Zizzi – Italian restaurant
A three-course meal at a family-friendly Italian restaurant chain, with restaurants across the UK.
Starter: “Fonduta formaggi” (cheese fondue)
A very simple dish, but a very satisfying one (especially on a cold, winter’s day), this starter is comprised of a three-cheese fondue (gorgonzola, gruyère and pecorino) served in a miniature “cast iron” dish straight from the oven, with a selection of Zizzi’s “little soul breads” for dipping.
The fondue itself manages to be indulgent but without being too rich, which I think is in part due to the inclusion of gorgonzola, as this provides a bit of sharpness to cut across the creaminess. The “little soul breads” are effectively a halfway house between traditional smaller dough-balls and larger bread rolls, and they make a nice change from the standard breadsticks often served with this sort of dish. The starter includes plenty of the breads for dipping in the fondue, and as with the gorgonzola, the garlic and sea salt seasoning on the “little soul breads” helps cut through the richness of the fondue.
Presentationally, the fondue dish and the breads are served on a carved wooden board, which some people may find pretentious, but I thought it made a nice change from plonking food on a standard white dinner plate.
"Sofia" rustica pizza
Main: “Sofia” Rustica Pizza
This was simply a “rustica” pizza (Zizzi’s larger, oval-shaped, crispier-based pizza), topped with spicy chicken, pepperoni, spicy sausage, mozzarella, green chillies and rosemary. In all honesty, it was a fairly average pizza, and if anything, it could have done with a bit more of the tomato sauce base, as it was quite dry in places. But it had a decent amount of toppings, with plenty of the chicken (torn chunks), pepperoni (slices), sausage (crumbled) and green chillies, and the chilli oil on the table added a bit of much needed moisture.
Salted caramel chocolate brownie
Dessert: Salted Caramel Chocolate Brownie
This dessert ended the meal on a high note, as it was one of the more inventive variations on a chocolate brownie that I’ve seen in a while. The centrepiece of the dish is a warm chocolate brownie “injected” with a lavish, gooey, salted caramel sauce, which is then topped with “giant” chocolate shavings (held in place with a small dollop of the rich, thick, chocolate sauce). The rest of the chocolate sauce is served in a side bowl (for you to dip or pour as you prefer), as is a scoop of refreshing vanilla “gelato” ice-cream.
If you’re a chocoholic (as I am), this is a pretty perfect dessert – although be warned, it is very rich and indulgent, and not the sort of dessert to order if you’re in two minds about whether you can manage one after your main course… That said, the vanilla ice-cream does counterbalance all of the caramel and chocolate very nicely, so while decadent, the dessert is still manageable!
“…the starter and dessert elevated the meal as a whole…”
Overall impression: Given that this was a chain restaurant, catering to families on a weekend evening, the service was attentive and relatively swift, and the price was what you’d expect to pay at this sort of chain. The general décor and ambiance was very pleasant (with views of the kitchen and pizza oven at one end, and a more secluded bar area at the other), and all of the dishes had nice presentational touches (not a plain, white dinner plate in sight). Whilst the pizza was pretty unmemorable, it was perfectly fine, and the starter and dessert elevated the meal as a whole.
