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Once, the popular pizza chain was the top choice for groups and loved ones to enjoy its eat-as-much-as-you-like offering, endless salad selection, and self-serve ice-cream.

However fewer customers are visiting the restaurant these days, and it is reducing 50% of its British outlets after being bought out of administration for the second time this calendar year.

“We used to go Pizza Hut when I was a child,” notes Prudence. “It was a tradition, you'd go on a Sunday – turn it into an event.” But now, in her mid-twenties, she says “it's no longer popular.”

According to young customer Martina, the very elements Pizza Hut has been famous for since it started in the UK in the seventies are now not-so-hot.

“How they do their buffet and their salad bar, it appears that they are cheapening on their quality and have reduced quality... They offer so much food and you're like ‘How is that possible?’”

Because ingredient expenses have risen sharply, Pizza Hut's unlimited dining format has become increasingly pricey to maintain. The same goes for its restaurants, which are being reduced from 132 to just over 60.

The chain, in common with competitors, has also seen its operating costs go up. In April this year, staffing costs jumped due to rises in minimum wages and an increase in employer national insurance contributions.

Two diners mention they frequently dined at Pizza Hut for a date “occasionally”, but now they choose a rival chain and think Pizza Hut is “not good value”.

Depending on your choices, Pizza Hut and Domino's costs are close, notes a culinary author.

While Pizza Hut has takeaway and deliveries through third-party apps, it is missing out to big rivals which solely cater to the delivery sector.

“Domino's has managed to dominate the off-premise pizza industry thanks to aggressive marketing and constantly running deals that make customers feel like they're saving money, when in reality the standard rates are on the higher side,” explains the specialist.

Yet for the couple it is justified to get their special meal brought to their home.

“We predominantly have meals at home now instead of we eat out,” explains the female customer, matching current figures that show a decline in people visiting informal dining spots.

Over the summer, quick-service eateries saw a 6% drop in diners compared to last summer.

There is also one more competitor to ordered-in pies: the supermarket pizza.

A hospitality expert, global lead for leisure at an advisory group, notes that not only have retailers been providing premium oven-ready pizzas for years – some are even selling pizza-making appliances.

“Shifts in habits are also playing a factor in the success of casual eateries,” states the analyst.

The increased interest of low-carb regimens has increased sales at chicken shops, while affecting sales of high-carbohydrate options, he adds.

As people go out to eat less frequently, they may seek out a more high-quality meal, and Pizza Hut's retro theme with booth seating and red and white checked plastic table cloths can feel more old-fashioned than premium.

The rise of premium pizza outlets” over the last decade and a half, for example boutique chains, has “dramatically shifted the public's perception of what quality pizza is,” explains the culinary analyst.

“A thin, flavorful, gentle crust with a carefully curated additions, not the overly oily, dense and piled-high pizzas of the past. This, in my view, is what's resulted in Pizza Hut's downfall,” she comments.

“Who would choose to spend £17.99 on a tiny, mediocre, unsatisfying pizza from a large brand when you can get a gorgeous, skillfully prepared traditional pie for less than ten pounds at one of the many authentic Italian pizzerias around the country?

“The decision is simple.”

A mobile pizza vendor, who runs a pizza van based in a county in England explains: “It's not that fallen out of love with pizza – they just want improved value.”

He says his adaptable business can offer gourmet pizza at accessible prices, and that Pizza Hut faced challenges because it was unable to evolve with new customer habits.

At a small pizza brand in a city in southwest England, the proprietor says the pizza market is expanding but Pizza Hut has failed to offer anything fresh.

“Currently available are individual slices, London pizza, new haven, fermented dough, traditional Italian, Detroit – it's a delightful challenge for a pizza enthusiast to explore.”

The owner says Pizza Hut “must rebrand” as the youth don't have any fond memories or allegiance to the company.

Over time, Pizza Hut's customer base has been sliced up and distributed to its fresher, faster competitors. To maintain its expensive staffing and restaurants, it would have to increase costs – which commentators say is tough at a time when personal spending are shrinking.

A senior executive of Pizza Hut's overseas branches said the acquisition aimed “to ensure our customer service and retain staff where possible”.

He said its key goal was to continue operating at the remaining 64 restaurants and off-premise points and to support colleagues through the transition.

However with significant funds going into running its restaurants, it probably cannot to invest too much in its off-premise division because the market is “complex and partnering with existing third-party platforms comes at a cost”, commentators say.

But, he adds, lowering overhead by withdrawing from oversaturated towns and city centres could be a good way to adapt.