Pizza Express has become the latest restaurant to start to reopen its doors with plans for 13 sites to offer delivery services.
The decision to reopen the sites from Thursday, 28 May comes as Wagamama, KFC, McDonald's, Greggs and Subway are all making similar plans or have started trading again after shutting due to the coronavirus lockdown.
Pizza Express managing director Zoe Bowley said the chain would offer an edited menu from restaurants in "London villages" - including Notting Hill, Balham and Fulham - where demand is highest.
Writing in industry newsletter Propel, she said: "We will do this to test and learn, and then it will enable us to programme the roll-out and ultimately pave the way for dine in the future."
Wagamama operated a similar strategy - reopening four branches in London and Leeds on April 30, before announcing today another 60 would follow in the next few weeks.
Restaurants and bars have been allowed to remain open during lockdown but only for takeaways and deliveries.
However, many larger chains chose to shut completely, to protect staff from travelling to work.
Bowley added Pizza Express would be following rival Domino's Pizza, by offering a limited menu initially, to ensure staff can work safely in kitchens and prep areas.
“In recent weeks, naturally our number one priority has been to protect the safety and wellbeing of our teams and customers," she said.
"With this in mind we opted to take some extra time to ensure our phased re-opening happens in a safe and responsible way in line with Government advice.
"Fortunately our ‘At Home’ supermarket range has been proving more popular than ever for superfans craving the unmistakable taste of PizzaExpress, whilst our pizzerias have been closed.
"We’re now delighted to confirm the start of a phased delivery only trial across selected London pizzerias from Thursday, 28 May.
"Once this trial has been safely completed, we’ll consider our plans for further roll out, so do keep an eye on our website and social feeds for the latest news on this.”
The 13 restaurants planning to reopen for delivery
- Chiswick
- Notting Hill Gate
- Ealing
- Abbeville Road
- Shepherd's Bush
- Wandsworth Trinity Road
- Greenwich
- Belsize Park
- Dulwich
- Camden
- Croydon George Street
- Fulham Road
- Balham
