Italian Restaurant Zizzi 73-75 The Strand London WC2R 0DE
Inside Zizzi
The tables
We have been to Zizzi a few times but it has been a while since we were last there. Back for a review now! Zizzi is an Italian chain, with a restaurant located on The Strand. We do not see much of it from the street but it is quite big. Everything is located in the basement and from upstairs we have a good overview of the whole dining area and the kitchen, huge woodstone oven included. It is nicely decorated for a basic chain restaurant.
We ordered a pizza Fiorentina (Spinach, buffalo milk ricotta, egg, tomato, mozzarella, finished with garlic oil, grated nutmeg and grana panado cheese – £7.95) and a pizza Trentino (Smoked mountain ham, buffalo milk mozzarella, santos tomatoes, rocket and grana padano cheese – £9.50). Both with their new rustica pizza option (£1.95 more per pizza) described as “Bigger, thinner and crispier bases, which means more room for your favourite topping!”. We ordered a large bottle of Peroni beer (£5.95) too.
Zizzi does not have the best pizzas in London by any stretch of the imagination, but it does very well for a chain. The Fiorentina pizza was pretty good. The rustica option (rectangular pizza with a thin base) is a good addition to their menu, and the thinner crispier (without being hard) base is an improvement on their usual style. In the case of the Fiorentina pizza, that means enough room for 2 eggs. They were perfectly cooked, still liquid inside. An interesting change to the topping since the last time I took this pizza is the addition of buffalo ricotta – which has a sort of whipped cream-like texture. I have not quite decided yet if I like that or not, but it certainly makes the pizza that bit more interesting. The Trentino pizza was nice, with excellent ham and buffalo mozzarella. It is a little like a copy of my favourite Buffalo pizza at Pizzeria Rustica in Richmond – well below Rustica’s standard, while still being good. The beer was perfectly cold. Not that common in London.
Cold Peroni beer
Pizza Fiorentina
Details of the pizza Fiorentina
Pizza Trentino
Details of the pizza Trentino
The pizzas were served on a nice wooden tray
Cost and conclusion: it was £27.30 service charge not included. At Zizzi all tips and gratuities are discretionary. I really like that policy. Since the service was good, they got a tip of course. Overall, a decent meal and a good safe option on the high street especially compared to the Fire and Stone not far away. We will be back, especially since the office is only two minutes walk away.
Mexican restaurant Wahaca 66 Chandos Place Covent Garden London WC2N 4HG
Mexican restaurant Wahaca
Spacious room
Watching the kitchen
Wahaca is a Mexican restaurant located in Covent Garden, not far from Charing Cross tube station. From outside it does not look big but as soon as you enter and go downstairs, you see the bar and behind it the huge open space. Usually I do not like eating in a basement but here I have to say it was fine. Probably because of the large room and the fun design. The atmosphere was great and the music not too loud. Fortunately we did not have to do the queue, as we came early for dinner, but by the time we left there were people waiting on the stairs.
I am not a specialist of Mexican food. I mostly ate Mexican food when I lived in Los Angeles (that was over 10 years ago) and I remember it was quite filling. That said, I did enjoy US Mexican cuisine, Taco Bell included. At Wahaca, we initially ordered two main courses only, assuming that that would be enough but actually they were not so we ordered more food. Thus, we managed to have the main courses followed by starters, which is a first for me.
As main courses we had the Classic enchilada (described as Succulent free-range chicken bathed in our house tomato sauce and sprinkled with crumbled cheese – £8.50) and a Marinated, grilled chicken (described as chargrilled, free range chicken in our homemade Yucatecan marinade with cumin, oregano and spices. Served with coriander rice and pink pickled onions – £8.50).
The classic enchilada wasn’t that great. Most of the problem with this dish is the minimal amount of chicken in it. Can you really call it “chicken” when the customer needs a magnifying glass to find it? I think tomato sauce tortilla with chicken flavour might be a bit more accurate. It was mostly sauce and tortilla. Mexican food (at least in London) has a tendancy to be very bland, and on the plus side, I would say it was the least bland mexican food I’ve had here. But £8.50 for a tortilla that had almost no filling is a bit steep. It could have used a more generous sprinkling of cheese too.
The marinated grilled chicken was good. It had flavours, was tender and it was nicely burnt. I found the meal on the small side but at least it was good. I used the red spicy sauce with it and it was seriously hot. If you are not into hot spicy stuff, avoid the red sauce and take the green sauce which was very mildly spicy.
Since we were still hungry (what a contrast compared to Taco Bell in the US where I almost had to nap because the portions were too big for me), we ordered a Chipotle chicken (Chicken cooked in a spicy tomato marinade, with cheese – £3.75) and a Beef salpicón (described as tender, shredded, aromatic beef with spicy habanero and red onion salsa – £3.75).
The chipotle chicken was OK. Kind of a small mexican toasted sandwich. As with the rest though, I’d make the complaint that there is seriously little meat in here. Dipped into the spicy sauce the taste was good. The beef dish was also OK. The shredded beef seemed very watery though… combined with my experiences of the other dishes containing minimal meat, I am left with the impression that this restaurant is trying to spend as little as possible per customer.
As drinks, we had the Tequila Limon (lime, tequila and sugar blitzed with ice – £7) which is a shot drink for two and a Mojito (tequila, mint, lime and apples – £6). The Tequila Limon was not good. I found it to be too watered. I miss the Cadillac Margarita I could get in California. The Mojito was not great either. It was too full of ice and the alcohol was not mixed through.
Classic enchilada (£8.50)
Marinated, grilled chicken (£8.50)
Details of the grilled chicken
Beef salpicón (£3.75)
Chipotle chicken (£3.75)
Overview
Mojito and Tequila limon
Cost and conclusion: it was £37.50 service charge not included. I like the fact they did not automatically add a 12.5% service charge. They will add it to parties of five or more though. I think it should be left to the appreciation of the customers only. The service was friendly though a little erratic (like the food). Overall, the food is OK and it is nice to have large tables but it seems very overpriced for what it is, and certainly not worth standing in a queue for.
Restaurant Le Vauban 7 bis rue Thuret 06600 Antibes France
The old town of Antibes. You can see the tower of the Musée Picasso.
View of the Fort Carré in the evening. The marina is largest yachting harbour in Europe.
Antibes is a very pleasant town in the French riviera located between Nice and Cannes. From Nice airport it is about 10 minutes’ drive to get there. Of course, it depends on how crowded the roads are and during the summer things can get pretty busy. The port of Vauban, dominated by the Fort Carré, is the largest yachting harbour in Europe. You can admire some of the world’s biggest luxury yachts while walking there. If you have the time, visit the Cap d’Antibes where you can walk along the coast. You need to park your car at la Garoupe Parking and it is about a 2 hours walk along a coastal path between the sea and beautiful villas. The vegetation is very nice too with tall Aleppo pines.
The restaurant Le Vauban, named after the Marshall of France, Marquis de Vauban who designed the fortification of the Fort Carré (photo above), is quite discreet. It is easy to miss it in the street because there is no terrace and the door is closed because of the air conditioning so it is quiet inside, far from all the tourists. It is nicely decorated but more attention could be paid, for example some flowers were not that fresh, with some dead leaves on the ground.
We ordered the menu of the day at 19.95 euros and the Vauban menu at 27 euros. Both are set menus with several choices. The menu of the day gave a choice between the Tartare de foie gras aux mediants (duck liver) et jus de mangue or the saumon fumé (smoked salmon) et pousses de roquette as starters, between the Filet de lingue étuvée de fenouil (fish) or the Rôti de porc, purée de pommes de terre (pork with mashed potato) as main courses and between the Moelleux au chocolat or the Marinade de fraises as dessert. The Vauban menu offered a choice between 3 dishes for each course. As starters, you can choose between the Foie gras de canard cuit au torchon, confit d’ananas au poivre long or the Asperges blanches, saumon fumé, œuf de poule mollet et sauce hollandaise (white asparagus with smoked salmon and egg) or the Crème de pommes de terre au safran, huîtres et granité au citron (cream of potatoes with safran and oysters). As main courses the choice was between the Filet de daurade, niçoise de légumes, julienne de mange tout et jus de concombre (fish with vegetable and cucumber juice) or the Magret de canard, mousseline de haricots coco, cerises et croustillant de sésame (duck) or the Pavé de cabillaud, crème de petits pois, carottes fanes, et tomates confites (another fish). The choice for the dessert was between the Moelleux au chocolat et glace au yaourt (chocolate fondant with yogurt ice cream) or the Crémeux de mascarpone aux agrumes et chapeau de chocolat blanc or La fraise, en émulsion, en marinade et sorbet fruits rouge (strawberries with red fruits sorbet). We also ordered a glass of wine (Côte de Provence – 5 euros) which was quite good and a bottle of sparkling water (4.50 euros).
To start, we both got a small plate with two small round pieces of melon in its juice. They were quite good, a nice way to start a lunch. They also provided some slices of a crispy bread cooked with olive oil (crostini) with a pot of caviar d’aubergine. It was quite fresh and tasty and I cannot help comparing it to the miserable tapenade and crostini I had to pay for at Terroirs in London. As in any decent French restaurant, we also had some bread with some butter that had a light lemon flavour. All this came at no charge.
The Crème de pommes de terre au safran, huîtres et granité au citron was excellent. It was like a Vichyssoise, so served cold, with two oysters and both of them wrapped by a cucumber. The Tartare de foie gras aux mediants et jus de mangue was very good too with a nice mix of flavours. It came with warm toast.
The Filet de daurade, niçoise de légumes, julienne de mange tout et jus de concombre was good but the vegetables (cougettes, aubergines, tomatoes cut in tiny bits and sautés) were a little on the greasy side despite the cucumber sauce. The fish itself was very well cooked with a nice taste. The Filet de lingue étuvée de fenouil was delicious with, again, a perfectly cooked fish.
Before dessert, we got some kind of little crème brûlée which was nice, with a good texture. It was complementary also. The Moelleux au chocolat was great, with a real deep chocolate taste while being light to eat. The vanilla ice cream was not too sweet. The fraise, en émulsion, en marinade et sorbet fruits rouge was average. There was a kind of red/pink biscuit with a pink (because of the strawberry) fresh cream inside at the left, a little pot with slices fresh strawberries in the middle and at the right a scoop of strawberry sorbet. I have to say it was very nicely presented but I think a sorbet with strawberries around it and with some fresh cream in a large nice plate would have been easier to eat.
Melons
Crème de pommes de terre au safran, huîtres et granité au citron
Tartare de foie gras aux mediants et jus de mangue
Filet de daurade, niçoise de légumes, julienne de mange tout et jus de concombre
Filet de lingue étuvée de fenouil
La fraise, en émulsion, en marinade
Moelleux au chocolat
Cost and conclusion: it was 56.45 euros service charge included, which is really not bad considering the quality of the meals and the fact you are in the old town of Antibes in the French riviera which is a top destination full of tourists. It is not one of these tourist trap restaurants with a terrasse and a steak frites menu starting at 13 euros for catching the tourists. It is an elegant place and obviously the chef does pay attention to the food. Having tried for years many restaurants in the area (I used to work in Mougins) I believe this is the best restaurant you can find in Antibes. Highly recommended!
Pizzeria San Cezari 4 Place de la Tour 06530 Saint Cézaire sur Siagne France
The village of Saint Cézaire sur Siagne
The village
Beautiful panoramic view from the village
Henri watching the landscape from the village
Henri in the Siagne river
Pizzeria San Cezari
Saint Cézaire sur Siagne is a nice old village of the Alpes Maritimes perched on a mountain above the Siagne river. From its panoramic point of view you can see the sea and even cities like Frejus or the bay of Saint Tropez on a clear day. It is really in the countryside whilst still being only 45 minutes drive from Nice airport, 30 minutes from Cannes or Antibes, 25 minutes from Mougins and Sophia Antipolis… the Saint Cézaire area is full of olive trees and the village is well known for its award winning olive oil. It is also know for the remains of fortification of its 14th-century castle and its very interesting caves. The river Siagne is extremely nice with cristal clear water. It is quite physical to get there from the village. It takes about 30 minutes to go down but about 1 hour to come back. It climbs steeply. The village is at 500 metres high. I know it quite well having lived in the area for several years when I worked for a startup company located in Mougins.
The pizzeria San Cezari is the main restaurant of the village. It is just in front of the church, behind the place du village. It has well priced set menus as most restaurants do in France but we decided to take pizzas today. We ordered two pizzas, one Cannibale made of minced meat and cheese (11 euros) and a Calzonne 4 fromages (13 euros). We also had one salad (3.50 euros), a glass of wine (1,90 euros) and a 50cl sparkling water (3,10 euros).
The two pizzas were good, but nothing outstanding. The base was good but the topping, especially the minced meat, could have had more taste. They were quite large pizzas so do not take a starter unless you are very hungry! The chilli oil was fairly hot. You can see all the chilli in the bottle in a photo below. What I like there is the knife. I wonder why more pizzerias don’t adopt them because they are really efficient.
Excellent knife for cutting pizzas
Pizza Calzone
Pizza Cannibale
Chilli oil
Cost and conclusion: it was 32,50 euros service charge included. Not cheap but then it seems everything has become expensive in France in the last years. That said, it was a pretty decent lunch, the service friendly and the location is nice
If you visit Saint Cézaire sur Siagne on Saturday, there is a market in the morning. Below are some photos of it.
La place du village
The Saturday market. Here some hats for sale...
Paella, cheese, wine, olive oil etc can be found at the market
Herbes de Provence
The florist
Franco Manca Pizzeria 4 Market Row, Electric Lane, Brixton SW9 8LD London Open from Monday to Saturday 12-5
A revisit to Franco Manca was needed to compare it again to Pizzeria Rustica, since we have been to the latter recently. At our last visit we learnt to come there for about 11:40 to secure our seats (you cannot book) and indeed the restaurant got quickly full by 12 with a queue already starting to be long at 12:20, creating some congestion to that end of the market.
We sat on the opposite side of the fishmonger to avoid the fish smell (read the previous review here) and it was better indeed but unfortunately it was quite windy and we were even feeling cold. They must have read our thoughts as they put the heater above us on
We ordered their pizza #1 (Tomato, mozzarella, basil) and their pizza special of the day which was like the Bianca we had last time but without the ham, and with aubergines instead. Last time we ate here we were quite impressed by the quality of the organic sourdough. This time it was not really the case. The base was not very moist on the inside and not crispy on the outside either. It was not bad but it was average. We were a little disappointed by that, since it is their only selling point for us. To be fair, it is still great to have organic food that cheap: organic tomatoes from Italy, organic cheese from Somerset, organic oil from Spain and Italy, organic sourdough etc and even a homemade organic lemonade (£2.80) which was ok (served cold and not too sweet), and certainly better than the Hepworth organic beer I had last time (it has been replaced by another beer by the way).
Organic lemonade
Pizza #1
Pizza "Special"
Overview of the two pizzas
Cost and conclusion: for about £14 in all for two people it is still a great value for money. The only problem for us is we had better value for money last time when the pizzas were better, even fantastic! The service was still friendly. My preference for pizzas in London still goes to Rustica in Richmond. We have been there about 10 times and they consistently have excellent pizzas. Recommended if you are in Brixton but I would not do the trip just for the pizzas.
