ZAINO — Restaurant in Thonon-les-Bains

Evian, it's synonymous with high quality water fresh from the source of the Haut Savoie mountains. While visiting this beautiful town with some of the world's purest water, avoid the area's worst restaurant, Zaino.

It's was our first night in Evian, high on the copious amounts of fresh air and water we decided to venture down the road and try the restaurant in the center of town located right on the promenade.

As we stood at the entry of the restaurant waiting patiently for a table, waiter after waiter passed us by without a glance. Finally we approached the manager who after a brief delay sat us and we waited for our waitress. After a brief 10 minute wait she arrived, tossing menus on the table and asking what we'd like to drink. We placed our orders and waited. After another brief yet sufficiently long delay we were given our drinks and placed our order.

Normally this is where you get your starter and look forward to dinner. Not this time. We received our bruschetta which was tossed on the table as our waitress rushed off to another more important task, problem was that the toast was not just toasted, it was black. After failing to get her attention, we again contacted the manager who upon arriving looked at the plate of hot mess and shrieked while removing the order and returning to the kitchen. He returned 5 minutes later with a properly toasted bruschetta and the meal continued.

Finally the main course arrived. The pasta was overcooked, the pizza I ordered was also burnt. I skipped the waitress altogether and contacted the boss. He again looked down in disbelief and said he'd offer the pizza for free. I asked how it was possible that after passing two hands, the cook and the waitress this mess could happen again. His response was priceless: apparently you got off on the wrong foot with the waitress.

We paid the bill, said a silent prayer for the restaurants eminent demise and left. If you enjoy burnt or overcooked Italian food, do make an effort to stop by, you'll be...

we (arabs) entered the restaurant on july 9, the semi finals for france vs spain in hopes of finding a place to eat and watch the match at the same time in a comfortable environment. the second we stepped in and asked for a table for 2, the waitress called the manager or the big boss or whoever, a man with white hair and a bit muscular. he immediately started raising his voice saying there are no tables available, we asked him to talk in english and we don’t understand french and he refused to talk and said “i don’t speak english” and walked away in a rush. i stayed and asked again for a table, he then pointed at table for 2 in the very corner of the restaurant not being able to see the TV. i asked for another table he said “all reserved”. we sat down cause we were so fed up with their attitude and just ate quick so we can leave and watch the match else where. our waitress was very rude and you can see it in her tone and face. the second we sat we were ready to order we really did want to leave ASAP we weren’t comfortable at all. as she took our order she was very cold and didn’t even make eye contact with us. when we asked for sauces she’d be infront of us and act like she doesn’t hear us, when we raise our voices, she’s rolls her eyes and says what in french. moments pass, a son and father were seated before us, they couldn’t see the screen and asked to move to a better table, the second they ask the man (the one with white hair) he gladly gets them up and moves them the a table that he said was “reserved”. the second we entered the restaurant we could tell their was some sort of discrimination involved and it carried through the whole meal. i will not be coming back here again and will tell every fellow arab about my experience and hope no arab or any other ethnicity will experience this type of judgement and distribution in such a awful...

If you can imagine a place you would go to eat almost every day, this is the restaurant for you. It really feels like some Italian grandma's kitchen and dining room. The food was delicious - my wife had the gamberoni alla provensale and I had the vegetarian ravioli with truffle cream - both being wonderful. The wine list is not very extensive, but there are some very good Italian wines at very reasonable prices - try the Nero D'Avola. The ambiance was very lively by about 7:30 pm on this Tuesday evening, but what would you expect from a place serving good food and drink. Above all was the most excellent service. David took great care of us, without putting any pressure on us to eat quickly to make space for other guests. Obviously this place is really popular, given the activity on a Tuesday evening. So be sure to make a reservation and give your taste buds the joy they deserve by eating at...