EXPRESS service is sometimes what you need when eating out - speaking as someone who cannot stand the apparent habit of waiters ignoring you when you want to pay the bill.

So Pizza Express has a promising name, especially when you are having an evening out at The Lowry, that magnificent arts and entertainment centre at Salford Quays, and the performance starts at 7.15pm.

The restaurant, part of a chain of 280, certainly lives up to the second half of its title.

Well-staffed and efficient, my wife and I were seated at our table by 5.15pm and out by 7pm, having given ourselves plenty of time to enjoy a leisurely meal that was nevertheless served promptly.

Pizza Express is one of three restaurants opposite The Lowry and can often be full if you turn up for your hoped-for meal too near the time of a show. Get there early!

Housed in the complex that contains The Lowry Designer Outlet shopping mall and its multi-storey car park, it is a tall, airy glass structure that exudes cool, modern elegance.

Parking is not cheap, although buying something in the mall gets you a refund and you can always use the tram from Manchester city centre or the Bury area. The stop is a five-minute walk away on the other side of one of the quays.

The menu is the usual mix of Italian food that can be cooked and served quickly: pizza, pasta, salads and delicious savoury breads.

We opted to share a starter: Bruschetta bread slices topped with warm roasted vegetables at £3.25. I prefer our local Italian restaurant which serves the vegetables cold, but they were enjoyable nonetheless.

For drink, we had a pleasant bottle of white Italian verdicchio - light and refreshing wine and excellent with food - which cost £13.15, and two bottles of sparkling mineral water at £1.75 each.

Our main courses both cost £6.95: A huge bowl of chicken caesar salad for my wife and a generous helping of ravioli funghi for myself. Again, they were very acceptable.

To finish, my wife had a delicious chocolate and vanilla ice cream bombe at £3 and I chose cassata at £3.25 - very good, but perhaps too much ice cream with not enough candied fruit that makes cassata so different.

Two excellent espresso coffees at £1.50 each finished the meal.

The total cost, without service, was £43.05 and we were happy to leave a good tip for the waiter who served us so promptly throughout the meal.

We would like to have lingered.

The pleasant ambience of the restaurant and its obvious popularity put us in a mellow mood - but we were ready and in good time for Smetana's The Bartered Bride, the opera dish of the evening being served up at the Lowry.

Star rating: 3 stars

Pizza Express, Manchester Outlet Mall, The Lowry Galleria,

The Lowry, Salford. Tel: 0161-877-3585

Opening times: Sunday to Thursday 11.30am to 10pm, Friday and Saturday 11.30am to 11pm.