Zizzi - Belfast Victoria Square — Restaurant in Belfast

Unacceptable level of customer service and sub-par food.

Our first time here we had ordered several dishes including Quattro Formaggi. This starter dish sold us as it was addicting and delicious. Another stand out was the fish dish we had ordered. This is the first attached photo in this review.

However, upon our return and on an occasion being a birthday and seeing that the Quattro Formaggi has returned, we decided to return, yet we wished we went to another restaurant.

We had booked for a table and it took the staff several minutes of waiting before we could be seated. It seems like the reservation system was just to weed out any walk-in customers, and perhaps this system should remain.

As we had a toddler with us, we requested a high chair for the infant. The staff member had the cheek to prioritise more guests entering and seating them instead of assisting patrons who are already in the restaurant. Once again, this was a wait of several minutes.

The reason why customer service was unacceptable are for several reasons:

One person in our party amended the order and the staff asked if they would like this to be served with the main dish. They were informed to serve this with the main dish, to which the lovely staff member still served this dish immediately, and have the gall to ask 'Would you like this as a starter now or wait for the main dish?' this question itself is rendered pointless by the fact that if they were left with the main dish, it would be cold and no longer freshly cooked.

This feeling of abandonment and neglect was exacerbated when we tried asking for a refill of water. Three attempts were made to get a refill, and in the end of us had to come up to the bar.

Upon finally paying the bill, only then did the server asked if everything was alright with the food. We had tried to raise this problem with the servers but they had always said 'Give me two minutes please' and had never returned. The person was patronising in their reaction and only said 'Oh, I'm sorry to hear that' as she pulled the receipt off the card machine, where we had not been provided an opportunity to raise a complaint.

Once the main dishes have arrived, the disappointment continues further. The fish dish that we had ordered is inedible and the potatoes rancid in taste, texture and appearance. A browned potato is the sign of it being exposed to oxygen in extended periods of time. This is the second image enclosed.

The quatra formaggi was also an extreme disappointment. What was once a delicious salty combination of four cheeses was instead an acidic reflux causing cacophony that still gives us uncomfortable aftertastes long after we had left.

The pasta dish that was served was severely undercooked. What was described as creamy and cheesy was instead oily and as far as the word cheesy could be. That would be the third picture in this review.

It is quite an embarrassment for the person holding their birthday there, wasting their time and paying prices for sub-par meal portions. It is an utter, unfortunate and sad time to have been a customer and Zizzi's. This would be the last time we will go here until their service and quality improves,...

Had dinner here on a Monday evening in April. Very few tables were occupied but I still had to stand at the front desk for about 5 minutes for someone to approach me. As the meal went on, I found some of the staff nice and friendly. And others not so. Not unfriendly, but just in a hurry. I did wonder what they would be like on a busy might. I was disappointed with the food. We shared some garlic cheesy bread which I found strange. The flavour was good but it was soft in some places, as I'd have expected, but then crunchy in others. Kind of like thick melba toast. I guess this is their version of garlic, so I can only say that it wasn't the way I like it. I had chicken calabrese for my main. There was not much chicken in it. It didn't look anything like the photo in the menu. It was all sauce, quite watery and too spicy. It became like a kind of guessing game. I would fish about in the liquid for something solid and then hope it was chicken. It was usually potato. I was getting quite disheartened of ever finding some chicken, but I think I did find a few cubes, though it just tasted the same as the potatoes. Both had been well and truly drowned in the hot liquid. Finally, the venue. Again, it's personal preference, but I find the Victoria Centre a very strange place to host the restaurants that it has. It's cold and lacks atmosphere when you're going there, but afterwards, you really want to leave as quickly as possible. It's like some deserted mall, with youngsters hanging about, lights off off, shops closed up, and this is before you even get out to the street, and then you're kind of watching who's around, cos you're so removed from any nightlife. Maybe it feels better during the summer, but I've never gone to one of the restaurants there and really enjoyed the...

We booked a table for 2 for 6.30pm to enjoy a meal before walking to the SSE arena for a show at 8pm. Food was received at the table at 7.50pm which is a shocking wait. The restaurant was very busy and either there is a staffing issue or very poor management. Servers were run off their feet so there was no communication with us re our order, apologies were given when we left our table to ask about our food and 25% discount was given in the end after we literally wolfed down our meal to get on our way to the show. On leaving the restaurant all floor staff kept their backs to us which was a clear indication how little they cared. We arrived early and were turned away as our table wasn't ready yet, but were assured there would be a place for us at 6.30 so fair enough. We returned and were told our table wasn't available so we stood at the door waiting for 15 minutes to be seated. We informed the MaitreD we were ready to order immediately as we'd had plenty of time to check out the menu while waiting. It took another 10+ minutes for the server to take our order. We ordered drinks but one of our orders couldn't be fulfilled. 40 minutes after placing our food order we enquired how much longer the food would be as we were walking to the next venue and didn't want to miss the start. We could see people who were seated after us had been served their food. Just as we had given up and were putting our coats on to leave, the food arrived at 7.50pm. I think it was tasty but it wasn't enjoyed. After reading some of the reviews here, I can see I am not alone in this experience. We had planned to have several drinks and the dessert menu looked great but we ended up getting discount on a single course. This level of service is costing the business money and is so...