Harden's survey result
Summary
A huge fan club do try to suggest that it “still serves the best pizza”, but when you look at the mediocre overall food score for this venerable high street chain (est. 1965), one has to conclude that it’s “sad but true that this once market-leading pioneer is now well past its sell-by date”: “the pizzas have been so dumbed down” that it “now totally fails to compete with the rash of more modern pizzerias with much better and more genuine dishes”. Owned by its creditors since 2021, service remains “very pleasant” (if “now well-versed in up- and cross-selling”) and the “comfortable” branches still help make it “an excellent place for families”. One particular gripe emerged this year – “I am fed up of dining at a table, only for their takeaway delivery drivers to be coming in and out wearing their bike helmets”.
Summary
Is this venerable high-street brand (est. 1965) finally getting back on track? Owned by its creditors since 2021, its volume of feedback and ratings rebounded significantly this year, with particular improvement in its “efficient and welcoming” service and the “pleasant ambience” for which the chain was previously known. And, although its food rating remains washed out, it does retain many fans (including Marcus Wareing apparently!) who feel a pizza here is “always enjoyable”. Parents still love it – “they are very friendly and kind to kids” and “you know what you are going to get”.
Summary
“They have lost the plot since their glory days” and it’s increasingly unclear why we continue to review this “vibeless” high-street brand (est. 1965): nowadays solely recommendable as a kid-friendly emergency stand-by. For decades it was the gold standard of chain dining in the UK, but poor scores support those who feel “its decline has sadly continued” since, in 2021, its ownership passed to its bond holders. Recent developments include a new logo, bold new colours, pizza wraps ‘to go’ and a major curtailing of the cut-price deals for which the group had become notorious. And yet still ratings slide and even more positive reviews are often muted (“some of the new offerings are quite good…”; “nothing to complain about which shows improvement…”). However you cut it, what’s undeniable is that, “there are so many hugely better pizzerias around”.
Summary
“Probably gradually getting worse, but you know what you are going to get… if you can work out the discount codes…” – this 56-year-old, high-street pizza chain still enjoys a high amount of lingering support from reporters, who haven’t quite given up on it yet. Once the UK’s ‘gold standard’ for chain dining, its performance in recent years has nose-dived, especially the ambience rating. Hony Capital (“the former Chinese private equity owners, who were ruining this once-great business”) have recently “exited with their tails between their legs” and it’s now in the hands of its debtors, who – during the pandemic – closed 73 restaurants with the loss of over 1,100 jobs. “Hopefully the new owners will return the chain to what it once was: first step should be to remove the extra tables which were crammed in making it an almost communal dining experience… always going to be disastrous given the number of kids ever present”. There’s hope, as in September 2021 the new team announced the refurb of 300 sites.
For 33 years we've been curating reviews of the UK's most notable restaurant. In a typical year, diners submit over 50,000 reviews to create the most authoritative restaurant guide in the UK. Each year, the guide is re-written from scratch based on this survey (although for the 2021 edition, reviews are little changed from 2020 as no survey could run for that year).
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