Italian flavours from the UK have landed in the Philippines, with Pizza Express offering casual dining at Uptown Place Mall in Bonifacio Global City, Taguig.
Peter Boizot founded Pizza Express as a small shop in London’s Soho district, and after five decades has about 472 shops in Britain plus branches in Cyprus, Gibraltar, India, China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Indonesia and the Middle East.
No two Pizza Express restaurants are identical. in the world look exactly alike. Head of international business development Hakim Haouchine says the design of each restaurant depends on its location, stemming from the 97-year-old founder’s philosophy and love for music and art.
The Philippine branch has black and white floors, green chairs, a 3D map of London as a wall feature, white marble counters and an all-white open kitchen.
Haouchine says the restaurant is not authentic Italian but rather “inspired Italian”. “We believe in innovation and have our own way of delivering food4”.
Once the brand has settled in the market, it will add special dishes for Filipinos, following the example of Peking duck pizza in China and chili-crab pizza in Singapore.
For the Philippine market, the brand franchise is held by the Tasteless Food Group, which is behind such restaurants as Hanamaruken, Le Petit Souffle and the Hole in the Wall food hall.