In Morningside there is a Pizza Express built in a very unique location. The eatery is built inside the remains of an old parish church.
Pizza Express Morningside was, once upon a time, known as Braid Church. The place of worship was originally built back in 1886 and was used actively for years.
More recently, it has been a community centre attached to Morningside Parish Church nearby before being sold in 2009 by Church of Scotland to G&L Properties.
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G&L intended to turn the property into a theatre with a 400 seat auditorium, bar and studio but now, it’s been converted into a Pizza Express restaurant.
Construction began in 2012 and took around ten weeks to complete. The building itself is a listed historic building so Pizza Express had to work alongside Historic Scotland in order to make sure as much of the heritage of the building was maintained.
Remnants of the building's former life are present throughout the entire restaurant. Except for a Pizza Express sign, the exterior of the building really hasn’t been altered since its days as a place of worship.
The entrance to the building is under a mezzanine held up by pillars, the building is still flanked on either side by the church's old bell towers and the arched windows and pointed roof all add to the church aesthetic.
The main seating area has been converted from the auditorium of the church and behind the counter, the old organ looms over the room. They’ve also kept as much of the original interior as possible. Including the old hard wood panelling to the balcony edge and pillar casings.
The mezzanine itself may no longer be used but the huge windows let in a fantastic amount of natural light.
