Zizzi

From the outside, this place looked closed last week, I don’t know if it has tinted glass, or dim bulbs, or a combination of both, but we very nearly walked away! Once inside the lighting didn’t seem particularly dim, so perhaps the windows were tinted, although it seems an odd choice, surely looking open and busy is the point of a restaurant frontage?
We had an offer from O2 Priority, but this branch wasn’t listed, so once inside we double checked with the greeter that it was in fact valid, (it was, we were told it was ending that night so perhaps that was why it wasn’t showing us this location).
We were seated directly in front of the open kitchen area, and my friend was most excited about guessing when our food was being prepared
The Xmas season was in full swing with music, décor and staff in special tshirts promoting their Prosecco deal, but only the upstairs was being used, so the toilets downstairs did seem a bit of a trek away…
Our table for two was in a long line of similar tables, for ease of combining, unfortunately this meant ours never had the condiments, oils and seasonal drinks menus on it. We had to reach over to the table next to us for the dipping chilli oil…
We ordered the Primavera Rustica, and my friend had the Margarita also on the Rustica base. I swapped out the peppers (yuk) on my Primavera for chillies which was no problem. Both pizzas were delicious and cooked perfectly, although my friend was already envious of my artichoke hearts and planning her Pizza Express order for the following night
We ordered the Peroni and the Berry Cider, the cider was full flavoured, rather than some that barely have a hint of the so called flavour.
Our waiter was attentive, and did his best to upsell starters and sides, but as we were on our way to the Madonna show afterwards we just wanted a main.

I went as part of a party of 18 on our lunch hour. We booked and pre-​ordered a week in advance. And while the food was average… needed seasoning. The food took 30 minutes to arrive. Please consider that there were not many people in other than us.
As piccadilly Gardens has numerous eateries, we like to change it up a bit when we go out… this wouldnt be my choice again. Just as a side point… what online menu doesnt have prices?

The service is great food unbelievable…
Nice atmosphere.
I think it’s my best risturante

In a city full of Italians (restaurants, I mean, though I am friends with some very lovely Italians who live in Manchester), some awesome and others not so, this comes in on the mediocre end of the spectrum. The thing with Zizzis is, that some are really good and others less so; and also some visits to the same one are good and others not. What I’m trying to say is that consistency is not the key thing here.
I went on a Sunday lunchtime with my bestie, as a change from a Sunday roast. My bestie is disabled (not in a wheelchair, but she walks with a stick) and it took them a little while to locate a suitable table, as she can’t sit on one of the higher tables. Eventually sat at a table with a good view of the kitchen.
Not feeling particularly imaginative or adventurous, I went for a bolognese and my friend a carbonara. If you have read my Sweet Mandarin review, you will know that my taste buds are very nostalgic about two things: Chinese takeaway and my mum’s spag bol (sorry for the abbreviation!). Even in the nicest Italian restaurants, nothing tastes the same as the one my mum made when I was a kid, but if it’s a good one then I still enjoy it and woof it down (like a lady!). However this one in here on this day was not that great. It was edible and tasted of bolognese but could have done with more seasoning I think. I left some, which isn’t like me.
My friend enjoyed her carbonara more than I enjoyed the bolognese. Maybe it was that batch of bolognese sauce they made that day that was the issue.
We ordered dessert, I went for the Lemon Meringue Sundae. My friend had a Sundae that came with bananas (ewww). I thoroughly enjoyed mine. Certainly much better than the main course. We had a bit of a wait for what would only take a couple of minutes to make on a not too busy day.
I wouldn’t avoid this Zizzi’s as I’ve been here before and enjoyed the meal but don’t think I’d go for the bolognese again. But even when the food has been good, it’s just been ok when comparing it with the many other Italian restaurants in the city which are more consistent, it wouldn’t be my first choice.

I went to Zizzi today (Boxing Day), with many places being closed for food and here being open. I originally walked around the Northern Quarter and Piccadilly to find a nice independent food place that serves a Gluten free Breakfast, places like Moose Coffee was on my list but they wasn’t open, then I made a reservation for 14:30 at Bar21 and with the store not opening until 4pm, I decided to come here after it being one of the only restaurants, that serve Gluten Free I could find open.
I was greeted by what looked like the manager, he held the door for me and took me to my seat, he along with all the other staff who served me/​I spoke to seemed very nice, and he arranged for a Gluten Free menu to come to my table.
First, I ordered a Latte, and it was served in a nice cup with no handles, the portion actually was bigger than it looked, and the coffee cost £2.35 each and it was really good quality, great coffee and perhaps worth more than what they charged, my friend had to agree with me.
I was pleased with their Gluten Free menu which had a very large selection, they also have menus for all other of the main allergens like Eggs. They even label the sides for example that have been fried with Gluten foods.
I ordered a Fiorentina Pizza, Gluten Free of course, the pizza’s size was very big, which is good to see from a Gluten Free pizza and a pizza which cost £9.25.
The Pizza was very nice, and I loved the fresh egg in the center, it was egg– celent. A few things I did dislike was the amount of Spinach, I don’t mind it on my pizza but they put so much on, it was like a Cheesy salad so I did have to remove quite a lot of it, also it did taste quite chewy. Apart from that, I did enjoy my pizza, my base was really nice for being Gluten Free however the base, was chewy in some parts.
I ordered a Still Lemonade to go with my pizza, I didn’t really like it and it definitely wasn’t worth £2.50, but like I said, I like having a cold drink with my Pizza, rather than a coffee, even though it was top notch and good value, cheaper than the Lemonade.
I also like how you can see the chefs cooking your food from your seat, and you don’t have to go up to them to place your order, which is the case at the restaurant of Nando’s located next store.
My friend really dislikes Italian food and cheese, hence he would not eat Pasta, Pizza and Risotto, he also hates Salad, which is mainly all this restaurant does, however he ordered Garlic Bread, it looked lovely, it was served in a shopping board, with loads of small square size pieces, I wish I would of got a pizza! As it contained Gluten, I didn’t try it but he did really enjoy it too.
They let me take my Pizza home in a box, and the box and the bag they gave me was very nice.
Like I said, I spoke to many staff members and they all were very good, they held the door, brought me a gluten free menu, checked everything down to the oil to see if it was Gluten Free, so with the coffee being excellent, the good quality and fantastic portion Gluten Free pizza and the very kind, great staff with a knowledge of Gluten Free, I feel this place deserves 4 stars.

This is why I don’t go to, as Manchester Confidential so aptly describes the creed, ‘YAFIs’, in Manchester (to the uninitiated: Yet Another Flipping Italian, with words changed to protect the (frighteningly) innocent). Recommended by a friend, benefit of the doubt was given, and caution thrown to the wind. I don’t think it helped that by this point it was past 10PM and our usual haunt for late night snacks, Rice, was shut. Finished. No longer producing any appropriate sustenance.
Maybe the last few sentences give you an idea of how hungry we all were. Hunger is usually a phenomenon that leads to forgiveness of even the gravest culinary sins, but I have little to complain about with the food.
Or, for the matter, with the service, which (though this was take-​out), was extremely pleasant — even prompting me to request any appropriate discounts before billing — a nice touch.
My issue is two-​fold. First, packaging. Being the master of patience that I am, uh, I mean given that it was cold outside and I didn’t want the pizzas to get cold, I was presented with two ginormous pizza boxes — a great way of getting hopes up — which I gleefully carried home, at some pace, to share between three.
They were tiny. Or at least, were only about half the size of the packaging. That was a disappointment to start. So even if the pizzas were loaded with toppings, it really wouldn’t have been enough.
Were they loaded with toppings? Chock-​full? Pregnant with toppings, even?
Nope. Nada. Zilch. Not a sausage*. One pizza had four pieces of chicken on it. Four! Now, I’d be fine if these were huge pieces, but they weren’t. Can you see I’m trying to give Zizzi the benefit of the doubt? I honestly was.
I mean, they didn’t taste bad either. Not great, but better than your average kebab-​shop pizzas. Unmemorable.
At £13.95 per pizza, though, I’d expect so much better. Some of you will now be chanting «but whoever pays full price for pizza at a national chain?» and you’d be right — but even with discounts, there was hardly any change from £20 for two tiny pizzas. That’s not cheap, and it wasn’t even delivered.
And at full price, quite frankly, it’s a rip-​off.
tl, dr: typical Manchester YAFI, good service, (massively) overpriced, average taste. Avoid if possible, but not terrible if dragged to either.
*Except for the four wafer thin slices of salami that topped one of our pizzas. Which may as well have been nothing.