'We tried everything on Papa John's new summer menu - there was clear standout'
If you're in the mood for pizza after a long Monday at work then the new Papa John's summer menu has launched just in time.
The fast-food chain has released a number of limited-edition items which will be available throughout July and August, including four brand-new pizzas, three side dishes, and a dessert. As such, The Mirror decided to give these all a try and see which we thought were worth ordering and which to avoid.
On the summer menu, you'll find two pizzas with a special crispy cheese base, which have toppings such as chicken and pepperoni and four cheese. There's also a new chicken, pesto, and mushroom pizza as well as a four cheese and pesto pizza.
And that's not where the pesto stops as the company also introduced pesto and cheese sticks, in addition to revamping their Papas bites to include chicken and cheese flavours, and cheese and jalapeño ones. To round off the whole lot there's also a sweet version of the bites, which are filled with Oreo cookies.
So what did we make of the new offerings? Here's our verdict...
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Four Cheese on Crispy Cheese Pizza (Daily Mirror)Four Cheese on Crispy Cheese Pizza from £21.78
The crispy cheese base on this pizza sounded intriguing and we were very excited to dig in, expecting it to be a cheese extravaganza that would leave us feeling sick in a good way. However, it ended up being a letdown. The new type of base was little more than a thin crust with a light scattering of cheese burned into the bottom of the dough, and neither that nor the toppings were as cheesy as we'd hoped. The tomato sauce was actually the strongest-tasting part of the whole thing.
Between us, we agreed that if we didn't know it was meant to be four cheese, we probably would have guessed it was just a bog-standard margherita - which would be fine if it didn't cost £21 to purchase. It's a perfectly average pizza, but it's definitely not worth the price tag.
The chicken and pepperoni pizza (Daily Mirror)Chicken and Pepperoni on Crispy Cheese Pizza from £21.78
This pizza was a big hit with everyone and came in second place for the taste test as we felt it looked very appetising and had just the right amount of toppings that were spread out evenly over the base so as not to overwhelm the cheese and tomato sauce. The pieces of chicken were a good size, as were the pepperoni and both worked well together.
Overall it tasted great. The only fault was the crispy cheese base on this pizza, which just as before was disappointing and added very little to the whole experience. Again at this price point, it does seem a bit steep, but it was quite a big pizza so would probably feed quite a few people and might be better value if you split the cost.
Four cheese and pesto pizza (Daily Mirror)Four Cheese & Pesto Pizza from £13.79
After the first two thin-crust pizzas it was nice to have a thicker base on this one and we were big fans of the softness of the bread. This pizza wasn't everyone's favourite but it was definitely fun to try for the novelty aspect as many of us had never had pesto on pizza before.
We suggested it might taste even better with some chicken pieces added on top, but this still tastes pretty great as is, though we'd argue It's not quite a pizza in the traditional sense, a bit more like pasta sauce spread on top of some bread, but it works.
Chicken, pesto and mushroom pizza (Daily Mirror)Chicken, Pesto & Mushroom Pizza from £13.79
Usually tucking into a pizza involves some excitement, but this one only sparked horror in our taste test group when we discovered that it didn't have a tomato base and that there was no tomato at all on this pizza. Just cheese and pesto.
The combination made for a very greasy, oily pizza, and to make matters worse the chicken and mushroom toppings were lost to the taste of red onion, which overwhelmed the whole thing.
This one definitely wasn't a winner in our eyes and was probably the worst pizza of the bunch. We definitely wouldn't order it again.
Pesto and cheese sticks (Daily Mirror)Pesto & Cheese Sticks from £4.99
Another new addition to the menu, these pesto and cheese sticks were very similar to the cheese and pesto pizza from earlier, just cut up into thin strips instead of slices.
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However, without a tomato base, these definitely needed the dip to elevate the taste, which was nice but a little bit boring.
Cheesy Chicken Papa Bites (Papa John)Cheesy Chicken Papa Bites from £5.29
The Cheesy Chicken Papa Bites are proof that first appearances can be deceiving as we all were under the impression that they didn't look too good, with one member of the group comparing them to snails.
However, we quickly ate our words and these were proclaimed the standout item of the taste test. They were the clear winner, with a deliciously doughy texture, generous filling, and a delicious cheesy, garlic taste.
We quickly devoured the whole box between the four of us. They really were that good.
Jalapeno and Cheese Papa Bites (Daily Mirror)Jalapeno and Cheese Papa Bites from £4.79
The last round of Papa Bites was a hard act to follow, and while the Jalapeno and Cheese ones looked a bit more appetising, they sadly didn't quite measure up. That's not to say they taste bad at all, they just weren't quite as impressive. However if you are vegetarian and like a bit of spice, then these would be a good alternative for you.
Oreo Papa Bites (Daily Mirror)Oreo Cookie Papa Bites from £5.29
These bites proved to be the reverse of the chicken ones, as they definitely looked better than they tasted. They were smaller in size than the savoury version and were drizzled in icing, which made for a sticky, sweet treat. However, they proved to be a bit too dry for our tastes.
The dough was chewier than the others and the cookie filling added little to the mix. If you're a mega Oreo fan then you might like these more than we did, but our verdict was that they'd have been easily improved if the cookies were removed and the dough was filled with some form of liquid chocolate, such as Nutella.
Have you tried the new Papa John's menu? Let us know what your favourite item was in the comments below.
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