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 This restaurant
review was undertaken on October 25, 2008
There are
two pizza express’s in Milton Keynes we decided to book a table
for two at the ‘original’ Express for 8pm (Midsummer Boulevard)
on a Thursday. Midsummer Express has been around for a number of
years; keeping it’s standards high and making regular menu
changes.
As always we were seated swiftly in a modern surrounding.
Décor
The
lighting in the restaurant is subtle and dimmed to create a
romantic setting. The artwork is eye-catching with lots of
character. There is a function room down stairs, which can be
booked for private parties all year long. Comedy nights happen
here once a month. Keep an eye on their website for up-to-date
details. The décor could be modernised but this is only our
opinion.
 The menu
offers the following pizzas as does every Pizza Express:
Sloppy
Giuseppe - spiced beef, green peppers, onions, mozzarella,
tomato
Fiorentina - spinach, free range egg, parmesan, garlic, olives,
mozzarella, tomato
Cajun - prawns, red peppers, onions, Tabasco pepper sauce,
mozzarella, tomato
Giardiniera - sliced tomato, mushrooms, olives, red peppers,
leeks, petits pois, mozzarella, tomato
La Reine - ham, olives, mushrooms, mozzarella, tomato
American Hot - pepperoni sausage, hot green peppers or jalapeno
peppers, mozzarella, tomato
Neptune - tuna, anchovies, olives, capers, onions, tomato (no
cheese)
Soho Pizza - rocket, parmesan, olives, garlic, mozzarella,
tomato
And
Pasta’s
Lasagne
Pasticciate - layers of pasta with béchamel, cheese, Bolognese
sauce, Parmesan, tomato
Cannelloni - rolls of pasta filled with ricotta, spinach,
Parmesan, tomato
I started
with the caesa salad £4.10, which arrives with Cos lettuce,
grana padano (an Italian cheese), anchovies, croutons and creamy
Caesar dressing. There’s not much to say about this dish apart
from it was light, well portioned and opens the pallet ready for
any main selection - mine being the Salsiccia pizza £9.45 –
meaty Italian sausage, sweet yellow peppers and tangy red onions
from Tropea (Southern Italy). In my opinion sausages always
taste nice on pizza and this was no exception, I asked my waiter
for mushrooms and for my pizza to come as a calzone. This was
not a problem having my pizza freshly made by the in-sight
chefs, folded and then cooked. Calzone stays hotter for longer
than a regular rounded pizza. Give it a try!
My guest
raves about the cannelloni £7.95, so again ordered this
wonderful dish, rolls of pasta filled with creamy ricotta and
gooey spinach make this dish a splendid choice. No starter for
him but he did have the 6 dough balls £2.30.
Desserts
We shared a
Cheese cake £4.35 - baked cheese cake and sour cream on a
crumbly base served with fruit coulis. We also had Tiramisu
£4.35 – Italian for “pick me up”, espresso coffee, cocoa, rich
cream, mascarpone and marsala sponge fingers. This was a
generous portion, fluffy and simply scrumptious.
Our
waitress did not show too much personality but was prompt and
efficient and we were left to our own devices. The
restaurant had a steady flow of customers, creating a reasonably
lively yet relaxed atmosphere which was aided by the jazz music
playing away in the background. I felt like a local to the
restaurant and found it easy to relax.
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