Thursday, December 12Royal Holloway's offical student publication, est. 1986

An Ode to Domino’s

Pizza is the love language of people all around the world; I’ll continue to endorse this until my lactose intolerance wins its ongoing battle for my attention. It is an incredibly versatile comfort food, from the variety of toppings to the versatile uses. Hangovers, date nights, cram nights or simply in need of a trusted companion – pizza consistently provides. It’s a student staple, providing us with more stability than most of our love lives. Thus, I feel it is my duty as a student to finalise the long-lasting debate: which is the superior pizza takeaway?

Within my first week at Royal Holloway, it became abundantly clear that Domino’s would be draining my bank account. Yes, it is higher on the price scale than other take outs, but you can quite literally taste the difference, to quote Sainsbury’s. Domino’s is always the perfect balance between greasy goodness and freshly made. The popularity of the brand speaks for itself. 

Domino’s has perfected the idea of the ‘meal deal’; they undoubtedly offer the greatest variety of deals for a price range that makes debt-ridden students believe they’re actually getting value for money (which Domino’s profit margins demonstrate is not the case). Domino’s onsite ordering process differentiates them from the competition and marks them as the market leader they are: make no mistake, Domino’s is a powerhouse. Their built-in tracker for the pizza only adds to the experience; it’s marketing genius. 

Having said this, Papa John’s produces a compelling competition for Domino’s with the reward system in place and convenient offers such as the ‘home alone’ deal, which caters to  the reality that we all crave some alone time with pizza, without the fuss of housemates and ‘who ordered the veggie without mushrooms? Who ordered the no corn one??’ Papa Johns is also cheaper than Domino’s and has a slightly lower delivery requirement, which for many would tip the scale. However, I have often run out of time to collect on the reward system, meaning I lose my points. I find the website noticeably more difficult to use than the Domino’s one. I know I’m a sucker for well-marketed consumerism, and it’s this, alongside the slightly inferior taste of Papa Johns that makes my experience of Domino’s a great deal more enjoyable. 

We have all walked past an unbranded pizza takeout restaurant – to clarify, I am not referring to family-run authentic Italian restaurants (because putting them on this list would be an insult to them, let’s face it). I’m referring to places advertised as a takeout, Burger Max for example. These are the perfect stomach lining pizzas since they are always covered in masses of oil and tend to be easy on the student bank account. Admittedly, there are those who prefer this, claiming: it ‘tastes better cold’ (Amy Carr, 2021). But these take-outs serve one purpose only in my pizza place portfolio: they give momentary satisfaction but leave my forehead feeling like I’ve personally rubbed olive oil into my pores. The lack of versatility and lack of quality cannot be dismissed.

Domino’s also has the most consistent delivery service on the market. They are so consistent that, at this point, I can predict the time it will arrive without needing the tracker. This is such an important factor when I’m ordering as I want to be confident that I will get what I paid for in the time scale I’ve been given. This just hasn’t been my experience with the likes of Papa Johns and Pizza Hut. Comparatively, they’re that unreliable friend who says she’ll be there at two, but never arrives before three. And doesn’t apologise. 

Ultimately, you’re free to come to your own conclusions – even if that means being a Burger Max-loving freak. But I for one will remain Domino’s No.1 fan girl and will be accepting sponsorships. 

Image credit: Photo by Vishu on Unsplash