Pizza Express Bexleyheath has had a facelift, and it’s looking fresher than ever. 27 years after it first opened its doors, this high street favourite has levelled up, and just weeks after its rebirth, it’s had heads turning.

The new interior at Bexleyheath is stylishly and carefully curated, with black-and-gold pieces by Pizza Express’ original brand designer, Enzo Apicella, gilding the entry to the restaurant. Everybody loves watching a master Pizzaiolos at work, and the restaurant’s expanded open kitchen allows guests to spectate as their dough is flung, topped and baked, all with precision and panache. Far from a run-of-the-mill pizzeria, this is a cocktail lounge, glam event space and high-end eatery rolled into one.

As far as pizzas go, you know the score (mostly). They start at £11.50 for a classic Margherita and include all the time-honoured mas-dough-pieces – from Sloppy Giuseppe, to the classy ham and olive ‘La Reine’, to American Hot (plus American Hottest, for the bold). The Romana pizzas are the centrepiece – their thin crispy base has proved the most popular model over the years – plus chicken or ‘nduja calzones and the famous rectangular base pizza, the Calabrese. But there’s new glamorous options, too, to suit the suave surroundings. Meet the new low-cal concept pizza, the Leggera. It’s a pizza around the outside, a salad in the middle – magnifico.

There’s also three brand new Buddha bowls on offer for the less pizza-inclined (if they weren’t already à-la-mode enough), and of course the famous dough balls, served with mouthwatering garlic butter. Admit it, you’d eat it straight out of the pot if no-one was looking. There’s vegan options across every section of the menu, and gluten-free provision on a whopping 16 different pizzas. They might have upgraded the menu, but they haven’t outgrown their kids’ menu – three courses and a Bambinoccino for just £7.95.

Top class food, snazzy surroundings, and a bill that doesn’t bust the budget. I could get used to the new-look Pizza Express.