»
S
I
D
E
B
A
R
«
Italian Restaurant Zizzi 73-75 The Strand, Covent Garden, London, WC2R 0DE
Jun 30th, 2009 by Olivier

Italian Restaurant Zizzi
73-75 The Strand
London WC2R 0DE

Zizzi

Inside Zizzi

Inside Zizzi

The tables

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

Cold Peroni beer

Pizza Fiorentina

Pizza Fiorentina

Details of the pizza Fiorentina

Details of the pizza Fiorentina

Pizza Trentino

Pizza Trentino

Details of the pizza Trentino

Details of the pizza Trentino

The pizzas were served on a nice wooden tray

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.

Zizzi on Urbanspoon


»  Substance: WordPress   »  Style: Ahren Ahimsa
© 2010 Trusted-Gourmet.com