet, and worked very well with the soft, creamy strawberry and vanilla flavoured gelato. It took all of my willpower to finish it as it was so big - never let it be said that Pizza Express aren't generous with their portions! Martin enjoyed his little dessert so much last time that he opted for something similar this time around; a Dolcetti Lemon Meringue Torta with a Macchiato on the side. The pastry of the tart was a bit of a sod to cut into as it was quite thick, but was just right in terms of flavour and texture with the filling not being too sickly or sweet. Overall, perfect for someone who needs something to satisfy their sweet tooth but can't stomach a mountainous glory like mine!

With our visit to the River House restaurant, it confirmed to me what I suspected originally: The quality of the food and service I found to be consistent throughout. We might have eaten different meals and at different times, but I didn't find anything to be lacking throughout either of our visits. This should always be the case with chain restaurants - I have definitely found in the past that some restaurants/pubs/etc are better in one place compared to another, when they should all be the same in terms of quality. The atmosphere this time around was definitely more relaxed and casual, when we ate at lunchtime, compared to when we ate in the evening at Leeds, where the tone was more upbeat and busy. The only thing that I can think of, that the restaurant in York did better than the one in Leeds, was actually something very small in the grand scheme of things. In Leeds, we were given a pizza cutter to eat our pizzas with, which I found to be difficult to actually cut anything with, especially in the middle. In York, they gave us serrated knives, which made the whole process much easier and quicker! It's something that I wouldn't have picked up on without eating at both of the restaurants, so I feel like that small detail was worth mentioning. With the prices obviously being the same as before, if we had paid for our meal then the bill would have come to £54.25 without tip - again, great value for the city centre. With a reasonable price point and good quality food being a given throughout their chain, I will definitely be keeping Pizza Express in mind for future restaurant visits and hope to visit them again in the not so distant future!