Celebrities and journalists flocked to the restaurant and a brand was born. Together, they introduced a wine menu, dining tables, the signature PizzaExpress open kitchen and simple, attractive furnishings. PizzaExpress has become part of millions of people’s lives, but the ethos of a simple menu with warm service remains very much the same.Īn avid art collector throughout his life, Peter was keen to create a stylish aesthetic for his restaurant, teaming up with Italian designer, Enzo Apicella, to do so. Creating the concept of casual dining, square slices of pizza were sold in greaseproof paper through the front window. The restaurant first welcomed the public on 27 March 1965 to Wardour Street. Shipping an authentic pizza oven over from Naples and sourcing real mozzarella from the only producer in London, it was this same drive that made Peter the first man to import Peroni to the UK. Peter’s ambition for authenticity, combined with an uncommon determination proved to be a winning combination.

Ever an opportunist, he decided to make, sell and eat it himself. Having fallen for the continental dining culture, Peter returned to London, distraught to find that there was nowhere to buy a proper Italian pizza. Peter travelled to Europe in the 1960s, living and working in France, Germany and Switzerland before settling in Rome reporting for the Associated Press and selling postcards from a barrow in St Peter’s Square. With it, he revolutionised the UK restaurant scene forever, bringing casual dining to the high street. One of the most remarkable and impactful entrepreneurs and philanthropists of recent times, PizzaExpress Founder Peter Boizot threw open the doors of the first PizzaExpress on Wardour Street, Soho, in 1965.

No import from music collector icon