The Spectator

A slice of history: how did Britain’s pizza industry begin?

issue 12 October 2019

A slice of history

Pizza Express is to undergo financial restructuring, leading to fears that it could go under. How did the pizza industry in Britain begin?
— The first record of an Italian restaurant was the Italian Eating House off Leicester Square, opened in 1803, though it is not known whether or not it served pizza.
— The Olivelli restaurant in Store Street, Bloomsbury, opened in 1934. Early documents found on the premises included a recipe for margherita pizza.
— Pizza Express was the first chain of pizza restaurants in Britain, its first branch opening in Wardour Street in 1965.
— Pizzaland opened its first branch in 1970. It was bought out and its branches converted to Pizza Hut in 1996.
— Pizza Hut first appeared in Islington in 1973, and Domino’s Pizza in Luton in 1985.




Death and taxes

Housing minister Robert Jenrick raised the possibility that the government might cut or abolish inheritance tax (IHT).

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