Overview

This branch of Pizza Express is in an excellent location, at the top end of Dean Street, a couple of minutes walk from Oxford Street and close to Soho Square and the Soho Theatre. There is a large step at the entrance but there is a bell if you require a step free entrance. Once inside the restaurant is on the ground floor and has an accessible toilet. Although we had pre-booked, service was initially very slow as the restaurant was very busy. However, things improved greatly when the manager overheard me talking to the waiter, and after that we had excellent customer service.

Transport & Parking

Nearest tube station is Tottenham Court Road which is step free since the opening of the Elizabeth Line. There are many buses that serve Oxford Street, alight at the Tottenham Court Road stop and from there its a 5 minute level walk to the restaurant. The easiest way to approach it is from Oxford Street and directly into Dean Street, with Tottenham Court Road Station Elizabeth Line entrance/ exit on the corner. There is then a short pedestrianised area, keep on the left hand side, passing Tesco and Pizza Express is on the corner of the first junction you come to, and that way you won't have to cross any roads. (Soho pavements often lack drop kerbs and can be difficult for people requiring step free access).

Access

The main entrance is on the corner and there is a blue wheelchair user sign on the glass pane of the main entrance door. It says "touch here for assistance". (My fault I did not notice this when I arrived). The main entrance door has a single, high step to the entrance and no grab rail. To the right of the main entrance door is a menu and above it a disabled access sign with an arrow. This is what caught my attention. So I followed the arrow but did not notice an accessible entrance. The floor to ceiling windows were open and I shouted into the restaurant that I required help with access. A member of staff then went to open a side door. It had a low step, which was in itself accessible for me, but there is also a portable metal ramp available for those who require it. There is then narrow, double doors, see photo, into the restaurant area. Once inside the restaurant there is step free access, although there is a jazz club in the basement which is only accessible down a spiral staircase. The restaurant area has free standing tables and chairs. The tables are quite close to each other. The restaurant was very busy and quite noisy. We were shown to a table opposite the serving counter, which I said was fine, and it was. We were later moved to a table towards the back of the restaurant. This was less noisy. On exiting we were escort out another door, a fire door, which had a small step, near to our table.

Toilets

The accessible toilet is at the back of the restaurant. It has a manual door and does not require a RADAR key. It has a long rectangular space, but is a bit narrow, with a couple of bins in the way. The toilet itself is in an alcove, see photo, which many be a problem for some wheelchair users if you usually transfer alongside the toilet. There are plenty of grab rails and an emergency cord that reaches to the ground. The toilet is clean, tidy and well maintained. There is also a baby changing pull down bench.

Staff

I had a very mixed experience. It was my own fault I did not notice the assistance button on the door, so I ended up shouting from the street through an open widow into a crowded restaurant for assistance. The waiter responded quickly, he shouted out over the noise so I could hear him. He said "we've only got a ramp" and made his way round. The way he said it, was very disparaging. He went and opened the side door and was in the process of getting out the ramp for me. I told him I didn't require it as the step was a lot lower, so I can't comment on the ramp, but there is definitely one. I mentioned to him that the way he spoke about the ramp had been quite dismissive and explained that mobility aids give disabled people freedom/ independence (can't remember my exact words) and asked him not to be so dismissive of it. He apologised. He opened a set of double narrow doors which opened directly into the restaurant. I was seated and my friend arrived a couple of minutes later. We discovered that we had only the vegan menu. When our waiter arrived, we explained to her that we had only the vegan menu and she went to change it and then she left us. We had been seated at our table for 22 minutes before the waiter came to take our order. I explained that to her and that while she had got the other menu for us, she had not asked if we wanted a drink, and that we were only staying because my friend was tired, and I was going to give them to 1.30pm, and was then going to leave regardless. While we were talking Florette, the manager, came over. Her customer service skills saved the day. She was very attentive and actively listened. She apologised and smoothed things over. She explained that they had been very busy and had ran out of menus so had put vegan menus only on the tables. She said that they had been very busy and blamed herself on not checking that the waiters were serving everyone. I said that she didn't need to apologise for other people's oversights, staff should be able to undertake their duties without needing to be supervised all the time. She said that she would speak to the member of staff about how he had spoken about the ramp. Before we left at the end of the meal, she said that he had come over to her and had told her about the incident. She moved us to a quieter table, and took our order before we left. We got our food quickly and we both found what we ordered delicious. Service after Florette taking over was amazing, we were served quickly, and she and another waiter came to check if our food was ok. She said before she moved us that she wanted us to have a good experience, and said that we did not have to pay for whatever we ordered. We did not take advantage of it, we ordered what we had planned to do originally, 2 main courses and 2 drink. We offered to pay but it was declined. When we left she took us out via a nearby fire door. I asked her if she would show me the access assistance button, which she did. After having it pointed out to me it was obvious and I have included a photo of it. We both really appreciated Florette's support and she totally turned around what started out to be quite a negative experience, and I would like to say a huge thank you to her for her kindness and excellent customer service.

Anything else you wish to tell us?

The food was delicious. After our initial difficulties we enjoyed our food and overall had a good experience. If you need assistance when you arrive look for the bell on the blue sticker on the entrance door. Florette turned our experience around and we would happily return in the future.

Photos