Two for Tuesday – Pizza Hut vs Dominos

When I told Hardly-new-at-all-anymore Boyfriend that we were going to write a review comparing different brands of pizza, he could barely contain his excitement.

Pizza is his Best Thing. I think he likes cheesy bites more than he likes me. He is also pretty keen on complaining. He may well be the only person ever to have phoned the feedback number on the Dominos leaflet. Belle too is a big fan. In her top ten meals, pizza features twice – ‘packet pizza’ at number two, and ‘delivered pizza’ at number one.

We’ve also got a bit of a fascination for comparing things. My sister has mocked us for it in the past, particularly after her last visit, where we spent a considerable amount of time comparing the ingredients in chocolate chip brioche rolls from both Waitrose and Aldi, and calculating which had the better cake to chocolate ratio.

As I’m sure you can see, this task was perfect for us.

Our challenge was the ultimate in pizza comparisons – Dominos versus Pizza Hut. It was going to be an interesting experiment. Boyfriend is a dedicated Pizza Hut man, and was relishing the opportunity to slate Dominos. The girls and I however come from a small town with no Pizza Hut, so Dominos has always been our delivered pizza of choice.

We bravely faced the challenge…

Dominos

We went for Dominos first, our order consisting of one large meatalicious stuffed crust, one large half and half – ham and pineapple and vegetarian supreme, a kickers combo – chicken kickers and potato wedges and three garlic and herb dips. Never one to pay full price for anything if he can help it, Boyfriend found us a voucher online, and we got the whole lot for £22. Bargain.

It arrived after 20 minutes, and here it is in all its splendour:

Dominos pizza review

OK, so maybe it doesn’t look incredibly appetising, but it’s hard to take photos of pizza alright?

So, things we like about Dominos:

  • Each pizza came with a free dip, and there were handy holes in the box to put them in, which you don’t get with Pizza Hut
  • The toppings were really good – the vegetables tasted really fresh and the bacon actually looked and tasted of bacon, not weird pink cubes
  • The surface of the crust wasn’t too greasy
  • The dough was really light and fluffy
  • The garlic and herb dip was very tasty
  • They arrived very neatly and intact, with no cheese stuck to the inside of the box
  • “It tasted nice.” (Bee)
  • “I liked just all the pizza.” (Belle)

Things we weren’t so keen on:

  • The spicy dip
  • At one point Bee had a bit of a moment where she thought her throat was closing up and she made a quacking noise like she had a small duck wedged in her mouth. I personally think this was unrelated to the quality of the pizza.
  • The size – the crust is folded over, so pizzas were 13’ and 12.5’ and a standard large is 13.5’’. (Yes, we actually measured them. We take this very seriously you know.)
  • “I’ll be sick if I eat more, but I need more. Is that something you like or don’t like? It’s something that pains me. Physically and mentally.” (Bee)
  • It wasn’t overly hot.
  • The stuffed crust. We found the flavour a bit artificial and the garlic was overpowering.
  • I didn’t like the uneven cutting, although Belle said she liked this, because you could decide which size you wanted.

Dominos review

All in all it was very tasty. We concluded that the pizza itself and the quality of the toppings were the strong point, stuffed crust and sides were less inspiring. After we’d finished it looked like this:

Dominos review

Pizza Hut

In the name of a fair comparison, we ordered a similar selection – large crown crust super supreme, large stuffed crust make your own, with ham, pineapple and sweetcorn, chicken strips and potato wedges. One 50% off discount code later, and we had the whole lot in our living room in 25 minutes for just £23.

The new crust from Pizza Hut has meatballs in it. Actual meatballs. It’s bonkers:

Pizza Hut review

I was slightly concerned about the brown staining around the outside of the pizza, but Boyfriend assures me it’s quite normal, and just where they spray the pizza with ‘brown’, to make it look all golden and delicious. I don’t know if he is telling the truth, or just testing to see how gullible I am. Either way I not to let it put me off.

Things we liked about Pizza Hut:

  • It was nicely presented, and neatly cut. It had a fancy little stand in the middle too to stop the box squishing the pizza.
  • It arrived hotter than Dominos
  • “It was freakin’ delicious” (Boyfriend)
  • It was bigger
  • Good dips
  • The sides were much tastier – the chicken tasted like chicken and the potato wedges had more flavour
  • The stuffed crust was much nicer

The children don’t agree. “The stuffed crust is much nicer on this one,” I say. Bee looks at me like I’ve just said “so, I did a poo in the street today”.

“Noooo way,” she says, “the other one was way better.”

Each to her own.

Things we didn’t like about Pizza Hut:

  • I thought the base was a bit thin and rubbery, but Boyfriend preferred it.
  • The toppings weren’t as fresh
  • There was a funny pattern on the bottom, that looked a bit like the underside of a fern:

Dominos vs Pizza Hut

It made me a bit nervous.

“That’s just the thing they cook it on,” Bee reassured me.

“Well I don’t like it.”

“That’s because you’re weird, not because it’s weird.”

PS I am currently on the short list for the ‘Style’ award in the Brilliance in Blogging Awards. Please take half a minute to cast your vote and tick the Slummy single mummy box.

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13 Comments

  1. 29 November, 2011 / 9:13 pm

    It IS hard to take photos of pizza – you did a good job! Or maybe I’m just hungry?

    • 30 November, 2011 / 9:11 am

      I think it’s just that I posted at exactly the point in the evening when you could quite fancy a pizza :-)

  2. 29 November, 2011 / 10:09 pm

    think about it though – over £20 for 1 nights tea…..much cheaper to make your own, or grab and hot chicken and salad from asda (or is it just me thats a skin flint?)

    • 30 November, 2011 / 9:12 am

      Well you are right of course Elaine, it’s not cheap, but then we do eat frugally most of the time, so this is really a cheaper alternative to all going out for dinner.

  3. 29 November, 2011 / 10:50 pm

    Well just awesome. Best blog post ever in the history of blogging, mumpreneurs, mommyblogs, mumbloggers, bloghers, reviews, pizza related writings and reviews.

    No conclusive outcome though – life IS like that

    mcd’s vs kfc
    kebab vs chilli burgers
    labour vs conservatives/condems

    I can’t wait. Best blog on the web. Over

    • 30 November, 2011 / 9:14 am

      Lol, glad you enjoyed it Helen :-)

      No real conclusion though – Boyfriend remains a dedictaed Pizza Hut fan, for no more concrete a reason than ‘it just tastes better’ and the girls are keener on Dominos.

      Perhaps I should suggest to the Government that I get everyone round on different nights for Belle and Bee ask them some probing questions and me to take some unflattering photos?

  4. 30 November, 2011 / 9:58 am

    Haha fab post!! I love pizza too – my fav is Dominos I think, but having just applied for a job at Pizza Hut I better not tell them that lol!!

  5. 30 November, 2011 / 10:50 am

    THANK YOU! I never knew what that little stand thing that comes in the centre of the pizza was for until now!!

  6. Lisbeth
    30 November, 2011 / 11:00 pm

    HAHAHAHAHHAHAHA

  7. 2 December, 2011 / 4:15 pm

    That was by far the best taste comparison I’ve ever read. It made me chuckle out loud, and I’m at work, so it resulted in a strange look. I’m fine with the look though.

    I would love to read other comparisons. Top Gear vs. Graham Norton, or Graham Norton vs. Graham Crackers, or possibly Graham Crackers vs. bacon. Of course, it is hard to imagine bacon losing to anything.

  8. Jonathan
    21 January, 2013 / 4:00 pm

    yummy!!!!!!!!!!

    I like Dominos Pizza this because there many website where I can take Dominos Pizza Vouchers and save my money.

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