Instead of being a typical fast food outlet, Pizza, Pizza Express has introduced a diner where pizzas are eaten with proper cutlery, starchy white napkins and white crockery. No self-service, tacky cardboard or plastic trays here. The restaurant has a live band playing all nights (except Thursdays) and happy hours between 4 pm and 7 pm. ``We are trying to create the atmosphere of a five star restaurant but a place that is not as expensive,'' says Vivek Suri (manager, projects) of the restaurant chain.

And to keep up this facade, the restaurant has invested heavily in doing up its interiors. ``Also, we like to maintain the restaurant like the way it looked on the first day it opened,'' says Suri. The Delhi outlet opened more than a year ago, but the owners have been quietwith the publicity. ``We rarely advertise our pizzas and prefer to use the word-of-mouth method to spread the news about our restaurant,'' says Kaushik Roy, in-charge of training and sales promotions. The company plans to open another outlet in South Delhi soon and 48 restaurants in other cities by the end of next year.

The pizzas are made in an open kitchen and most of the ingredients are imported. ``We use white onions instead of the regular ones, pimentos instead of capsicum, mozzarella instead of tinned cheese,'' says Suri. The pizzas are also bigger in size and naturally the prices are higher.

The restaurant is trying to be different from its competitors in more ways than one. Pizza, Pizza Express has the widest range of pizzas compared with the pizza menu offered by the other popular pizza eateries. The service is also different with red chillies in olive oil, grated Parmesan cheese and oregano flakes replacing the usual chilli and mustard sauces.

As a special promotion, on Sundays, the restaurantentertains the kids with face painting, tattoos and magic shows while parents eat undisturbed.

A meal for two here could easily cost Rs 350 to Rs 450. The coffee and desserts are specially recommended with freshly brewed, strong coffee and rich desserts being offered.