Sick of the same old mall restaurants? Then Jazz@PizzaExpress in World Trade Centre Mall Abu Dhabi, should be on your must-try list. The restaurant opened in August (the official launch party is on Wednesday) and so far, it’s proving to be just as popular as its sister restaurant in Dubai.
Jazz@PizzaExpress is the higher end version of Pizza Express, a popular pizza chain started in 1965 with more than 400 outlets across the globe. There are just three Jazz@PizzaExpress outlets in the world – London, Dubai and Abu Dhabi. While it’s the same brand, Jazz@PizzaExpress offers a completely different menu and experience than Pizza Express. In Abu Dhabi, the venue is licensed and there is live jazz music each night.
The restaurant is secluded – it is the only restaurant on the mall’s fifth floor. We were greeted and seated efficiently by friendly staff who remained alert and attentive throughout the night. So often, poor service is the reason for a less than stellar restaurant experience, so it’s worth noting how on point the service at Jazz@PizzaExpress is. Our only complaint is that the staff excessively pushed beverages. We were continually asked if we wanted another drink when we had half – or even full – glasses in front of us.
The menu offers a range of starters, salads, pizzas and pastas. We started with the under 400-calorie Leggera (Italian for light) superfood salad (Dh73), which came as a mass of baby spinach leaves with large chunks of beetroot, butternut squash, light mozzarella and avocado. A handful of lentils and pine nuts are scattered across the top along with a healthy drizzle of sweet balsamic syrup. We loved the mix of fresh ingredients and we were sure we were healthier after eating it (if only in our heads).
The avocado was a bit underripe and both my husband and I thought the salad needed salt, but there was no salt (only pepper) on any of the tables. The ramiro pepper (Dh43) is a must-order appetiser. The long, vibrant red vegetable was stuffed with a mixture of breadcrumbs, goat’s cheese, mozzarella, garlic butter and parsley. The tart cheese mixture balanced the pepper’s sweetness well and we loved the intense flavours, but this also neded salt.
We also tried the famous dough balls (Dh26), rolled in Parmesan and baked. These had potential but we were disappointed by the burnt taste of the Parmesan coating.
The pizzas are meant for one person, but they’re all big enough for two if you also order an appetiser. The restaurant says the Calabrese pizza (Dh92) is their “hottest” pizza and it does indeed pack a lot of heat. It comes flooded with spicy sausage, Italian sausage, green chillies, spicy roquito peppers, red and yellow peppers, mozzarella cheese and a mound of rocket. The combined flavours perfectly set your mouth ablaze, but not so much that you won’t take another bite.
We also ordered the Leggera chicken pizza (under 500 calories) to see if a diet pizza could actually taste good. It didn’t disappoint. To cut calories, this pizza comes as a ring of super-thin, crispy crust and the hole in the centre is filled with a mass of rocket, shavings of deliciously salty ricotta salata cheese, basil, mint and balsamic syrup. The pizza ring is topped with large pieces of chicken, light mozzarella, Peppadew peppers (sweet piquanté peppers from South Africa), aromatic garlic oil, whole rings of crunchy red onions and Cajun spices. It had all the flavour of a hearty pizza and is a guilt-free way to indulge while sticking to your diet.
We ended with fruit crumble and tiramisu. The tiramisu was only mildly sweet, a bit heavy on coffee, and more bitter than we would have liked. The fruit crumble was delicious, a classic butter crumble set atop a sweet strawberry compote drowning in thin, smooth, milky custard.
Jazz@PizzaExpress is a lively venue and a great spot to grab a bite before a movie. The restaurant was at least two-thirds full during the time we visited, and the live jazz music adds to the ambience.
The restaurant has plans to fit out their massive terrace with proper dining tables in the coming weeks, and they’re also launching their weekly brunch on Friday – a good excuse to try it out pronto.
• A meal for two at Jazz@PizzaExpress, World Trade Centre Mall Abu Dhabi, costs Dh395 (Friday brunch is from noon to 4pm; Dh229, inclusive of beverages). Call 02 444 7752. Reviewed meals are paid for by The National and conducted incognito
sjohnson@thenational.ae
