01 Nov PizzaExpress does World Vegan Day

Claim your free vegan dough balls today!

Today (November 1st) marks World Vegan Day across the world and PizzaExpress are giving Brits (vegan or not) free dough balls with the purchase of any vegan main. I headed down with my veg-curious mum to sample the vegan menu and let you guys know what’s on offer.

PizzaExpress has an exclusive vegan menu – and it’s not small. There are 13 fully-vegan dishes to choose from.

PizzaExpress – DENI KIRKOVA / BIKINI GIRLS DIARY

We chose to share the dough balls to start (of course) which came with olive oil and balsamic vinegar on the side, as well as a pestorissa (tomato & chilli harissa) dip. They were warm, delicious and fairly easy to dip – though using your knife helps a bit too.

We also had tasty olives with garlic and peppercorns and a couple of cocktails – the new sweet and fiery Rum Punch, made with spiced rum, cranberry & orange juice and lime & bitters, and the fresh and zesty Hugo St-Germain, which is prosecco over ice with elderflower, lemon and mint.

PizzaExpress – DENI KIRKOVA / BIKINI GIRLS DIARY

PizzaExpress – DENI KIRKOVA / BIKINI GIRLS DIARY

For mains, we shared 2 pizzas. We went for the new vegan Puttanesca, served on a thin Romana base with more surface area for toppings including olives, capers, red onions, chilli, garlic & herbs, vegan mozzarella and meat-mimicking jackfruit (which goes a bit like pulled pork!), and the ever-popular Giardiniera.

I’m a long-standing jackfruit fan but this was mum’s first taste of it. I have tried to convince her to try it before but she always said it ‘sounded too weird’. Anyway, a big thumbs up from her as she polished off her half of the pizza.

The Giardiniera with artichoke and vegan mozzarella was my favourite, as I love artichoke on pizza and I feel like it was more cheesy. Also the super-thin base is a little thin for my taste, I prefer something a little more in the middle – but not deep pan. Anyway, it also comes with comes with mushroom, red onion, olives, tomato, garlic oil and parsley.

PizzaExpress – DENI KIRKOVA / BIKINI GIRLS DIARY

We still had room for dessert – luckily. PizzaExpress have recently added a dairy-and-egg-free Dolcetti Carrot Cake, which we had to order. It’s fluffy and moist with a sweet icing on top, and it tastes just like any fresh and delicious carrot cake. Plus, it usually comes with a free coffee, which is amazing considering it costs less than a fiver, but we still had wine, so skipped out on a hot drink.

Knowing that you’ll get free dough balls makes today a great excuse to get yourself and your loved ones (vegan or not) down to sample the awesome vegan menu at PizzaExpress.

PizzaExpress – DENI KIRKOVA / BIKINI GIRLS DIARY