Trying to find a family friendly restaurant which offers quality food and doesn't break the bank is by no means an easy feat.

Pizza is always a safe bet with the kids- it's a quick and easy way to eat out with them as a treat or when you don't have time to cook.

West London is alive with restaurants that welcome young children, with specially designed menus, outdoor areas and activities to keep little ones entertained.

We put every aspect of five Italian food chains children's menus under the microscope.

From a pizza's diameter to thickness to starters to dessert to customer service, youngsters had their say on what is best.

What’s On reporter Clare Youell for the South East visited Pizza Express, Pizza Hut, Prezzo, Zizzis and Ask Italian in Chelmsford, Essex with her two children, Jessica, eight and Amy, four, to find out which kid’s pizzas are up to the task.

Pizza Express

Branches in Shepherd's Bush, Hammersmith, Fulham, Richmond.

Price: £6.95 for starter, main course and dessert, plus £1 for apple juice

Starter option: Dough balls with veggies

Dough balls with veggies
Dough balls with veggies

What did Jessica think of the starter?

She said: “They were soft yet crunchy, the garlic butter added extra spice and the cucumber was cool.”

What did Clare think of the starter?

I love a dough ball and no one does them like Pizza Express. They were slightly chewy on the outside and lovely and soft inside, with a nice little pot of garlic butter on the side to dip them in. The best dough balls in town.

Pizza Express pizza
Pizza Express pizza

Main: Pizza, thickness: 1cm, diameter: 17cm

What did Jessica think of the pizza?

“It was nice, I could taste the tomato which was quite saucy, it wasn’t too big but I couldn’t finish all of it.”

What did Clare think of the pizza?

We eat at Pizza Express a lot with the kids and the children’s margherita was just the same as the grown-up ones, just smaller.

It had a thin base, the right levels of crunchy crust and softer dough in the middle with the tasty Pizza Express tomato sauce and mozzarella. It was a good size too. Jessica ate quite a lot of it which is a great sign of approval.

Dessert option: Chocolate brownie

Chocolate brownie dessert
Chocolate brownie dessert

What did Jessica think of the dessert?

“Chocolate brownies are my favourite dessert, this one is lovely and chocolatey. The strawberry on top was particularly nice, it wasn’t too big so if you’re quite full up it doesn’t take a lot to eat it.”

What did Clare think of the dessert?

Great! Again, very similar to the adult desserts, just a bit smaller. It was soft, gooey with a dusting of icing sugar and a strawberry on top.

Were they hungry after?

No, to be fair, my kids don’t have very big appetites so three courses is always going to fill them up. But I would say the portion size was just right – big enough to satisfy most little appetites but not so much that they can stuff themselves silly.

Customer service:

Can’t fault it, my kids spilt drinks, we used all the napkins to mop them up and they bought us more without mentioning it. When we said sorry for the state of the table, our waitress said ‘Don’t worry, it happens every day’. We felt very comfortable with our children there, even with the mess and the occasional screeching. The children’s activity packs and hat were the best provided by all the restaurants we visited.

Mess factor: 2/5

Value for money: 8/10

Overall rating: 7.5/10

If you want to try out Pizza Express near you, click here.

Ask Italian

Branches in Uxbridge, Twickenham and Richmond.

Price: £6.95 for a starter, main course and dessert

Starter option: Vegetable sticks with bread soldiers and dip

Vegetable sticks with bread soldiers and dip
Vegetable sticks with bread soldiers and dip

What did Jessica think of the starter?

She said: “The carrot was nice, it was quite sweet, not like one of those sour carrots you can get. You get a tomato dip but I didn’t like it. The bread sticks were quite hard and had a bit of salt on the outside. They were quite hard to chew though.”

What did Clare think of the starter?

Impressive. There’s only one starter option on the kids’ menu but as a parent you can’t complain. It’s nicely presented in two little bowls and matching plate and includes cucumber and carrot sticks for the healthy factor and some dough bread sticks, with a tangy tomato dip on the side. The veg were crunchy and the dough sticks were great.

Ask Italian pizza
Ask Italian pizza

Pizza thickness: 1.9cm

Pizza diameter: 25cm (note that the ASK kids’ pizza is not circular, but more of a rectangular shape)

What did Jessica think of the pizza?
“I really liked this pizza, it was tasty and the sauce and cheese were nice. It was one of my favourite pizzas. It looked nice too.”

What did Clare think of the pizza?

I was really impressed here, it was beautifully presented on a wooden board and looked lovely. Most importantly it tasted great, one of my favourite children’s pizzas in this whole experiment.

Dessert option: Chocolate pizza

Chocolate pizza
Chocolate pizza

What did Jessica think of the dessert?

“The chocolate pizza was my favourite bit, that was delicious and you could decorate it with sugar and marshmallows. I don’t like marshmallows but it’s a good idea for other children.”

What did Clare think of the dessert?

A good, kid-friendly concept. What child wouldn’t want a chocolate pizza? It was basically slices of pizza base with thick chocolate spread and strawberries on it but I have to say it was nice. Although I am wary of too much bread and wouldn’t normally let my kids have dough stick starters, pizza for main and chocolate pizza for dessert.. Oh well, it was a treat.

Were they hungry after?

No definitely not. They happened to choose a lot of ‘stodge’ and were nicely full up.

Customer service:

Very good indeed. They wanted more cheese on their pizza so were given extra and we were offered free shots of their home-made fruit juices (very nice). The server addressed the girls directly and made them feel important, yet I love the fact that she also subtly asked me if we wanted ‘the next course” at the end in case I didn’t want them to have dessert. Great mum points there. One of my kids also dropped a small toy under the chair and the waitress helped us get it. Also if they noticed my youngest picking some leaves off the plastic plant, they didn’t say anything. (Sorry ASK).

Mess factor: 4/5

Value for money: 8.5/10

Overall rating: 8.5/10

If you want to try out ASK Italian near you, click here.

Prezzo

Branches in Kensington and Wembley.

Price: £6.50 a starter and pizza, the ice lolly was 50p

Mini garlic bread with cheese
Mini garlic bread with cheese

Starter option: Mini garlic bread with cheese

What did Jessica think of the starter?

She said: “It was tasty, I liked the taste of the cheese and garlic, it was really nice actually.”

What did Clare think of the starter?

Not kidding this was one of the nicest garlic breads I’ve ever had. I loved it, it was so tasty! It was basically a small portion of the adult garlic bread. The only problem was we ate so much of it we couldn’t finish our pizzas. Rookie error..

Prezzo pizza
Prezzo pizza

Pizza thickness: 2cm

Pizza diameter: 18cm

What did Jessica think of the pizza?

She said: “It’s quite hot and it’s really nice. You can definitely taste the cheese, it was really good, the sauce tasted a bit like nice ketchup, it’s also really soft and squishy. I liked the dough.”

What did Clare think of the pizza?

Lovely, it was the nicest kids’ pizza of the whole experiment. A lovely doughy base with a sprinkling of flour, tangy tomato sauce and tasty cheese.

Dessert option: Strawberry fruit ice lolly

Ice lolly
Ice lolly

What did Jessica think of the dessert?

“It’s really nice, really sugary so it’s like you’ve got strawberry and sugar which I know people will like. You could tell it had been kept in the freezer as it had ice on it.”

What did Clare think of the dessert?

A great choice for several reasons. The lollies had big chunks of real fruit in them to help with the five a day but they were also nice and sweet. Also, as it was getting late, we were able to take them home and they finished them in the car. Jessica asked me if we could buy them in the shops another time.

Were they hungry after?

Definitely not, they couldn’t finish the pizza so the staff kindly packed it up into a doggy bag.

Customer service: Ahhh lovely, lovely Prezzo. I haven’t been to a Prezzo for about two years but I’ll definitely be going back now. The service was brilliant. The waitress smiled at my kids a lot and it was obvious they thought they were cute and amusing (always a proud moment for a mum). The service was quick, friendly and polite and they were obviously good with kids.

Mess factor: 3/5

Value for money: 8.5/10 (it’s not the cheapest one but the food was fantastic)

Overall rating: 9.5/10

If you want to try out a Prezzo near you, click here.

Zizzi

Branches in Chiswick, Twickenham, Earls Court, Shepherd's Bush, Notting Hill Gate, Westminster, Marylebone.

Price: £6.75 for a starter, main and dessert

Carrot, cucumber and mini garlic bread
Carrot, cucumber and mini garlic bread

Starter option: Carrot, cucumber and mini garlic bread

What did Jessica think of the starter?

She said: “The bread was quite crunchy on the outside and quite chewy to eat but it was softer in the middle. The cucumber was quite watery and soft and the carrot was sweet.”

What did Clare think of the starter?

The veggie sticks were nice but the little chunks of garlic bread were a bit hard and didn’t taste very garlicky. And there was no dip which made it all a bit dry.

Zizzi pizza
Zizzi pizza

Pizza thickness: 1cm

Pizza diameter: 20cm

What did Jessica think of the pizza?

“It was really good but there wasn’t quite enough cheese on it.”

What did Clare think of the pizza?
The good bits were nice but about a quarter of the pizza had no cheese on it which was a bit disappointing. And it took ages to arrive.

Dessert option: Ice cream with fun mini cones and popping candy

Ice cream with fun mini cones and popping candy
Ice cream with fun mini cones and popping candy

What did Jessica think of the dessert?

She said: “Overall it’s really nice, the popping candy popped in your mouth quite a lot, if you don’t like surprises I wouldn’t recommend eating it. The ice cream was nice, I enjoyed making my own ice cream cones.”

What did Clare think of the dessert?

It was the nicest part of the kids’ menu. Nice, sweet ice cream that came with three mini cones and a spoon, so your little one can make their own cornets. They loved doing that and it was cute watching them. They were also very excited by the little dish of popping candy which was a nice touch.

Were they hungry after?

No, there was enough food and they were full up.

Customer service: Apart from the fact everything took a long time to arrive, the service was very good. I asked to move tables and that was done without hesitation. They were polite and friendly to my kids and they clocked me craning my neck to see if our food was coming and I saw them chasing it up with the kitchen.

Mess factor: 4/5

Value for money: 6/10

Overall rating: 6/10

If you want to try out a Zizzi near you, click here.

Pizza Hut

Branches in Hammersmith, Hayes, Uxbridge.

Price: £5.45 for pizza, side salad, dessert and drink on the Little Heroes menu

Garlic bread with cheese
Garlic bread with cheese
Side salad
Side salad

Starter option: Garlic bread with cheese from the main menu as there is no starter option on the Little Heroes’ menu

What did Jessica think of the starter?

She said: “It was quite nice, it’s good that you can have it with or without cheese. The crust was crunchy, it tasted really nice, I could definitely taste the cheese.”

What did Clare think of the starter?

Lovely! It was tasty with lots of cheese and just the right amount of garlicky greasiness (and I mean that in a good way).

Pizza Hut pizza
Pizza Hut pizza

Pizza thickness: 1.8cm

Pizza diameter: 16cm

What did Jessica think of the pizza?

“It was quite saucy, the cheese melted, I thought it was quite nice and people should come and try it. I liked choosing my own salad too, I had some pasta, breadsticks, cucumber and lettuce.”

What did Clare think of the pizza?

I’m quite a fan of Pizza Hut but they can be a bit hit and miss. Sometimes you get a fresh, hot pizza with gooey cheese and sometimes they’re a bit lacking. Today’s kids’ margherita wasn’t a sterling effort, it was a bit overcooked around the edges and two of the slices didn’t have much cheese. It was still tasty though. I do like a pan-base. The help-yourself-salad bar is great for kids as they love feeling independent and it’s an innovative way of getting some of their five a day in.

Ice Cream Factory
Ice Cream Factory

Dessert option: Ice Cream Factory of course

What did Jessica think of the dessert?

“You can make your own ice creams. There’s only vanilla but you can choose what sprinkles and sauce you put on it. The chocolate sauce was very nice, the chocolate balls tasted quite nice, they tasted a bit like biscuit, the ice cream itself was very nice and I think other children would like it very much.”

What did Clare think of the dessert?

The Ice Cream Factory is a genius idea for kids, I’ve got a huge soft spot for it. My children are obsessed with Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and there’s something magical for kids about letting them create their own dessert. The ice cream is really nice and after I’d picked off a few of the jelly tots/mini chocolate beans/crunchy chocolate bits that they’d piled on, I really enjoyed it. By far the most enthusiastic I saw my kids during this whole project. Thumbs up Pizza Hut.

Were they hungry after?

No, in fact they couldn’t finish the pizza, and yet they still found room for ice cream. Funny that…

Customer service: I was quite impressed that no one raised an eyebrow when my kids starting a game flicking bacon bits across the table. The table was also a bombsite afterwards. It’s very, very family friendly.

Mess factor: 4/5

Value for money: 7/10

Overall rating: 7/10 (including plus points for the help yourself elements)

If you want to try out a Pizza Hut near you, click here.

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