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In the past, the popular pizza chain was the top choice for families and friends to feast on its eat-as-much-as-you-like offering, endless salad selection, and make-your-own dessert.

Yet a declining number of patrons are frequenting the chain nowadays, and it is reducing a significant portion of its UK restaurants after being bought out of administration for the second instance this year.

It was common to visit Pizza Hut when I was a child,” explains a young adult. “It was a regular outing, you'd go on a Sunday – turn it into an event.” However, at present, as a young adult, she states “it's no longer popular.”

For young customer Martina, the very elements Pizza Hut has been famous for since it launched in the UK in the 1970s are now not-so-hot.

“How they do their buffet and their salad bar, it feels like they are lowering standards and have reduced quality... They offer so much food and you're like ‘How?’”

Since food prices have risen sharply, Pizza Hut's unlimited dining format has become quite costly to run. The same goes for its restaurants, which are being sliced from 132 to a smaller figure.

The company, like many others, has also experienced its costs increase. Earlier this year, employee wages rose due to higher minimum pay and an higher rate of employer social security payments.

Chris, 36, and Joanne, 29 mention they frequently dined at Pizza Hut for a date “occasionally”, but now they get delivery from Domino's and think Pizza Hut is “not good value”.

Based on your selection, Pizza Hut and Domino's prices are comparable, explains an industry analyst.

Although Pizza Hut does offer off-premise options through delivery platforms, it is losing out to big rivals which solely cater to this market.

“Domino's has taken over the takeaway pizza sector thanks to intensive advertising and ongoing discounts that make customers feel like they're saving money, when in reality the original prices are on the higher side,” explains the analyst.

However for the couple it is justified to get their special meal sent directly.

“We predominantly have meals at home now instead of we eat out,” comments one of the diners, reflecting recent statistics that show a decrease in people going to informal dining spots.

During the summer months, casual and fast-food restaurants saw a six percent decline in patrons compared to the previous year.

Additionally, another rival to ordered-in pies: the frozen or fresh pizza.

An industry leader, senior partner at a leading firm, explains that not only have supermarkets been selling good-standard ready-to-bake pizzas for years – some are even offering pizza-making appliances.

“Lifestyle changes are also having an impact in the success of fast-food chains,” states the analyst.

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

Since people visit restaurants not as often, they may prefer a more upscale outing, and Pizza Hut's American-diner style with comfortable booths and red and white checked plastic table cloths can feel more retro than luxurious.

The growth of high-quality pizzerias” over the last several years, such as boutique chains, has “dramatically shifted the general opinion of what good pizza is,” notes the culinary analyst.

“A light, fresh, easy-to-digest product with a carefully curated additions, not the massively greasy, heavy and overloaded pizzas of the past. That, arguably, is what's caused Pizza Hut's decline,” she comments.

“Who would choose to spend £17.99 on a small, substandard, disappointing pizza from a large brand when you can get a beautiful, masterfully-made traditional pie for under a tenner at one of the many authentic Italian pizzerias around the country?

“It's a no-brainer.”

A mobile pizza vendor, who runs Smokey Deez based in Suffolk explains: “It's not that stopped liking pizza – they just want higher quality at a fair price.”

The owner says his mobile setup can offer high-quality pie at reasonable rates, and that Pizza Hut faced challenges because it failed to adapt with new customer habits.

According to Pizzarova in a city in southwest England, owner Jack Lander says the pizza market is broadening but Pizza Hut has neglected to introduce anything new.

“You now have individual slices, London pizza, New Haven-style, sourdough, traditional Italian, Detroit – it's a delightful challenge for a pie fan to try.”

Jack says Pizza Hut “should transform” as the youth don't have any sense of nostalgia or allegiance to the company.

Over time, Pizza Hut's market has been fragmented and spread to its fresher, faster competitors. To keep up its expensive staffing and restaurants, it would have to charge more – which commentators say is difficult at a time when personal spending are shrinking.

The managing director of Pizza Hut's international markets said the buyout aimed “to protect our customer service and protect jobs where possible”.

He said its key goal was to maintain service at the remaining 64 restaurants and off-premise points and to support colleagues through the change.

Yet with large sums going into running its restaurants, it likely can't afford to invest too much in its off-premise division because the sector is “complicated and working with existing delivery apps comes at a price”, analysts say.

Still, experts suggest, reducing expenses by leaving competitive urban areas could be a effective strategy to adapt.