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!!
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