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Wheelchair friendly.
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Note from a gluten-free reader: Zizzi's has several pasta sauces that are gluten free and if you bring your own pasta will cook it for an entirely gluten-free meal. They also have a couple of antipasto dishes that are gluten-free (if you request they not include the bread sticks!). And they have gluten-free desserts (ask them to not include the wafer with the gelatii and ice cream). 03/12/09 I'm sorry, but Zizzi's provided one of the worst dining experiences I've had for a very long time. My younger sister wanted to celebrate her birthday with a decent sized group and she felt that the safe option of an Italian based venue with lots of room was her best bet for a successful evening. She couldn't have been more wrong. Despite my gentle prodding on arrival that we should ditch it and have a drink somewhere while we waited for a table elsewhere (one glance at the harried staff and the disgruntled customers was enough to set some serious alarm bells ringing) she decided that a last minute change of venue might cause problems and we settled in for what proved to be a very long, drawn out evening. Not only were they massively under-staffed, but our waiter seemed particularly unhelpful. Tap water was requested no less than six times (I did count!) and arrived half way through our mains. The food was pretty poor too with one member of our party opting to go without supper rather than eat her Lasagne. I offered her half my pizza, which to be honest, I was glad to be rid of. My sister didn't enjoy her Spaghetti Bolognese and upon sampling it I concurred that it was overcooked and a very sorry excuse for what should be a pretty simple dish. The boys were less fussy and managed to get through their dishes (in the interests of fairness, that did include another Lasagne) but even my brother, a glutton in no small sense, didn't enjoy his pizza much. I shared a starter with him, which was fine (the Antipasto platter), though both of us ruefully remarked the next day that it's hard to go too far wrong when putting meat on a board. I really am trying to think of something nice to say, but the whole experience was pretty unpleasant and I won't be going back. Had the service been even marginally better and the food slightly more palatable, it might have been okay. Let's face it; we weren't expecting Michelin quality food in the first place. As it was, I guiltlessly left a restaurant without tipping for the first time in years. Dr Mukti, 03/11/09 Zizzi has a wonderfull range of pizzas and pasta. With garlic bread as a starter it makes the atmoshere even better. bb.lookgood, 26/05/09 Dreadful! We went on a Saturday lunchtime and were ignored for three quarters of an hour while we waited for our meal; when we asked if it was coming as we'd have to leave soon, our waitress said she thought we didn't want it that soon - no apology. The staff stood around arguing amongst themselves in earshot of the customers, dropping things on the floor and leaving them there, and attending to empty tables whilst ignoring us. All in all not a good experience. Jen and Mark, 29/03/09 I have always enjoyed my dining experiences at Zizzi in the past. However, I went there for a meal last night and was very disappointed with the service. My friend and I were seated at about 8pm in the admittedly rather busy restaurant (especially considering that it was a Wednesday night). However, being busy is no excuse for the fact that the staff not only took 5 mins to acknowledge our presence and seat us, one member of staff having walked past us twice without making eye contact, but then a further 15 to take our drinks order. The food itself (risotto verdi) was very good, and I have no complaints on that count. However, the staff didn't check whether it was alright at any point during our meal, or indeed clear our plates until nearly 25 mins after we had finished. We were offered the dessert menu, but after 20 mins there was still no sign of it (despite the fact that the waiter was resetting the tables around us). Eventually (with some difficulty) I caught the waiter's eye who brought us dessert menus, with no apology. I do not expect 5 star service on a busy Wednesday night, but the level of service at Zizzi was unacceptable. All customers deserve attentive, friendly and efficient staff and I have no doubt that this is an issue that Zizzi will want to address before my next visit. La Plus Heureuse, 05/03/09 To say something good about my experience at Zizzi last Friday, at least the staff were very attentive and friendly. I expect they need to be now that Jamie's Italian over the road has queues stretching onto the street! And sadly, I think this place used to be much better a couple of years ago. I noticed that it could really do with an overhaul - our seating was in need of sprucing up and their new summer menu was really short. I had the oven baked chicken, mushroom and bacon pasta. The pasta was swimming in cream and oil. The tomatoes in my side salad were fine but the leaves were starting to brown. My partner had some kind of ravioli which looked rubbery and didn't taste much better. We had half a bottle of the house wine, which I wouldn't recommend! We paid about £32 for all this, and I wish we hadn't! Emsy, 27/06/08 Went to Zizzi last night ( 04.02.07) with my partner and my daughter and her boyfriend for her 26th birthday. We booked in at 18.00 hrs to give us plenty of time to order and eat before the theatre at 20.00 hrs. We were seated and served drinks by a seeminly very efficient waitress and ordered a main meal( no starter as we only have 1 3/4 hrs before we had to be in our seats at the New Theatre). Well some 45 mins later and no sign of the meal i asked a passing waitress where our meal was. She said 5 mins, however did seem too hurried to speak and did not even check first. By this time we had all finised our drinks and no one had bothered to see if we wished to order more!!!. Some 15 mins after i was told 5 mins and now 19.00hrs i asked another waitress about our meal but was told 5 mins again. at 19.35 and with no sign of service we left £20. on the table and walked out. I beleive our meal had just been placed on the service counter. Too late. I will not be going to Zizzi again. Marion, 05/02/07 So it seems that in the couple of years that the last review was written, Zizzi's is definitely still going strong. As ever, the choice is wide and the portions generous. On a recent group dinner, a friend chose two starters and that was enough to fill her up! More interesting than your usual 'pasta/pizza' place along George Street, you will be sated at £15 per person, including wine (but not dessert for which there is not likely to be a need anyway as the mains do the business!). The overall atmosphere is welcoming and helpful considering the crowds the staff contend with. Even more impressive is that regardless of the large groups, the food turns up in good time. Excellent. WL, 14/12/06 I always think of Zizzi's as a Pizza restaurant, and while it does have a range of salads, meat dishes and pasta options on offer, it's the pizzas which seem to pull in the punters. In my opinion the pizzas are definitely amongst the best in Oxford, with a good range of toppings available and excellent thin and crispy bases. I have heard mutterings that perhaps the toppings are a little sparse, but despite being an adherent to the school of thought that there's really no such thing as too much food, I've never found this to be a problem. I would be deeply embarrassed to even hint at how many Zizzi pizzas I have consumed during my time at Oxford, but I can safely say that I have enjoyed all of them. Particular favourites of mine are the Sofia (chicken, bacon, pepperoni, yum!) and the Capricciosa (prosciutto ham, egg, anchovies, olives etc). Prices range from £5.15 to £7.60, which seems pretty reasonable for a whole plateful of delicious pizza. Better still is the takeaway offer which allows you to collect any pizza from the menu for the bargain price of £5. Believe me, this offer is getting me through my finals! If you choose to eat in, the restaurant is unlikely to let you down. I've enjoyed excellent service every time I've visited, and the ambience is equally suited to a big party of twenty or a more intimate dinner for two. Wine is averagely priced at £10.95 for house red or white and is perfectly drinkable. Honourable mentions to pizza alternatives must go to the Salmone arrosto - a delicious dish of herb-crusted salmon with crispy 'Tuscan' potatoes and spinach, and the Insalata tricolour - a salad of creamy mozzarella, avocado, tomatoes and basil. Both are very good indeed. I have one tip though - if you go for one of their garlic pizza breads as a starter, definitely share it, as it literally is an entire pizza base. I don't want to come over all 'Dr Atkins', but one of these plus a pizza would be a bit carb-rich for anyone! Victoria Lorne, 09/05/04 Zizzi’s is the all-new Italian restaurant to grace Oxford. Situated opposite the George Street Cinema and next to the Mongolian Wok, Zizzi’s is handy for a pre-theatre or post cinema pasta, and it was for the latter that my boyfriend and I decided to try it out. The décor is deeply cool - natural fabrics, lots of wood, hundreds of candles and lovely large tables. The room is on three split levels, which makes the large space seem much more intimate, and we snuggled into our suede sofa-seat, piling up the scatter cushions, worrying that the menu might be priced according to the décor and therefore out of our range. Luckily when the menus arrived we could really relax. Prices are about average for Italian food in Oxford. Slightly dearer than Ginos, but cheaper than Ask, pizza costs about £6 (Margherita costs £4.95) and pastas comes in at £6.50 ish (Bolognese costs £5.50). We shared a huge garlic bread studded with rosemary and sea salt, freshly made from thin crispy pizza bread (£3.75), which filled us up so much that we didn’t fancy a starter, but from nosily observing our fellow diners, I can verify that the salads and foccacia with goats cheese and aubergines (both about £4) looked particularly nice. Our pastas were delicious. Students eat so much pasta that eating it in a restaurant is a bit of a coals to Newcastle scenario, but this was amazing. Lovely and garlicky and cheesy and delicious - and plentiful. I had fusili with a generous amount of roasted Mediterranean vegetables, and a homemade pesto sauce. My boyfriend chose penne Della casa after I shared my observation that since the bloke at the neighbouring table only managed to finish half of it there might be enough to fill him up (he likes a big portion does my boyfriend). This baked pasta and chicken, roasted peppers and broccoli in a gorgonzola-cream sauce with goats cheese and parmesan, was deliciously rich. After all this, pudding was sadly out of the question. Next time I might try to eat less lunch before hand, and fit in one of the tiramisus, or ice creams. The chocolate bias on the dessert menu is something that I will have to bring girlfriends out to sample with glee (I think that we would appreciate it more!). As for wine, the house red was smooth and ridiculously easy to drink, and at £11, was not bad value. In true Italian style, it would have been nice to have another bottle, wait a bit, and then reconsider puds! Next time …. The atmosphere of Zizzi’s is luxurious and pleasant. The little tea lights give the place a welcoming soft glow, and the emphasis on texture makes the whole eating experience tactile and pleasurable. The food is miles ahead of any of the other restaurants serving the same thing, and, unless this is only beginner’s luck, I would recommend it to you for whenever you need a really good meal out. At about £15 a head, it’s good value too. Take your friends, take your date, take your parents. What a versatile and useful place to know about! Katherine Knowles, 11/02/02
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