POPULAR restaurant chain Pizza Hut has announced the return of its hugely popular buffet service, following Wales’s move to alert level zero.

A staple of the Pizza Hut experience for many years, the all you can eat lunchtime buffet was halted in March 2020, when all indoor dining was halted by the pandemic.

Once restaurants, including Pizza Hut branches in Newport and Gwent were able to reopen, social distancing made buffet services unviable.

Instead, customers had to make do with what was described as a ‘bluffet’ – all you can eat dining, albeit with table service instead.

However, a spokeswoman for the restaurant chain revealed that this did not prove to be nearly as popular.

She revealed that once the buffet was reintroduced in English branches following 'Freedom Day' last month, weekly sales figures for lunchtime service doubled.

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If that wasn’t proof enough, nearly five million Pizza Hut buffet meals were ordered in the UK in 2019.

Along with the buffet, the salad bar, self-service ice cream machine, and bottomless soft drink refills are also returning to branches in Wales.

Bosses at the chain have stressed that even with the change, hygiene and cleaning measures will remain in place to ensure that the change keeps staff and customers safe.

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Kathryn Austin, chief people and marketing officer at Pizza Hut Restaurants, said: “We are excited to be able to finally put our guests back in control and give them their beloved Buffet back. We’re so happy to be able to re-unite them with all their favourites, from the unlimited Pizza and Salad Bar to the Ice Cream Factory and Bottomless Pepsi Max.

 “We’d also like to thank all of our brilliant team members at Huts across Wales for their hard work under the difficult circumstances of the past 18 months.

“While we’re celebrating the return of our much-loved unlimited offerings, the safety of our guests and team members remains paramount and so we ask that all our customers act responsibly when dining with us.”

The Pizza Hut lunchtime buffet returns to Wales today (Monday August 9).

It runs on weekdays until 3pm, and costs £8.99 for adults, and £5.99 for kids.

Pizza Hut branches near me

There are a number of Pizza Hut branches in the South Wales area, including:

  • Newport - Unit 22 Newport Retail Park, Spytty Road, Newport, Gwent, NP19 4QR
  • Newport Cardiff Road - 18 Cardiff Road, Newport, Gwent, NP20 2ED
  • Blackwood - 71 High Street, Blackwood, Caerphilly, NP12 1BA
  • Cwmbran - Unit 2, Grange road, Cwmbran, NP44 3XU