To Zizzi or not to Zizzi?

Zizzi – Cresswell Lane, Byres Road, Glasgow

My latest lunch venture was to Zizzi’s Italian just behind Byres Road, now call me weird but Italian food is never a first choice for me.  I think that a lot of Italian restaurants in Glasgow lack imagination (with a notable exception of Jamie’s Italian) and a good plate of pasta is something you can often make at home.  However many of my friends do enjoy a cheeky Italiano so Zizzi’s it was.

The restaurant is in the old site of Bar Buddha and credit due on the transformation stakes, it is unrecognisable.  Light and airy but maybe lacking soul, it’s spacious with an open plan kitchen complete with massive pizza oven and perfect for watching the chefs at work.  The good feeling did not last....

Zizzi have the strangest menu, at first glance it looks like your standard pizza and pasta fare but on closer inspection it toboggans downhill into an unappetizing and bizarre arrangement of dishes.    I can pour over most menus for hours, looking at all the seductive descriptions and agonizing over my choice but this menu for me was a struggle.    

The range of starters is quite small and none of them particularly jumped out at me so in the end I settled on an antipasti board.  Now I do mean settled, because of all the food to be recreated at home a meat antipasti has to be one of the easiest, it’s delicious but requires almost no skill.  Zizzi’s antipasti was tasty but had no flair, the meats were good but the only thing on the attractive wooden board that had required the slightest bit of culinary attention was some home made breadsticks.  The dish positively wallowed in mediocrity and coupled with a stingy portion was pretty darn expensive at £10.45 for two.

Again the choice of main courses was average, the dishes are either totally plain or an eclectic mix of everything but the kitchen sink.   Now again I opted for safety, how could you possibly go wrong with a Margarita pizza?  Here’s how, you don’t season it!  There was no seasoning in the dough or the tomato base, the mozzarella was fine but it’s not exactly known for its lip smacking flavour.   Positives were a light and crispy base that was well cooked and a very perky basil leave.

My companion’s pizza funghi  was marginally better helped along by the porcini oil which delivered a tame slap as opposed to the expected punch from the pungent fellow but still left me feeling cheated on flavour.

Service was slow and laboured, although polite and friendly.  The wine selection is very good, modestly priced with a highly recommendable pink fizz which aided me through the otherwise bland experience.

 Will I go back to Zizzi’s?  Not in a hurry, it lacked the people pleasing menu and skill of your average Glasgow ristorante which will take me a long time to forgive.  My advice, go to Jamie’s Italian, an exciting experience, divine menu and food with a bit more pizzazz!!

Crab-tastic!

Crabshakk, Argyle Street

This week brought me to Crabshakk in Argyle Street, an area which is really up and coming for restaurants.  Now much has been said about Crabshakk’s decision not to put up proper signage for their restaurant, some think it pretentious, some think it trendy – I honestly don’t really bother as long as it keeps offering up delicious food.

It can be tough to get a table at Crabshakk , it’s quite a small restaurant and very popular, however there is a bar area which is first come first served and proved our only option on Saturday as they were fully booked.

Crabshakk has a great wine list, not cheap but carefully chosen, I’m a fan of the Trebbiano so a bottle was swiftly ordered.  The menu is not surprisingly almost all seafood based with an emphasis on shellfish, I wouldn’t recommend taking anybody not keen on fish as there is only one meat option and one vegetarian option but I suppose the clue is in the name.

If you are however partial to crustaceans, molluscs and the like then you’ll struggle to keep your ordering  in check, helpfully Crabshakk offers a lot of its popular dishes in small and large sizes.

It is my preference to forgo the traditional starter and main format, instead opting for three plates to share.  Crab cakes were a triumph, almost entirely made up of white crab meat spiked with a little chilli they were incredibly delicious, so much so that I’ll forgive the odd bit of shell. 

Next up was a special of home cured gravadlax served with pickled cucumber which was elegantly done.  I think it takes real skill to sympathetically cure and pickle without going over the top and ruining the raw ingredients, something that the chefs in Crabshakk have obviously mastered.

Finally scallops, big, fat and with their coral intact they were done in an anchovy butter which is optional  but highly recommended.  Now I know a lot of people don’t like anchovies but these were melted into a salty, citrusy sauce which complemented the sweet scallops perfectly.  A portion of fries completed the meal which in summary was exceptional.

Not the cheapest eat on the block our modest lunch set us back over £50 including wine but we left feeling spoilt and indulged.

The only doubt with Crabshakk may be that a lot of the dishes can be replicated at home providing your have access to an excellent fishmonger, but unless your seafood cooking is tip top then I would advise visiting this restaurant and revelling in obvious talent of its chefs.