Sa Za

Service was slow. Drinks stayed empty for 10 minutes or more. Orders took 30 minutes to come out and were lukewarm. Had to ask multiple times for to-​go boxes and checks. We went on 10 June 2016.

My first time at this particular establishment, it’s in the «alley» so I expected it to be nice. We stood at the hostess station for over 5 minutes while employees walked past us doing their best not to make eye contact. Finally one bar back was polite, acknowledged is, and I asked for the hostess. Mind you, there was another group of two behind us at this point letting all of the cold air out in the hot Alabama early summer… We were finally sat after at least 5 minutes of waiting to be noticed, I don’t mind a wait, when we have been spoken to. Then we were sat… Yep, end of review because we sat outside for over 15 minutes and not a single server acknowledged us. It’s got bad enough after I lost my patience my SO had already been frustrated enough that he could name the exact minute we had sat down. When you have such minimal options I suppose this behavior is acceptable, honestly I should have just gone to an Olive Garden, they would have at least gotten me a cocktail to lessen the taste of the bad food. Instead we wasted over 20 minutes and couldn’t get a water to wash the bad taste of this place out of my mouth. Sad.

I’ve been to Sa Za twice and I was happy both times. In my first visit I had rigatoni bolognese and it was amazing. I’ll echo a previous Unilocaler and say the Cesar salad was not that great but I didn’t care that much because the bolognese was that good. In my next visit I got the seafood special which was a pan seared filet of fish with risotto. The fish was delicious but it was a tiny filet. The risotto was good as well. I also tried a piece of pizza and it was really good too. Service both times was excellent.

A bit overpriced but the food was phenomenal. Waitress was on point as well. We had a party of 8 and she handled us with ease. The desserts are outstanding. I had the cannoli’s and they were excellent. The Caesar salad was terrible otherwise I would have given them 5 stars.

Went here while on a business trip and didn’t expect anything big. We started with the Caesar salad and the garlic bread with cheese (so good, a must try!) We tried some martinis and I liked the key lime pie one! My friend and I had the manicotti and the ravioli in the pesto cream. The service was great, the portions are massive and the drinks were strong!

Fun atmosphere! My slice of grandmas pizza was very tasty as well as my drink. Glad I stopped in to try.

Food was very nice and service was fast even though the restaurant was full. I had a parmesan-​crusted fish special with goat-​cheese risotto. It was quite good. Try the Egg in Purgatory appetizer. Good selection of Alabama draft beers.

The service was awful, it was like our server could not be bothered with us. I would give zero stars if I could. The food was not worth the price you pay. Management needs to really look into their service issues and the food quality for the amounts they charge per plate.

I knew that the ratings here weren’t what I usually look for in a restuarant, but I was staying downtown and had done a really hard workout so I needed some carbs badly.
I walked in and was seated almost immediately. I sat down and waited a few minutes longer than I usually do, but whatever. My waitress came over finally and took my order for a caprese salad and the chopped lobster, shrimp and spinach over angel hair.
I got my caprese salad and the tomatoes were so soft they turned to mush when I cut into them. The mozzarella was dry and tasteless. The balsamic, or something, was giving the whole thing a mildly rancid taste. I was not impressed.
My pasta was brought out while I was still eating my starter, but it was fine. I started to eat my pasta and I could tell by looking at it that the pasta wasn’t cooked well. It was either al dente or overcooked. I couldn’t really tell. I asked for them to cook my pasta to a softer consistency and when it was brought out it was much better. This place would get a one star, but this dish was decent.
The server was awful. She looked at me like I was stupid and then repeated ‘caprese’ as if I was the one who said it wrong. Not.
I also rarely saw her in a place that was not full by any stretch of the imagination. Not sure what she was doing.
The restaurant was also freezing on a beautiful, cool day.
For the money I paid you would think this was a four star restaurant. As it is, they’re just letting their prices fool you into think they are one.

Delicious food and excellent service. Duke aka «Tiny» was a gracious host to our huge party, even giving us separate checks. Everyone loved their meals. This is a local gem!

Updated Review 5÷20÷16
After my initial review below, Jeff, who I assume is the General Manager, reached out to me on Facebook where I also had posted the same review. Let me say though before he reached out to me another manager had responded to me and was a little bit snide and that I referred to this place as an upscale Italian restaurant and the person actually mocked me for that. But back to the current situation. Jeff had invited my date and I back to have dinner when it was convenient for us. So we returned last night. I will say everything was perfect and Jeff went above and beyond to make sure it was a nice evening. And he credited our bill what I feel was appropriately for our previous experience. With that being said, it will be interesting to see how the service is when I return without Jeff’s personal hospitality. Because I see that the issues I’ve had have been a common thread through several of the reviews. Which is a shame because the food is really good as is the atmosphere. So I updated my original review from one star to three stars taking into account the initial visit and given credit for last nights effort.
Original review
My date and I went here for dinner last night. It was a Saturday night and I had made reservations at 8 PM. The reservations were there, we were seated immediately and on time and so that worked perfect: however, it went downhill from there quickly.
Once we were seated, we waited literally 15 minutes before our server, MC (that’s the name she gave us) showed up at our table to acknowledge us or to take drink orders. For a brief amount of time, there was hope that the evening was going to go much smoother her due to the fact that she took our drink orders, brought us our drinks and followed up a few moments later to take our entrée orders. Then it all fell apart again.
She never once followed up with us for additional drinks in the two times that she made an appearance at our table at all during our entire dining experience. The second time she showed up, she reached down and grabbed my dates plate while she was still eating it and ask if she was finished and put her fingers on her plate before we both had to tell her that she wasn’t finished yet. Then she does another drive-​by, literally throws the dessert menu down on the table between us. She doesn’t follow up with us to see if we want dessert later before she brings us to check finally. Not once did she ask us if we wanted additional drinks, which by the way, we did… And when she wasn’t around our table the couple of times I mentioned, I didn’t see her in the restaurant at all.
Let me also add this qualification because my grandmother, my mother and even my sister worked as a waitresses in the food service business and I am very sensitive to turning over a table on a busy night. However, the restaurant was three quarters of the way empty and the time that it took us to eat our meal of probably one hour time.
It was the worst customer service experience I’ve had in a fine dining establishment in a long time. It felt like a combination between either the server didn’t want to be there or hated her job or she had better things to do then pay attention to her customers. Having eaten at this establishment a couple of times before, I am very disappointed in this experience and I would love to hear from someone at the restaurant.

Excellent, fresh food, and great service!
I had the pasta and meatballs, basic but delicious.
The pizzas are huge!

We had a wonderful evening at Sa Za’s restaurant. Came into town as part of a road trip. No plans; we just started driving from NOLA and did a full circle up Mississippi, into Tennessee, and down through Alabama. Stayed a few doors down and found this restaurant on Unilocal.No tables available, but we could sit at the bar that faced the kitchen. Hooray! We love having a good meal at a bar.
Our waiter was Daniel, who couldn’t have been nicer. His enthusiasm and service was excellent. Our drinks were very good, and we ordered several small plates, all of which were tasty. Each dish was so tasty and with Daniel’s fun service, we enjoyed every part of our meal. We watched the «expediter» keeping everyone in the kitchen on task – couldn’t believe how hard the staff worked and how they checked and double checked order. We witnessed it all. Everyone knew his/​her job and everyone worked hard. Daniel introduced us to the boss on the way out, who was also working hard. We had a chance to compliment him on the restaurant and the food and Daniel and the entire staff. We would definitely return there and enjoyed our evening immensely.

OVER PRICED. The only thing you are paying for is the atmosphere, which is rather nice. The food is alright. (Carabbas and Olive Garden are better). The veal was dry and and service was slow when they has only two other customers. The «bruschetta «which had no business being called that. had no tomatoes, no cheese, and no onion. It was cooked mushrooms and meat on toast.

Come sit at the bar on Sunday! Half price drinks and appetizers. Can’t beat it to crush the hangover from Saturday night. 12 – 4
Definitely go to apps are Bruschetta of the Day and Stuffed Peppers. Brandon and John are great at keeping your glass full and your food needs met!

I’ve never had a bad experience here. The food. The craft beer on tap selection. The great waiters. It’s expensive for what you get, yet I still seem to keep coming back.

Excellent service. Excellent food. The restaurant was packed, but we were seated quickly. The lobster ravioli is divine!

This is an almost authentic Italian restaurant. It definitely fooled me until my Italian friend informed me that although the food is very delicious, there were some missteps, but nothing that were outlandish or even noticeable to the naked, untrained eye.
We didn’t have reservations, so it took about an hour before the 12 of us were seated. This place is really popular but they’d benefit if they expanded a bit. We all ordered a wide variety of different selections. Our waiter was really quick, considering our large party. That was much appreciated.
The food is pretty good but their pizzas are the item that steal the show. They are really good! The establishment will also add gratituy for parties over 6 or more, I believe.
Great atmosphere and customer service! Definitely a big hit.

We were in town for a few days and decided to stop here for lunch. We arrived to a pretty empty restaurant; there were about 8 people sitting at the bar, and we were seated in a corner next to their supply of extra dishes, salt and pepper shakers, an old register, and sugar packets. Odd place considering the restaurant was empty.
We ordered spinach and artichoke dip, bandito salad with shrimp, and a caesar salad. The dip was amazing. Definitely a must try if you stop by. The bandito salad came out without the shrimp but it took all of 30 seconds to correct that. No biggie. The salad was great! The shrimp definitely made the salad, it had a bit of spice to it that was just perfect. My husband’s caesar salad was nothing special, just a regular, plain caesar salad. He would have like shrimp or chicken on it but we were told they couldn’t make plain grilled shrimp or chicken.
Not a bad place, but we probably won’t be back seeing as how we don’t live in Montgomery.
PS. We found this place by walking by it in the neighborhood.

Pizzas are spot on, as is their gravy. But my absolute favorite is the bolognese. It is downright excellent and almost good enough to make me drive to Montgomery (I live in New Orleans). Whenever I am close to Montgomery, which is almost never, I make it a point to stop here to get the bolognese (and go to Blount Park).
Prices are reasonable and service is so-​so. Also, not a huge fan of the space itself, but I’ll let it all slide for the bolognese. Try it out… you will be glad you did!