If  you haven’t been to Pizza Express recently then its high time you did.

Once regarded as a basic type eatery this restaurant, and I say restaurant because the ambience, cuisine and  style of the Leeds Albion Place establishment befits any top class pizzeria.

Situated in a listed Georgian Building in the quietest centre of town this place has style from the moment you enter. The large glass windows, the well choreographed tables and the friendly staff say it all – this place is really something – and that’s before you’ve even tasted the food.

We decided to split our choices – my colleague went for the popular menu options whilst I chose from the new dishes.

A portion of Loaded Pesto Dough Balls were our sharing choice whilst we perused the menu. These were so tasty the balls are toasted in a delicious green basil and pine nut pesto and an Italian tomato dip and Gran Milano cheese. A brilliant combination and the cheese flavour really comes through and marries up beautifully with the pesto.

My colleague chose Calamari for her starter. This was lightly crumbed and had a very tender texture and the Caesar dressing, parsley and lemon made it a tasty combination.

I chose the Mushroom Arancini. A Sicilian classic this is one of my favourite dishes, The risotto balls were filled with mushroom and a melting provolone cheese but I must admit they were a little bland however the accompanying Italian tomato dip added some flavour.

The Pandana Leggera was my colleagues chosen main. She is a fan of this pizza with its salad filled hole in the middle which is great as this ensures that the dish has a third off the calories.

The Pandana is a feast of tastes and textures. Goat’s cheese, caramelised onions, spinach, mozzarella, tomato and garlic oil and red onions and the red onion chutney on the pizza is so flavoursome and delicious. The rocket gives a nice contrast to the toppings on the Leggera.

I went for the  Soho Calabrese – a rectangular pizza. This is often described as a slice of Italian heritage. It’s a very tasty and flavoursome pizza. I loved the tomato with garlic, fresh buffalo mozzarella, olives and the shaved Gran Milano cheese and of course the obligatory rocket. Although it seems to have a large amount of cheese on it the other toppings make it a very tasty pizza and one I really did savour.

When it came to desserts my colleague was over the moon with her Honeycomb Cream Slice. It’s presentation was amazing. The dish consisted of a honeycomb and  mascarpone cheesecake with smooth salted caramel and chocolate on a rich biscuit base. The good thing about this was it wasn’t too rich the mascarpone was a smooth contrast to the rest of the dish and the base delightfully crispy.

I can never ever resist a Sundae. So I was over the  moon that the last of my new dishes was the Summer Berry and White Chocolate Sundae. The vanilla gelato was smooth with a sweet fruit coulis and combined with the tangy mixed berries made a complete taste contrast giving the dish a real sweet and sharp one flavour. It was made into a real traditional sundae by whipped cream and white chocolate curls.

Pizza Express can be anything you want it to be ideal during the day and early evening for families or for a pre-theatre/cinema meal and later perfect for a date night or a group of friends.

Pizza Express 4 Albion Place, Leeds LS1 6JL

Open every day from 11.30am to 10.00pm

Tel: 0113 242 2131 www.pizzaexpress.com/leeds-albion-place.com