Zizzi

A last minute decision to go to Zizzi while staying over in Edinburgh.
A great choice!
Food was lovely — all 5 children cleared their plates!
The staff were lovely — so friendly.
This restaurant is now on our «will be back» list.

We are fans of this restaurant for some years now. The food is good and prices are reasonable, the location near the canal is nice as well, especially in spring and summer. The restaurant was recently redecorated, but we liked the old style more. Service has been better in the past, but still ok. Overall it is not as good as it used to be, but still good value for money.

I went here on Saturday to meeting with the only people that I would generally goto such a place with, with my Parents, sister, brother in law and their two kids. This is because if I’m eating out — I want to go somewhere special (preferably somewhere that does beer) and also because they were paying, I was pretty much ok with it.
Food is good. Pretty wheat heavy. Pizza, pasta, garlic bread etc — luckily I’d just been out on a long ride so was feeling like I deserved it.
I had some weird half calzone. It was good though! There is a lot of spice going on in their stuff sometimes though which I’m not 100% happy with. Sometimes it just seems to be a bit OTT.
However the staff are great, they don’t mind kids, it’s big enough that I don’t mind the fact that there are kids, and it’s in a central location.
So — basically — good for a quick lunch etc, but I ain’t taking a date here.

yes, zizzi is a chain but there is nothing wrong with giving a chain restaurant a good review if they provide good service and tasty food. this is exactly what this zizzi did for eight hungry people on this past friday night.
after being told we couldn’t order food in hyde out (for reasons unknown to us as the cook was clearly making food in the kitchen) we headed to the next closest option and lucky for us it was this zizzi. we we first came in the waiter that greeted us seemed a bit put out that there were eight of us for a table without reservations (although they were only moderately busy with empty tables available). luckily for us the guy set a table anyway and we were shown to it with our drink orders taken by a lovely and friendly waitress.
i really have to compliment the waitress on her service for us. she was lovely and polite and helpful the entire time, checking on us after the food arrived but not constantly being around or disappearing for long lengths of time. after such poor service at hyde out i was really pleased that this girl was so attentive and friendly, well done to zizzi for hiring her!
the food was also very lovely. we had an assortment of garlic breads to start, my favourite being the tomato with pesto although the garlic bread with cheese was also quite tasty. i had a rustica pizza for my main with auberinge, rocket, olives, sundried tomatoes, and mushrooms (which i’d subsituted for the peppers) drizzled with pesto. it was awesome! and the perfect thing to line my tummy for the drinks to come in the night ahead. i also shared a really lovely sauvigon blanc that was fruity and fresh and so enjoyable :)
so yes a chain restuarant, but this place had good quality food and good service. it’s a bit of a shame that it’s tucked away behind cargo but this didn’t seem to stop people from finding it. so well done zizzi for proving that chain restaurants can also provide a lovely and tasty meal.

Zizzi is one of those places you never really plan on going to. I’ve recently had to relocate to the Fountain Court apartments that sit across the canal from here and we decided to grab some food. We had our 2 month old in tow and the short distance appealed…
I can honestly say that I enjoyed every minute of the Zizzi experience (in the past I’ve never been that fussed). The pasta was super fresh and full of flavour, the staff were amazingly helpful and they even had some guest Italian beers on, which for a chain shows a nice commitment to choice.
It’ll never be a world beater, but don’t rule out Zizzi for a decent Italian meal.

For all of Edinburgh’s numerous qualities, it sorely lacks a good, authentic pizza establishment.
Sad but very, very true.
Saying this, Zizzi, in my opinion, is definitely the best of what’s on offer. Very thin, crisp bases and a wide range of gourmet styled toppings make this a place you can come and enjoy your £10 pizza.
…and yes, you can get takeaway!

My first impressions of this place were good, with friendly staff, and a reasonable-​looking menu. But by the time I got out I was quite glad to leave, and it was mostly due to a few very avoidable failings by the staff, which to me comes down to weak management.
For one thing, I found myself ordering off the children’s menu by mistake. My stupidity perhaps, but neither I nor my partner noticed, and assumed it was the lunch specials menu. In due course, the waitress (without showing any signs of caring) pointed out that it did say «Bambino» on it, in un-​obvious mid-​grey decorative lettering, without the word ‘child’ appearing on it anyway. My mistake. That’s how I was made to feel.
But that doesn’t really excuse them bringing the wrong food after a lengthy wait, which I accepted rather than wait longer. Nor their failing to bring the appetisers on the menu at all, until I asked and they were too late to be appetising. And so on. Maybe I was just unlucky. But I felt the manager needs to take stronger control and do some proper training. We won’t be back anyway.

Two meals for 10 pound. It’s worth it!!!

Zizzi’s is an often overlooked Italian restaurant group, particularly with the dominance of this area by Pizza Express. I visited their restaurant on Fountain Quay a couple of year’s ago, and had a very enjoyable evening.
The location is the first aspect of this restaurant that is striking. It is situated at the canal basin that marks the end of the Union Canal, which links Edinburgh to Falkirk. This area was developed relatively recently, and befits the fashionable image that people would now associate with the Fountainbridge area of Edinburgh. The building that houses the restaurant is primarily glass in construction, and this affords diners a great view of the canal basin and the moored boats.
The food is particularly good. Prices are comparable to its competitors, and the quality of the food is great. I was there as part of a large group, and never at one point did I feel that anything was taking too long, or did I impatiently have to catch the eye of the waiting staff. The kitchen feels like part of the restaurant, and if you’re looking hard enough, you can actually see your meal coming together.
This is a great restaurant. It’s a shame that it doesn’t get more attention, and I would recommend it as a great meal out along the same lines as Pizza Express.

One of the well established brands in the UK, Zzizi is anf Italian chain of restaurants. It is located by the canal which on a sunny day makes it a much preferred destination for locals. It is also close to Cargo bar which offers a big open space of tables outside. Zizzi has a limited area of tables outside which could have its drawbacks too — not being offered a good view and a table in the fresh air. Service is very good, compare to some of Pizza Express restaurants, and their menu is quite diverse. One of the best things about the food is that it is made on the spot and you could watch how it has been cooked.

Mediocre food, poor service, bad wine. Not a lot to remmend this place — too many good restaurants to bother with places like this.

Recently visted Ocean Terminal and chose Zizzi to dine in before going to the cinema upstairs. The view is lovely out in to the harbour however we were seated to the back because it’s so busy (which was a good sign) casual atmosphere (staff wearing jeans and uniformed top) Had never been to this particular Italian chain before and so was unsure of what to expect; ordered the dough sticks to share as starter, ideal as its actually quite a large portion which is nice, would have preffered butter as opposed to the mayonaise but other than that it was a good start. Ordered the house wine which wasn’t the best but fairly cheap at £3.00 glass. main course however was not satisfactory at all; chicken and mushroom pasta bake, pretty sure the sauce was either dated or from a tin, very similar to the consistency of soup! Also couldnt eat it for the first five minutes as it was too hot from having been in the oven. Friend ordered the meat calazone, dough was lovely and thick however the whole meal was really hot (spicey)…perhaps better suited to those with a liking for spicey food– jalapenos in every forkful! Over all i would say the service was good, and if you are looking for a basic meal before cinema like myself it is ideal, not sure i personally would go back though

Zizzi’s is a chain restaurant but is pitched further up the market than most chains. It is owned by the same people as Pizza Express and Ask restaurants and offers reasonably priced Italian food. They often offer ‘2 for 1′ meals to boost business which means it becomes great value (given most main courses are sub-£10 anyway). The pizzas are excellent and you can watch them being cooked in the wood fired oven in the restaurant. The pastas and risottos can be more hit and miss however with the focus on heavier sauces (it can be a bit much at lunchtime!). The menu changes regularly and there is a wide choice of types of pasta and a good selection of vege dishes. The service is good and is usually pretty quick which, along with the ‘2 for 1′ offers, makes it a good work lunch option.

For a chain, the food at Zizzi is excellent. The menu changes with the seasons and includes a good range of dishes including traditional pastas and pizzas as well as meat and fish dishes, with a good range for vegetarians too. The restaurant is rather open plan and, if sitting downstairs, you can see the chefs hard at work with their huge pizza oven. The staff are friendly but the restaurant can lack atmosphere if there aren’t too many diners. When it’s busy the service can be slow, but this is perhaps only to be expected. Worth a visit for a tasty and reasonably priced Italian lunch or dinner if in the area.

I’ve eaten here a couple of times and whilst it lacks the charm of some of the independent Italian eateries in Edinburgh, it does have a good atmosphere and serves good food.
The dining room is well laid out, feels spacious and is relaxed. What’s odd about the place is that it’s huge — I don’t know whether it’s ever full but when we’ve been it has felt a little empty.
The pizzas are cooked in the large oven at the back of the restaurant, and they are very good.
What was best about this place was the price — it’s really reasonable for what you get. The selection of wine is good, as is the selection of other drinks.
If it’s a warm day (or if you’re wearing a woolly hat) you can sit outside on the terrace and enjoy the view of the canal basin.
There are a couple of good bars close by for a drink after dinner and of course there’s a couple of cinemas along the road for a film before or after your meal.

I wouldnt say I was overly impressed with this place, I went when it was not long opened though so it may have changed. I went at the weekend for a meal with my boyfriend and was surprised at the casualness of the place for a weekend evening. The menus were quitr good and its just normally priced like most other Italians. the menu consists mostly of pizza and pasta, the pasta I had was very nice but we waited quite a while and the service was generally just ok. The thing that spoilt it for me was that all the waiting staff had on jeans and thier own clothes so it was hard to tell who to ask for things and none of them seemed to be very well trained, a bi disappointing as it is in a nice new development along the Union Canal and could be so much better than it is.