Pizza Hut

...Up" dining out experience at Pizza Hut, I'd be happy. However, over the past year and a bit, fast food has been the last thing on my mind, and the thought of consuming a greasy, fat-filled meal scares the living daylights out of me.
As part of my "recovery-plan", I am set challenges every so often. The challenges are not compulsory, but completing them means I only have to see my outpatient team once that week, instead of the ...
...was a, "family meal at Pizza Hut".
After a lot of encouraging and bribery, I decided i'd at least try the challenge, but before I went I would take notes on calories and other nutritional information.

**

In the year 1958, two brothers, Frank and Dan Carney decided that they wanted to open up their own pizza restaurant. They bought a small building, which seated only 25 people. Deciding on a name took ... more

I used to love fast food, wheather it was a quick and easy tea at McDonalds, to a proper "Grown Up" dining out experience at Pizza Hut, I'd be happy. However, over the past year and a bit, fast food has been the last thing on my mind, and the thought of consuming a greasy, fat-filled meal scares the living daylights out of me.
As part of my "recovery-plan", I am set challenges every so often. The challenges are not compulsory, but completing them means I only have to see my outpatient team once that week, instead of the usual four to five times. As I hate my outpatient team with a passion, I normally try to rise to the challenge. However, when I was told this months challenge, my heart skipped a beat and I knew immediatly it would take a lot of courage and preparing to rise to it. The white peice of paper named "CHALLENGES" stated that this months challenge was a, "family meal at Pizza Hut".
After a lot of encouraging and bribery, I decided i'd at least try the challenge, but before I went I would take notes on calories and other nutritional information.

**

In the year 1958, two brothers, Frank and Dan Carney decided that they wanted to open up their own pizza restaurant. They bought a small building, which seated only 25 people. Deciding on a name took a while, however as the sign only had room for 9 letters, their choice was narrowed down quite a bit. After alot of "Ooohing and Ahhing", they both decided on the name "Pizza Hut"- due to the fact the building had a very hut like appearence too it. The first Pizza Hut was opened in Wichita Kansas, but now, over fourty years later the branch has expanded and is now world wide.

The Restaurant
World-wide their are thousands of Pizza Huts, and within half an hour of our house, their are at least 3 different Pizza Huts. The closest one is a 5 minute drive away, and the next closest is a quick 15 minutes away. The latter is right next to our local Odeon Cinema, so we decided to make a day of it, and before visiting Pizza Hut take a family day out to the Cinema. The particular Pizza Hut we visited was in Dunfermline, near the Duloch Park.
We arrived at the restaurant for tea time at just after 6 o'clock in the evening. We were a bit worried as we doubted we'd be able to get a table, however we did seem to get their just before "rush hour" began, as the restaurant was only half full.
The outside of the restaurant was extremely attractive. A single standing building, red brick, a huge black roof, and definitley created and built to be in the shape of a hut. There were windows all around the building, meaning you could clearly see inside, which in my opinion was very tempting. From the outside of the restaurant, you can distinctly smell the pizzas, and stepping into the restaurant, the smell of cheese and dough becomes even stronger, resulting in a grumbling tum.
Now, I will describe the particular Pizza Hut we visited however i'm sure the interior of most Pizza Huts are similar, if not exactly the same.

When you first step through the two large glass doors, you are standing in the take-away area. The takeaway area is a simple counter, with a couple of seats if you need to wait. There is usually two staff on duty at the take away counter, and from what I saw, they were fairly quick, efficiant and friendly to the customers wishing to take their pizza home.
Inside the front door, there are two more large glass doors you need to go through to get to the main restaurant. The minute we stepped through these doors, a waiter, who looked incredibly italian greeted us and asked us how many seats we required. Our answer, was four, and we were guided through the restaurant, up 3 stairs and sat at a lovely clean table.

The decor in the restaurant was fairly attractive. The walls were all a deep dark red colour, and although these made the restaurant have quite a dark, feel too it, the windows situated all around the walls meant that there was a decent amount of light coming through. Aswell as the sunlight coming through, there were plenty of lights scattered over the walls, I did find the lights extremely bright to begin with but after i'd settled down into my seat my eyes adjusted too them so this didn't cause any problems. The floors were mainly a dark brown carpet, however the salad bar area was wooden flooring, probably incase any spills were made. The carpet looked very clean and I didn't spot even one stain kicking about.

The restaurant itself was very well laid out- on two different levels. (the "higher" level being only 3 small steps). When you first come in the door, you will notice the two swinging kitchen doors to your right handside- there is a huge "keep out" sign on this door so you won't mistake them for the toilets. Right infront of you when you arrive is the large salad bar, this usually has at least a couple of people up at it at the one time, however this never got in the way at all. The tables are spead around the restaurant. There were around 6 different "booths" which seated two people, and these particular tables were set with comfy brown arm chairs. There were also tables that seated, four people, six people or eight people. Aswell as all these different tables, the middle of the restaurant was home too a huge 14 seater table which is used normally for childrens parties/work night outs/or just large groups of people out for a meal. I was thoroughly impressed with the layout of the restaurant, and although there were lots of peices of furnature around the place, it did seem very big and well laid out.

Facilities
Pizza Hut caters for all different needs and different people.
The toilets are toward the back of the restaurant, through two huge slide doors. In all three/four of the Pizza hut restaurants I have visited in the past couple of years, I have found them to be of very high standard, very clean, and always stocked up with plenty of toilet rolls, soaps and dry paper towels.

Pizza Hut is also very suitable for disabled people. Due to the fact their are two ramps within the restaurant, this means that wheelchairs are well catered for and it shouldn't be any problem seating disabled customers. There are also 2 disabled toilets in the restaurant and again with every Pizza hut restaurant I have been too , disabled access and facilities are included.

Children are very welcome at Pizza hut too. In one of the Pizza Huts I have been too there was a special "Kiddies Loo", which was two cubicles with toddler sized toilets however these weren't in the other three restaurants we visited. Pizza Hut provides high chairs with buckle in straps, so that babies and toddlers are not found toddling around the restaurant providing unneccessary hazards.

Service and Staff
We were fairly worried about the service we would recieve on our dining experience as family and friends had touched on the fact they had somehow felt neglected throughout their meal, however from the moment we arrived at the Hut, till the second we left, we were treated very highly and our experience was made incredibly enjoyable and laid back by the various staff who had approached us.
When we first stepped through the door we were greeted by a cheery looking man and guided to our table by him. When we were sat down we ordered drinks straight away, and when he returned with our drinks, he also provided us with menus. We were given just under ten minutes to decide on our meals. We ordered our starters and main courses first and we informed the man that if we still felt hungry afterwards we'd have a dessert menu then. He had no problem with this and so he disappeared off with our orders and the menus. Our starters arrived just before 7pm, just under half an hour after we'd arrived. We thought this was fairly good however the service could have been just a little bit quicker. We were given twenty minutes to eat our starter before our plates were cleared away, this was just enough time for us all too polish off our meals. After our plates had been cleared away, our main courses came. We were all quite pleased with the time taken, not too long but not straight away either.
We were provided with just over half an hour too finish off our meals which again was just perfect timing. We ordered a second round of drinks at this point, and we all decided to make the most of our family time together, and ordered puddings too.
The drinks only took around two minutes to arrive after the man went away however we had to wait twenty minutes on the puddings. After fifteen minutes of waiting my mum went up to inquire and see when our desserts would arrive and we were told they had a problem with the ice cream and they would be with us shortly. Luckily we only had another five minute wait.

The staff were all very friendly, however sometimes they could be slightley over friendly and we often found them hovering over us while we were eating our meal. My mum kindly told them though that we were happy with our meal, and there was no need to come checking on us as if we needed them for anything we wouldn't hesitate in shouting over too them. Most of the staff took this kindly and had no problem with it, however a young girl who we often found nosing over us and listening into our conversations took it slightley too heart and stormed off with a scowl on her face. After the young girl had gone away, we all noticed her having a bit of a moan with another member of staff, and we felt a bit hurt that they kept looking over too us and were clearly talking about us. However, we put in a small complaint to the manager at the end, and that was the end of that.

Overall we were fairly impressed with the speed of the service, and most of the staff were friendly and efficiant. If I could comment on one thing it would be that some of the younger members of staff did seem a lot less experienced, and most of them looked miserable!!

Menu/Food
This is the part I was secretly dreading, however all through the meal I put on a brave face. I hadn't dined out in a Pizza Restaurant for a long, long time, and I was incredibly anxious about it. My experience was put to ease a little though, as I had looked up nutrition information before I had gone out and had quite sadly, memorised it all off by heart so there was no need for the un known.

Starters.
The first thing we ordered from the menu, were our starters. There was a huge variety too chose from, including; Garlic bread, cheese garlic bread, chicken wings, salad, potato wedges, breaded mushrooms, chicken wings, and various sharing platters including; nachos, and a huge combo platter. There were various other starters too.

Garlic bread- my mum decided on a "plain" starter of garlic bread. She was stuck between the regular garlic bread, or the cheese type but after a long while she decided on the regular garlic as she is a love it or hate type of girl when it comes too cheese. The garlic bread came on a large white plate, 3 chunks of bread with a buttery green substance on top which was obviously the garlic butter. The smell of garlic was phenomonal and extremely mouth watering too. My mum thoroughly enjoyed her starter, and she tells me that the bread was warm and soft, and the garlic flavour was very strong but delicious.

Potato wedges- I decided on the potato wedges as my starter. I was a bit wary of how big my portion would be but when it arrived my mind was set too ease. The portion wasn't big, but it wasn't tiny either, just perfect- about 12 fairly large wedges. The wedges were fairly golden brown in colour, with a very crispy looking outside. There were also some visible spices sprinkled on top which I was glad of as I really enjoy spicy potato. I was right, the wedges were extremely crispy on the outside however the potato inside was light and fluffy- but very hot. The wedges came with a choice of 3 dips, however you were only permitted to have two. I was given the choice of tomato sauce, sour cream and chive dip and BBQ sauce. I decided on the latter two, and they were incredibly enjoyable however there was slightly too much dip for the amount of wedges I was provided with. I was thoroughly happy with my wedges and it had proved to be a successful starter.

Chicken Wings- there were two different choices of chiken wings; the Hot n' spicey wings or the BBQ chicken wings. Brother #1 decided on the latter. The 2 chicken wings came on a large whtie plate, and although already coated in a sticky bbq sauce, they came with another pot of BBQ dip. As they were fairly big, brother only managed to finish one and a quarter of the wings, but he tells me that this isnt because he didn't like them simply because he wanted to make room for the rest of his meal. They did look very appealing and gave off a very BBQ-y smell- hardly surprising with the amount of BBQ sauce in the meal.

Breaded chicken strips- brother #2 is slightly more fussy when it comes too food and prepares plainer types of food, so the breaded chicken strips sounded like a perfect option. When they arrived, he was quite happy with the appearence- 3 decent sized strips of chicken in a golden brown breadcrumb. He was provided with a tomato sauce dip, and a bbq dip too. He really enjoyed them and told us they were better than "mums" chicken nuggets, but not as good as McDonalds nuggets. This went down as quite a success and he polished them all off, with not even a crumb left on the plate.

Salads and Pasta and Light Lunches.
None of us ordered a salad however if you do prefer salads to pizza, there are plenty too choose from, including; the classic ceasor salad, seafood salad, chicken and bacon salad, chicken salad, cheese salds, vegetable salads and various others.
Aswell as the salads readily prepared you are also permitted one visit to the salad bar. My mum choose to go up too the salad bar to get some to accompany her pizza meal. The salad bar did have alot of selection it has to be said, plenty of salad including; carrots, lettuce, cucumber, tomato, olives, coleslaws, and various other different side dishes. You are only permitted one visit to the bar within the price you pay however if you want more than one visit the price is only a little higher.
Not everybody who visits Pizza Hut will like Pizza and if this is the case, there is no problem! Pizza Hut also caters for the people who prefer Pasta dishes to Pizzas.
Among the different pasta dishes, are lasagna, spaghetti and meatballs, spaghetti bolognaise, tortellini, carobonara, and various other different options. We, ourselves didn't try any of the pasta dishes however plenty of people around the restaurant did and they did look incredibly delicious.
All of the pasta dishes come served with a peice of crusty bread, or garlic ciabatta.

Although we visited pizza hut at a dinner time, it is possible to dine in at lunch time and get a substancial, but lighter lunch. These meals include salads, meatballs, miniature pizzas and various other light meals. We didn't see anybody with these meals which we were visiting however I am quite intrueged as to what they're like.

Pizza
Now, we have arrived at the main part of the menu, the huge variety of different, and incredibly tempting pizzas! Pizza Hut offers a huge variety of different pizzas from the plain and original to the more exotic and unusal! All pizzas come in 3 sizes- small, medium and large.

*Bases
There are various different types of bases to choose from, depending on what your personal choice is.
Pan- the pan base is a thick base, which is incredibly fluffy and light in texture. This pizza base is popular throughout the world. My mum ordered this pizza crust, aswell as my younger brother.
The italian- the italian base is a fairly thin base, and normally very crispy on the crusts. This particular base is hand stretched to create the perfect shape and volume. I chose this base, however my mum, and I halfed our pizzas and so I got to sample the pan and the italian!
Stuffed crust- The stuffed crust pizza is brother #1s favourite and he ordered this one himself. The crust is, as it sounds, stuffed with a delicious gooey cheese. The cheese melts through the ends of the pizza crust when cut in half, creating a delicious cheesy aroma!
Cheesy Bites- although incredibly tempted, I resisted and didn't choose this base for my pizza. This particular base is similar to the stuffed crust, only the crust is actually in mini sections which can be torn off the base and dipped into various sauces- again stuffed with delicious gooey cheese.

*Toppings
Well, where to begin? The pizza toppings in Pizza Hut are endless!
Classics- Like the name suggests- the classic toppings, are absolutely classic- the toppings eveybody knows and love!
Margherita- the regular cheese and tomato pizza. Made with a tangy tomato sauce and delicious mozerella cheese, this is the perfect pizza is you want something nice and plain. This pizza is suitable for vegetarians.
Hawaiian- The hawaiin pizza was my choice on this particular day. I was thrilled when my medium pizza came looking lovely and tastey. The cheese was melting gorgeously, and the tomato sauce was in perfect proportion. The toppings were generous too with around 30 chunks of pineapple scattered over and about 25 slices of pink, ham. The pizza really was delicious, the crust nice and crunchy and the topping deliciously flavoursome. My mum also enjoyed her half of this pizza and she said she'd definitley recommend it too!
Hot n' Spicy- the hot n' spicey pizza doesn't really to appeal to me all that much however if you do like hot and spicey things, this is the one for you. The pizza is topped with jalepinos, chorizo and a special tobasco sauce. A pizza for the dare-devils out there!
Farmhouse- the name "farmhouse" puts me off, however the look of the pizza is utterly delicious. One of my previous visits to Pizza Hut with my grandma, she ordered this one and it looked gorgeous. The base of the pizza is topped with tomato sauce, cheese, and then specially topped with mushrooms and ham slices. The mushroom peices were absolutely huge and plenty of topping was provided.

Speciality- The speciality pizzas are slightley more exciting than the classics range, and their are some perhaps more unusual toppings, and more tempting at times.
Mountain Fantastico- Suitable for vegetarians, the Mountain Fantastico is topped with the regular tomato sauce, goats cheese, red onions, olives, and fresh leaves. This pizza doesn't really appeal all too much but it would be a perfect choice for vegetarians looking for something with a bit of flavour!
BBQ Deluxe- brother #1 decided eventually on the bbq deluxe. Brother #1 decided on the medium size, as he was worried the small would be too little, and wasn't daring enough to try the large version. The pizza came on a huge pizza plate, with a smaller dinner plate next too it to serve the pizza on to it. On first impressions I assumed he'd never be able to polish off his pizza, however he soon proved us all wrong. The pizza, with the regular tomato sauce and cheese, was then piled high with bacon, chicken and onion. He thoroughly enjoyed his pizza and said it was definitley better than supermarkets own. The smell of the pizza was delicious, more cheesy than anything else though!
Super Supreme- The super supreme pizza, is a mountainus pizza! Piled high with spicey pork sausage, spicey beef, pepperoni, olive, mushrooms, ham, onion and green peppers as well as the usual cherry tomato sauce and cheese. I can imagine this pizza would be incredibly filling but probably delicious.
Mediterranian Meats Deluxe- This pizza is another flavour-packed one. The usual tomato sauce and mozerella cheese is then finished off with pepperoni, chorizo, ham and bacon. This is similar to the super supreme but only slightley smaller with the toppings!
BBQ Veggie- one of the newest options is the BBQ veggie pizza. This pizza is suitable for vegetarians, as it is topped with sweetcorn, onions, red onions, pepper and cherry tomato. Again, not tempting for a meat eater but probably a very tastey choice.
BBQ Steak- another fairly new pizza choice. This pizza is topped with onions, peices of steak and green peppers. A fairly plain pizza but packed full with loads of flavour!

Favourites- as the name suggests these pizzas are the customers favourites! Something for everybody in this selection;
Vegetable Supreme- This pizza is suitable for vegetarians. With only fungi and veg for toppings it seems like a bland choice but packed with mushrooms, peppers, onions, and large tomato chunks its sure to be utterly delicious.
Chicken supreme- the chicken supreme is a very tempting choice and was definitley in my short list however it just lost out. The chicken supreme is topped with chicken breast, mushrooms, onions and peppers. I did see somebody at the next table to us with this pizza and it looked delicious, with plenty of chicken breast and what looked to be like hundreds of mini peices of mushroom. Definitley a pizza I wish to try in the futre.
Supreme- Another one for the meat lovers out there- this pizza is topped with spicey pork sausage, pepperoni, green peppers, mushroom and onions. Similar to other types of pizzas on offer in the different sections.
Vegetarian hot one- not all vegetarian pizzas have to be boring, and if you wish a bit of a kick to your veggie delight- this is the one for you! This pizza combines, double green chillis, tomato chunks, green peppers and onion to create a veggie taste sensation. Recommended for the vegetarians who don't want to be boring!
Meat feast- another for the meat lovers out there. This pizza seems similar to others however this one combines spicey pork sausage, pepperoni, ham and spicey beef. With no vegetables on this one, i'd save it for a special occasion!
Pepperoni feast- The pepperoni feast was in my brothers short list however it just missed out being choosen. The pizza is topped with double pepperoni, and double mozerella cheese too. I can imagine that this pizza would be incredibly high in fats!
Seafood lovers- This pizza did sound very tastey but I think if I wanted seafood i'd have a seafood salad or such like. However, this pizza does sound gorgeous- prawns, crayfish, cherry tomatos, and drizzeled with lemon oils. This does sound like one my grandma would enjoy!

Create your own
If none of the options made up already appeal to you, you do have the choice to create your own pizza, and this is exactly what my mum did (along with my help).
At this point you can choose however many toppings you like, however for each one you add, you are charged extra for it. We choose my mums (and mine) pizza to be topped with mushroom, ham and sweetcorn, and it was absolutely delicious.

Once you have choosen your pizza, wheather its from the favourites, specialitys or classics menu, you can then add extras on to it if you like.
You can add extra cheese in which your pizza will be topped with an extra helping of mozerella cheese. Or, if you want extra heat your pizza will be sprinkled with green chilli, or if you want extra, extra heat your pizza will be topped with jalepino peppers! Extra veg can also be added to your pizza including sweetcorn, onions, peppers, olives, pineapple etc. Extra meat and fish can also be added.

*Childrens Menu
As my brother has a smaller appetite and had already had a starter we decided that instead of giving him a huge pizza as a main course, a childrens meal would be a better option. The childrens menu is quite large with a huge selection of different foods.
In the kids offer you get a bowl of salad, followed by a main course, and a drink. For a small cost extra you can add a dessert or a trip to the ice cream factory, and for another bit extra, some garlic bread! My brother didn't require the salad bowl, however we were still charged for this! The kids menu is set into two different sections; little kids, and bigger kids.

Little Kids Mains
Margherita Pizza- Most young children will want to feel part of the meal as much as they can and if this is the case, the mini margherita pizza is perfect. You can add, for a small extra charge, various toppings including pepperoni, pineapple, ham etc.
Pizza triangles- suitable for any vegetarian kids, are the pizza triangles. The pizza triangles are folded so the contents is kept inside- gooey cheese and a delicious tomato sauce.
Wraps- Kids will enjoy making there own wraps and creating all different combinations. Each meal comes with chicken strips, cucumber, tomatos, lettuce, sweetcorn and two warm tortilla wraps. Finish off your meal with a delicious squirt of tomato sauce which is also provided.
Chicken- a popular one with children is the chicken meal. The meal comes with 2 peices of breaded chicken, potato wedges and a tangy tomato sauce dip. I saw a little boy with this at the next table to us, and it looked like the perfect size for probably 3-7 year olds!

Big Kids Mains
Chicken- similar to the "Little kids" main course, only the portion of wedges are slightly bigger, and instead of 2 strips of chicken you are given three. Probably perfect for ages 7-11 year olds.
Thin Pizza- suitable for vegetarians depending on your toppings. The base of this pizza is very thin, crispy and the crust is deliciously crunchy. The pizza comes with cheese and tomato ontop, but for an extra charge, more toppings can be added.
Thick pizza- A light and fluffy pizza suitable for vegetarians depending on your toppings. The pizza comes with cheese and tomato ontop, but for an extra charge, more toppings can be added.
Wraps- again similar to the little kids mains, only instead of two wraps you are given three, and the toppings (or rather fillings) are a little more generous. Again perfect for 7-11 year olds.
Spaghetti bolognaise- a generous portion of spaghetti in a delicious bolognaise sauce. The bolognaise sauce has recently been altered and is now made with extra veggies!
Macaroni cheese- this mac cheese is suitable for vegetarians. Little tubes of pasta are kept in a deliciously creamy cheesy sauce!

Kids desserts
The desserts are the same for either little kids and big kids!

Unlimited ice cream factory- I think this is the best value for money. Unlimited access to the ice cream factory- your kids can choose which toppings they would like to top their delicious creamy vanilla ice cream. They can choose between various different sauces, biscuits and sweets to top there dreamy dessert. My brother took advantage of this offer and after 3 trips to the icecream factory- we had to stop him!
Ice cream scoops- you can choose between a couple of different flavours of ice cream including chocolate, and strawberry. The ice cream doesn't come with any toppings though so your just as well going for the ice cream factory option.
Fruity pancake- The huge, thick pancake is served with fruits, chocolate sauce and strawberry sauce. I saw a little girl with this dessert, and I have to say the pancake was HUGE and the sauces were in very generous sized dishes. Delicious!

Kids Drinks
As part of the kids meal deal, you can treat them to whatever drinks they like from;

Unlimited soft drinks- With this option you are allowed for unlimited refills of your favourite soft drinks, including; pepsi, diet pepsi, pepsi max, tango, 7 up, irn bru, orange and apple juices. You are also entitled to free squash within this option too, normally orange, or apple and blackcurrant.
Robinsons fruit shoot- you are not entitled to unlimited fruit shoots in this offer but you can choose between orange and peach, blackcurrant or apple.
Fresh milk - a decent sized glass of ice cold milk straight from the fridge.
Spring water- a bottle of still water (not unlimited).

*Desserts
Pizza Hut recognizes the fact that even after a pizza you may feel like a sweet treat! This is where the extensive pizza hut dessert menu comes in!

Unlimited trips to ice cream factory- aswell as children being able to take free refill trips to the ice cream factory, for a slightley higher cost, adults can do this too!
Profiteroles- I took advantage of this pudding, shared by my mum. The profiterole dessert came in a huge sundae glass. We were given 8 large profiteroles, each filled full with whipping cream, and topped with a delicious and warm chocolate sauce. The sauce was the only warm part however, as the cream and pasty were ice cold and delicious. We were also given a jar with pouring cream, but we only used a small amount of it as it was warm and didn't compliment the dessert too well.
Ice cream -suitable for vegetarians you are given 3 scoops of ice cream. You can choose from strawberry, vanilla and chocolate. The ice cream is served with a wafer, so in my eyes, you're better opting for the ice cream factory.
Banoffee pie- I was incredibly tempted to try this but it lost out just slightly. Although we didn't try it ourselves plenty of the people in the restaurant did so. The pie was served in a single slice. I tried to examine it as much as possible at the tables near us and I managed to make out that the base was a deep biscuit brown colour, with a large, thick creamy substance below to banana chunks, then a thick layer of toffee sauce, and then a delicious looking cream ontop. The pie was optional with ice cream or not- definitley one I wish too try in the futre.
Chocolate fudge cake- brother #1 decided eventually on the chocolate fudge cake. Again, the cake came in a (Large) single slice. The cake was a deep dark brown colour two slices of chocolate fudge cake were held together neatly with a large layer of fudge buttercream. It looked delicious, drizzeled with chocolate sauce and coming with a jar of (hot) pouring cream. This dessert was so tempting and I was almost wishing I had choosen it myself.
Vanilla cheesecake- my mum really wanted too try this but it lost out by a very small way. On my way to the bathroom after my meal, I noticed a lady at another table chomping her way through this one. It looked gorgeous- a biscuity base topped with a delicious , creamy looking cream cheese topping. The cheesecake was served up with ice cream, and strawberrys- very tempting indeed!

Aswell as single desserts- you can also choose to have a sharing dessert.

Profiteroles- the profiteroles come in a larger portion too share but I found after a huge starter and main the regular profiterole dessert was perfect to share. The dessert is the same idea as the regular, only double the portion size!
Hot cookie dough dessert- we were seriously considering sharing this between the four of us but brother #2 wasn't keen and had his heart set upon the ice cream factory. This particular dessert combines large dollops of hot cookie dough peices, vanilla ice cream and chocolate sauce. As with most desserts this is suitable for vegetarians.

*Drinks
With all this delicious food, you will more than likely need at least one drink to wash it all down and as with most fast food restaurants, Pizza Hut has this covered down to every last detail!

Pizza hut provides a large variety of white and red wines, ciders and beers aswell as soft drinks, including pepsi, diet pepsi, pepsi max, irn bru, 7up, tango and all the usual suspects. Drinks such as J20, Tropocana, Fruit Shoots, and fruit juices such as apple and orange are also available. With some options such as pepsi etc, unlimited refills are permitted, with a slightley smaller cost for children.
Hot drinks such as different teas, coffees, hot chocolates are available but vary from restaurant too restaurant!

**

Nutrition and Diet Information

Before taking my much anticipated trip to Pizza Hut, I was sure to check out all of the nutrition information. I wasn't expecting great things from the nutritional values either, after all it was known as "fast-food".

Starters and sides- The starters range quite a bit calorie, fat etc wise. Per portion the starters range from late 200's too nearing the 1000's per portion. For example, my starter of potato wedges contained 382 calories and 16g of fat, the garlic bread contains 380 calories and 16.6g of fat per portion, the BBQ chicken wings contain 355 calories and 22g of fat per portion. Most of the starters range around these values, most aren't over 600 calories and range between 15-30g of fat with the occasional exception being alot higher.

Light lunches- When opting for a "light" lunch you expect your meal to be fairly low in calories and fat, and here at pizza hut you get just that. Most of the salads are below 300 calories and only occasionally exceeding 15g of fat. For example, the chicken ceasor salad contains 283 calories and the meatball contain a mini 341 calories. All in all, the calories and fat content in the light lunches aren't anything too extortionate.

Pizza- the pizzas range calorie (etc) wise depending on what base/topping you have ordered.
Obviously the larger pizza you get the more the calories will go up. Opting for a stuffed crust pizza will boost your calories up quite a bit and choosing the cheesy bite pizza will also boost up the calories yet again. The nutrition information I found was given per slice and i will give you a little example of what nutritionally the pizza looks like per slice

MARGHERITA- HAWAIIAN
Cheesy Bites- 364 calories Cheesy bites- 348 calories
Individual italian base- 217 calories Individual italian- 193 calories
Medium italian base- 269 calories Medium italian - 245 calories
Large italian base- 274 calories Large italian- 250 calories
Individual pan- 202 calories Individual pan - 184 calories
Medium pan - 301 calories Medium pan- 245 calories
Large pan- 338 calories Large pan- 275 calories
Stuffed crust- 355 calories Stuffed crust- 348 calories

All of the nutritional information can be found at http://www.pizzahut.co.uk/restaurants/menus--deals/dietary-information.aspx .

Kids Menu
The kids menu is fairly low in calories and not too fatty either, however most dishes are fairly high in salt for the size of the meal.
3 chicken gojuns and wedges- 412 calories
2 chicken gojuns and wedges- 338 calories
3 chicken wraps- 606 calories
2 chicken wraps- 314 calories
Margerita pizza fingers- 258 calories
Thick margherita pizza- 480 calories
Thin tortilla pizza- 573 calories
Kids mac cheese- 360 calories
Spag bol - 211 calories
Ice cream pudding- 215 calories
Fruity pancake pudding- 229 calories

As you can see, the meals are fairly low in calories and would be a perfect lunch or dinner. The fat contents are fairly good too, most meals containing between 10 and 20g of fat, with the occasional exception jumping up to almost 40g. Salt wise, most of the meals contain between 2 and 5g of salt, which when the rda for an adult is 6g and even lower for a child, these are fairly scary values, however I do think that for a one off, it wont do any harm at all.

Desserts- It isnt often you get a healthy dessert, and here is no exception. Most of the desserts are high in calories and fat, but an upside is that some of them provide a vast amount of calcium and a low amount of salt.
Chocolate fudge cake- 686 calories
Vanilla cheesecake - 397 calories
Profiteroles - 381 calories
Banoffee pie - 428 calories
Cookie dough- 1063 calories
Vanilla ice cream - 323 calories
Frozen fruit - 7 calories

Fat wise, most of desserts contain between 20-50g of fat, for example the chocolate fudge cake contains a whopping 32g and the banoffee pie a smaller 13g. Overall, I think for a one in a while treat these desserts wouldn't do you any harm!

The nutrition values in the ice cream factory dessert are given per 100g as a portion size could be different for each individual person so, per 100g,
Ice cream mix- 147 calories
Coated chocolate beans- 475 calories
Mini marshmallows- 375 calories
Chocolate raisins - 405 calories
Strawberry sauce- 280 calories
Chocolate sauce- 298 calories
Lemon sauce -280 calories
Caramel sauce- 307 calories

**OTHER NUTRITION INFORMATION**
*All chicken products are made from 100% chicken breast.
*No hydronated fat oils are used.
*The ice cream factory products are free from artifical colours.
*Salt levels are always being reduced.

**

Prices and costs.
Most fast food restaurants seem like quite a rip off, however as we thoroughly enjoyed our meal at pizza hut we didn't mind paying the highish cost all that much. Taking a glance at the menu everything seemed to be reasonably priced, nothing overly expensive but you didn't look at the menu and think "wow, what a bargain!!".

Starters cost between £2.49 and £3.49 for individual starters, and for a sharing platter you will be set back between £4 and £8- nachos starting at £3.99 all the way up too £6.99 for the combo platter.

Light Lunches are equally as good value. None of the meals exceeding £4. For example, the meatballs will cost you £3.99 and the Bruschetta only £2.99.

Pizzas will vary greatly in price, depending on which bases, which toppings and which extras you ask for too. Individual pizzas range from £5-£8 for menu based pizzas however if you "create your own pizza", the prices will probably jump up quite a bit. Menu based, the medium pizzas will set you back between ££9-£13, again creating your own the cost will vary. Large pizzas will cost you between £11-£16 again based on the menu, ready based pizzas. Creating your own pizza and adding extra toppings will obviously add extra costs onto your pizza. For example, adding two toppings two a medium margherita pizza will bump the price up to £11.49 and adding 5 toppings onto a medium margherita will boost the price up too £11. Adding 2 toppings onto an already large margherita will bump up the price too £11.49 and 5 extra toppings onto a large margherita will mean the price rising too £13. Overall throughout the menu, I feel the prices are quite good however only if the pizzas are of a great quality.

Kids meals are a great option for young children who may not manage an adult sized portion. The kids menu as I stated before is seperated into two sections; "little kids" and "big kids". In each meal you get a salad bowl, a main and a drink- a little kids meal deal will only set you back a teeny £3.49 and a big kids meal will cost a little bit extra at a still very small £3.99.
Adding in a dessert will set you back a mear £1 and if your little monster wishes garlic bread alongside their main, it will cost you an additional 50p. I think 50p for one slice of garlic bread is pretty expensive however if your child eats it all up, it is in no way a waste of money!

Desserts can often be very expensive in restaurants like this however in Pizza Hut this is not the case and you could say the desserts are very good value for money. The ice cream factory, unlimited visits will only set you back £1.49 for your child and a mear £2.49 for yourself, if you are an adult. Personally I think that if you are able to go back as many times as you want these prices are absolutely brilliant!
All of the other desserts including fudge cake, banoffee pie, vanilla cheesecake will set you back £3.29, and the profiterole dessert a brilliant £2.99!

Pizza hut currently has some special "deals" on in which you can get special offers and special value for money in your meals. At the moment you can buy any individual pizza and a starter for yourself for a brilliant £6.99. You can also buy any medium pizza and any combo platter starter for two for a brilliant £12.99, and you can at the moment buy a large pizza, a medium pizza, a large combo platter starter and a large salad bowl for an excellent £24.99.

**

Overall I was thoroughly impressed with pizza hut and I definitley would recommend it for parties and such like! The staff make you feel incredibly welcome and there is no need to pre-book as there are normally plenty of tables left however if you do have a large party of people going it may be worth giving htem a quick ring just to make sure they will be able to accomidate you!

Aswell as booking through phone, it is also an option to book over the internet. This is a fairly easy process and can be done by visiting th 

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