With an abundance of decent Italian restaurants in and around Newcastle, you need to be doing something right to stand out from the crowd. Zizzi has managed to do just that.

The Venue
Situated on the very imposing Grey Street in Newcastle upon Tyne, Zizzi is already ahead of the game with its great location. It is ideally located for a pre or post theatre dinner (The Theatre Royal is only 75 yards away), or drinks in many of the more up market bars that populate the area. Into the mix, add the three levels the restaurant is on, its open kitchen and impressive size, and you are onto a winner.

There are also a number of tables out on the pavement for those who want a pre-dinner drink on a warm night - even if warm nights in Newcastle are rare treat. The inside of the restaurant is clean and free of clutter – each table has the bare minimum of a candle and salt and pepper pots – anything else is brought to you as and when required.

The People
The restaurant is buzzing at the weekend. In the evening it can be hard to get a free table, which at other restaurants often means slow and inefficient service, but not at Zizzi. The staff are very attentive without being pushy. They are happy to make recommendations when asked, be it about wine or food, and nothing is too much trouble.

The clientele is mixed in terms of age and party size. Every demographic seems to be here and group sizes range from couples through to large parties celebrating birthdays and anniversaries. Zizzi offers great food and excellent value, but it is aimed at a different market to the happy hour pizza restaurants in the area. This seems to be reflected in the clientele who appear to be happy to pay a little more for better quality and service.

The Food
The food is excellent, from starters through to desserts. A nice touch is the olives and garlic bread served with the drinks while you look over the menu. The starter section seems a little limited but the chicken and creamy pesto bruschetta (£4.65) is fantastic with a really nice balance of flavour and texture. And the main course section has plenty of choice. A great selection of mouth-watering dishes cover every taste and dietary requirement.

The calzone pizza (£8.65 to £9.25) doesn’t just taste great, it looks fantastic – a lot of care has been taken with the presentation as well as the taste. If not of all you want to try a dessert, the waitress will happily bring extra spoons for those pretending to be good. The lemon tart (£4.25) is light but delicious as is the chocolate version.

The Drink
The fact that there’s no draught beer is a little disappointing but the large, frosty bottles of Peroni (£3.15 to £3.65) make up for it. A bottle of the increasingly popular Pinot Grigio (£19.95) goes down very well. Again, the staff are happy to make recommendations, which helps.

The Last Word
Zizzi offers a combination of quality food, decent value for money and a great location in terms of its situation and surroundings. The staff help make an enjoyable meal into a really good experience and take pride in doing so. Well worth a visit.

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