A vegan meal has left a woman outraged. Photo / Getty Images
A vegan meal has left a woman outraged. Photo / Getty Images
An incredulous vegan diner has shared a snap of the tragic-looking "pizza" she was served in a branch of Pizza Express - topped only with "sour" tomato sauce and raw red onions.
Mary Nesbitt-Larking, 26, was at a Pizza Express in Hatfield, Hertfordshire, last month when she was told the kitchen had run out of vegan cheese, reported the Daily Mail.
Instead of changing dishes, she opted to add pine nuts and onions to the pizza and have it without the cheese.
But when it arrived an hour later, the kitchen had forgotten the pine nuts - despite charging $3.50 per topping - and served the dish with raw red onions on top.
Mary, who posted a throwback snap of the "monstrosity" on Facebook this week to the amusement of her followers, said she paid $17 for the pizza because she "would have eaten anything as long as it was vegan" after her hour-long wait.
Mary Nesbitt-Larking was served this sad-looking pizza at a Pizza Express in Hatfield, Hertfordshire, last month after the kitchen ran out of vegan cheese. Photo / Mary Nesbitt-Larking
Speaking to Femail, she said: "Vegan food options are amazing, and Pizza Express are incredible usually, it was just that one time they failed so epically.
"It was so awkward because I'd waited over an hour and at that point I would have eaten anything as long as it was vegan.
"It tasted like undercooked flat bread with a whole tin of tomatoes over it that were really sour, and had raw, red onions on top."
Miss Nesbitt-Larking, who switched to a vegan diet more than five years ago, said that usually Pizza Express has amazing options and is one of her favourite chain restaurants to visit.
She added: "Vegan options have become a million per cent better, when I first went vegan I went into my local Tesco and the options were just soya milk, but now you're spoiled for choice.
Throwback to this monstrosity at Pizza Express in Hatfield. 😂🤦🏼♀️ They were out of vegan cheese and forgot my pinenuts...
"Now there's a huge aisle for vegan or dairy free food, and at restaurants, it's almost unusual to not have a vegan menu now."
Miss Nesbitt-Larking took to Facebook to post about the pizza, saying: "Throwback to this monstrosity at Pizza Express in Hatfield. [laughing emoji, facepalm emoji]
"They were out of vegan cheese and forgot my pinenuts."
Other incredulous vegans have expressed their shock that Pizza Express served the pizza, and more importantly, that she was willing to pay $17 for it.
Jason Finnegan said: "No way. I've never seen anything like it. Surely it was a bad joke."
Hannah Eve O'Reilly added: "Brilliant. Not funny at the time I'm sure, but pretty funny to look back on!!!"
Stephanie Lund commented: "Didn't need a pizza cutter just fold it up!"
Pizza Express, you’re improving every time I visit 🤤
A spokesperson for Pizza Express told Femail: "We take great pride in crafting delicious pizzas that our customers love - on this occasion, we let Mary down and apologise for her disappointing experience.
"We are following up to find out what went wrong and, by way of an apology, have invited Mary back to PizzaExpress with a friend, to try our new Autumn dishes and dedicated Vegan menu, which includes the new Vegan Puttanesca."
