PizzaExpress traces its roots back to 1965, when founder Peter Boizot opened the first PizzaExpress on Wardour Street in Soho, London, after falling in love with continental dining culture while living in Europe. He shipped an authentic pizza oven over from Naples and sourced real mozzarella from London's only producer at the time, bringing casual dining — square pizza slices sold in greaseproof paper through the front window — to the British high street for the first time.
In Singapore, PizzaExpress operates across multiple outlets offering dine-in, takeaway and delivery, alongside party bookings and corporate and events catering. The menu carries over PizzaExpress's signature style, including its iconic Dough Balls starter and thin, crispy Romana pizzas.
The brand also runs the PizzaExpress Club, a rewards programme offering exclusive offers every time members dine in, and hosts Kids' Pizza Making Parties, where young chefs can craft their own pizzas and enjoy tasty bites as part of the celebration.
PizzaExpress's story begins not in Singapore but in Soho, London, in 1965. Founder Peter Boizot, having lived and worked across France, Germany, Switzerland and Rome in the 1960s, returned to London distraught to find nowhere to buy a proper Italian pizza. Ever the opportunist, he decided to make, sell, and eat it himself — shipping an authentic pizza oven over from Naples and sourcing real mozzarella from the only producer in London at the time. He was also the first man to import Peroni to the UK.
The first PizzaExpress opened its doors to the public on 27 March 1965 on Wardour Street, selling square slices of pizza in greaseproof paper straight through the front window — effectively creating the concept of casual dining in the UK. Peter, an avid art collector, was determined to give the restaurant a distinctive aesthetic, teaming up with Italian designer Enzo Apicella to introduce a wine menu, proper dining tables, the now-signature open kitchen, and simple, attractive furnishings. The combination of authenticity and style drew celebrities and journalists, and a brand was born.
A second restaurant followed on Coptic Street, next to the British Museum, in 1967 — a former dairy redesigned by Apicella to fit the building's own character rather than simply replicate the first site. This became the template for PizzaExpress's growth: rather than rolling out a homogenous chain, Peter compared his restaurants to a necklace, with each new site a distinct, highly polished gem. Apicella went on to design over 85 PizzaExpress restaurants in this spirit.
That same ethos — a simple menu, warm service, distinctive spaces — carries through to PizzaExpress's outlets in Singapore. The brand offers dine-in across its Singapore pizzerias, along with takeaway and delivery for those wanting PizzaExpress at home. The menu keeps its UK-born signatures front and centre, including the iconic Dough Balls starter and the brand's thin and crispy Romana pizzas, with the Romana Smokey BBQ Chicken among the pizzas that have featured on the Singapore menu.
Beyond standard dine-in and delivery, PizzaExpress Singapore runs Kids' Pizza Making Parties, giving young chefs the chance to craft their own pizzas, enjoy tasty bites, and create memories as part of a hosted party experience. The brand also caters to corporate and events bookings, extending its casual dining format to group and business occasions.
For regular diners, PizzaExpress Club offers a rewards programme with exclusive offers every time members dine with the brand — a modern extension of the same warm, repeat-visit relationship the original Soho restaurant built with its early regulars.
What set PizzaExpress apart from the start was Peter Boizot's insistence on authenticity paired with genuine hospitality. As he put it himself: "I'd like to think that all things in my life are concerned with love." That founding philosophy — good food, warm service, and a distinctive space to enjoy it in — remains part of what PizzaExpress brings to its Singapore locations today, six decades after that first oven arrived from Naples.