Pizza East

Occupying the site of a former legendary Shoreditch venue known as the TBar, this restaurant is an interesting mixed bag of a proposition. to be frank the service was substandard. Not one detail was executed to the letter, on point or promptly. This became a huge matter of frustration as several times a bottle of wine or drinks were brought to the table and the waiter didnt bring enough glasses, pour glasses for everyone and just sloped off without completing the tables drinks orders.
The food? Pretty ok pizzas with interesting fresh ingredients but to be frank the execution was no better than Pizza Express.
The venue was super hot and stuffy. I couldnt wait to pay the bill and get the hell out of there to get some fresh air. I probably wont make a return journey back to this venue as there are too many superior places to eat in this neck of the woods. Keep up this level of service and you wont have any customers left…

I went to Pizza East with high expectations following some good reports from friends – i have to be honest, I was disappointed. I ordered a pizza that was supposed to have spicy sausage on top – the sausage that i did get wasn't even remotely spicy and the pizza overall was pretty bland. I seem to recall that the wine I had was nice. I didn't think much of the service either, i felt the staff were more interested in something else than in actually serving people. Perhaps my expectations were too high, but I can't honestly see what the fuss is about. Dare I say i've had a better pizza in Pizza Express?!

I went back to Pizza East for the third time last night – pizza is something one never tires of. It may just be me, or the fact that I’d had a few when I got there, but this place just seems to get better and better. I was feeling creative so I ordered a margarita with all my favourite toppings – blue cheese, olives, Parma ham etc. And of course a few more beers. My friend is insistent upon some Atkins diet rubbish, which means that he’s not aloud any carbs – I know! Men dieting! What will they have next – ballet classes? This meant he had antipasti – lamb meatballs in a tomato sauce, some pork ribs and some deep fried artichokes with mayo. Reassuring to know that all were as good as the pizzas. We both went for salted chocolate caramel tart for desert – yes, greedy drunkards are us and he technically broke his no carb rule. Idiot. So nice to know that there’s a place like this that is reliable and not too pricey where you can wander in drunk at 9.35pm and get a great meal walking distance form your home. Go.

I've eaten here a couple of times and really enjoyed both the food – pizza dough is some of London's finest and I love all the little salads – but the pleasing buzz of the place has turned into a full-on bunfight. Despite attempts at crowd control by the excellent front-of-house ladies and the addition of the bar space, the walk-in-and-wait game left us so frazzled that we had to get out of there before our table was ready. Definitely worth a visit, but advance booking is the only way if you're planning to arrive at your table without having rammed someone's trilby/wayfarers down their throat. On the plus side, service is as excellent as in all the SHG venues and prices are pretty fair.

I am normally a placid person, so why do I get so cross in restaurants? Things have to go so right, especially in the ifrst 15 minutes of arrival, otherwise I sulk for the rest of the meal. Needless to say I don't do this much, as I realised wasn't getting invited out much.
Last Saturday, things bode so well: a beautifully sunny day in an exciting part of London, a restaurant with great pedigree (I love Soho House, especially the Shoreditch branch), and we went at a quiet time: 6 o'clock. Not quite afternoon, but not quite dinner time. Indeed, the vast restaurant was nearly empty. So to get some sour-faced greeter telling me: “we want the table back in an hour and a half. Is that OK?” didn't go down well. “Well, no it's not OK. If you want it that badly, I suggest you have the table back right now and I'll go somehwere else.” But, sensing a tanty, my partner nudged me and I kept shtum. We were shown to our table.
Now two-person tables always have it tough in restaurants. They're always tightly packed, and in Pizza East's case, by a small extension of both arms, I could comfortably eat off the adjoining tables, too. But we were sat in the middle of an empty sea of twofers, so that was fine. The waiter came boiunding over. Anything to drink? Sparkling water please. He then went into the waiter equivalent of the nurses handover chats in hospitals, And a bottle of tap water arrived (obviously this waiter wasn't invited to such handover chats). At room temperature. Obviously, as it was boiling hot outside, this wasn't pleasant. So it had to go back.
By now, more people had started to arrive and – would you believe it? – every single couple were placed either side of us, so over there was a totally empty restaurant, and over here was packed with couples who couldn't help but try to eat without putting their neighbours' eyes out.
Now I have to hand it to Pizza East: you do get stuff on the menu you don't get in other Pizza establishments. Like Deep Fired Artichokes. Remembering the fine items you get in Rome, three shrunken artichoke bases arrived. They must have been genetically reduced, and, perhaps worse for a restaurant, they looked lost and friendless on the plate. No accompanying sauce, just a lemon squeeze. If you remembered to chew them before swallowing, they tasted very nice. Now they and the other starter, the squid, arrived almost as I was in mid-sentence ordering them. Two deep-fried items arriving as if the hour and a half window we were allowed into Pizza East depended on it. So they must have been cooked earleir. 'That's Unfair' shout the chefs. ‘Well', I answer, ' the squid certainly tasted as if it had been cooked then kept warm because it came up soggy and chewy’. But then I did have to ask the waitress (our original man was still being de-briefed) twice for some more lemon so maybe the squid did have a bit more time than usual to make itself comfortable on my plate.
Main-wise, had to try the pizza, but I really fancied a salad. Now, I was expecting something special on both counts, seeing as it's a Soho House brand. But the pizza was average (maybe I'm spoiled because my office is round the corner from the best pizza place in London, Malletti's in Soho) and the salad did nothing more than what it said on the tin. The salad tin, you understand. An egg, asparagus and anchovy salad had lettuce plus egg, asparagus and anchovy(s). Well, what do you expect? Some dressing perhaps? English Asparagus? (I'm not being xenophobic here, but like most things not flown in from the other side of the world, it does taste completely different)
I've just read all the above and it does sound like I'm griping, but I think eating out is a collection of little moments that have to be right, and none of this was. Asking twice for some more lemon is a little thing: nobody died, but you know what I mean. I have to report that on several twofer tables, the couples were starting to talk to their neighbours: it was virtually impossible not to. I think it all staretd with a man with a lazy eye.
My partner loves desserts, so we ordered Maple Panna Cotta and the Salted Caramel and Chocolate tart that everyone writes about.. The Maple (unless they put it into the Panna Cotta itself, which I don't believe) consisted of a sesame crunch no more than an inch square. But good Panna, all the same. The Tart? Well, this mixing of savoury and sweet wasn't as revolting as when I mistakenly once put sugar on chips, but it was far too rich for our delicate little tums.
With just ten minutes left on our Pizza East meter. I wanted to stay to see what happened when the wardens came round, but by now, some of the couples looked as if they wanted to swop tables, so we left.
My impressions? A well-run organisation where the desire to maximise profits got a bit in the way of a great customer experience. The food? Not great. I think I've made myself clear on that. But you know, by the time we left, the place was buzzing full of people who clearly just wanted something to eat and drink quickly before they went out for the night, and I have to admit – you see how begrudging I've got – it scored highly on that count.

I had a really unpleasant experience at Pizza East. One waiter there rudely explained to me that it was nobody's fault that there was only black mud inside the clam in my fish stew, after I asked him about the chef's opinion on my discovery. (There was no apology whatsoever, which really got on my nerves.)

And as my friend was on the way back from the ladies' room, she encountered that the very waiter was behind our back moaning about my complaint to other staff, calling me “unreasonable”. The manager was not of much help either. Nothing was done to resolve the problem. We were simply left extremely unsatisfied.

I would not recommend it to anyone unless you expect everything could be dealt WITHOUT any assistance from the people who work there. Because it is surely rude and unprofessional.

Great pizzas, very noisy, pack you in, feels like a factory. I would return at lunchtime when it is a bit quieter and the service might be better.

Not enough waiters on Sunday nite. Razor clam wasn't fresh. The bread and pizza dough were fastastic but pizza topping taste and quality was disaapointing.

The concept is excellent and certainly it was booked to the rafters when I visited early on a Saturday evening. In order to cram extra bodies in Nick Jones has copied the communal table policy which is disliked so much in Shoreditch House. to ensure no one exceeds their space he's even introduced stools attached to the table so you can't move them. I think he used the measuring guide from Ryan Air then reduced it a bit to get a few extra seats in. the ingredients allcated per pizza redefine the phrase minimalist. Overall the impression is of a greedy restauranter. Great atmosphere, poor value. There must be plenty of other Pizza places in Shoreditch – try them !

Took two starving children expecting a quiet restaurant between Christmas and New Year but the place was buzzing, The interior is fantastic – every detail is right and it has a great atmosphere because of that – lots of variety of seating options ( at the central bar/at the kitchen bar watching the chefs/large refectory tables /banquet and typical tables . Well thought out lighting helps the mood.Warm welcome and attentive service – perhaps a bit too much on the " We'll pour your wine for you so you order some more ' hence the lower score. Food was good -fab garlic toast – bit thin on the toppings to the pizzas but v.good base and enjoyed by all. The deserts we had – vanilla ice cream and doughnuts with melted valhrona chocolate were excellent. We'll be back.

A stone's throw from Shoreditch House, is one of Nick Jones's latest ventures, Pizza East. Modelled on Pizza Mozza in LA, it is located in the old tea building on Shoreditch High Street. Easily missed, the modest entrance, which is similar to a fire exit or West End theatre stage door entrance with push bar double doors, fits in well with the surrounding industrial architecture. Uber induastrial decor dominates this huge dining room with original wooden floors, bare brick walls and prep school style tables and chairs. One could be in the meatpacking district in downtownn New York.

The sheer size of Pizza East is amazing – with 200 tables packed on a Tuesday with the trendy set of East London and few suits scattered around.
A simple menu, both in visual terms and the food on it. The menu is nicely split in to anitpasti, wood baked dishes and pizzas. The two of us decided to share the lamb meatballs with parmesan and tomato sauce. 3 good sized meatballs were good but I prefer the similar dish available at Polpo, it is just that bit tastier. And wood baked mussels, again just the right amount. Sometimes starter portions of mussel's can be too large. We both then opted for pizzas, although the other mains were hard to ignore with the likes of pork roasted belly with cavolo nero and borlotti beans, ideal on a cold winters night. For the pizza's we had the anchovies and capers toppings with mozarella and a margherita with San Daniele Ham. Both were well cooked and the pizza base different to the usual Pizza Express and other pizza chains, with a slightly thicker, crunchier base that works well. Other toppings include veal meatballs and goats cheese and artichokes. To round the meal off we shared small doughnuts with chocolate – simple but good.

The wine list has a great selection, epsecially for under £30, with most of them from Italy or the US. Carafes of house wine start from £11. Tumblers serve as wine glasses, which is a concept I like as it feels more rustic. The total bill for two anitpasti, two pizzas, one pudding and a carafe of house wine came to £50 with service.

All in all, another great concept engineered by the great man himself, Mr Nick Jones. Rumour has it, there is set to be a Pizza Central and Pizza West…cant wait !

Very cool venue, lovely atmosphere and friendly staff. Varied menu and very reasonable prices. Shame the pizza was really average: crispy at start but quite hard to eat as it got colder. The tomato sauce was cheap and of a weird taste. I had a margherita and there was very little cheese on it.

What's not to love: prosecco on tap served in giant tumblers; italian tapas to start; followed by chewy but crisp woodfired pizzas with innovative, generous ingredients; salted caramel tart for pudding; wine by the carafe; fab cheese selection; DJ spinning cool tunes; beautiful crowd and buzzy atmosphere; nice loos; great prices; proximity to Callooh Callay for post-dinner cocktails and a boogie.

The only downside? The rigourous enforcement of the rule about pizza toppings. When I asked for anchovies on my salami & chilli pizza, I was told a firm no – Pizza East does not allow extra or different toppings in any circumstance. Crazy or what?!