Zizzi - Braintree — Restaurant in Braintree

This restaurant is a literal dive, we had four meals, a sea bass which was like cardboard, overcooked very small and tasteless, combined with fried that were inedible - this meal atrocious.

We also had vegan ragù, this was a lentil disaster, the pasta resembled something that I can only describe as mash with a ‘sauce’ that had no identity at all, you couldn’t even pick out a single flavour. Yet another, disappointment from Zizzi.

None the less at least we played it safe with a pizza, Right? Wrong. The sticky pig pizza was quite literally fit for pigs, the base was burnt and the pork toppings were rancid.

The highlight of the mains was the spaghetti bolognese which actually had flavour and was edible, could I have made something a million times better at home for less, without a shadow of a doubt. But at least this was edible, right?

I will however say that the starters were quite nice with the bruschetta not quite resembling anything Italian but was still nice and the caprese salad was also good. This was the highlight of our meal by far.

The drinks were disgusting with the cocktails being more like shocktails, if there was even a single millilitre of rum in the pineapple cooler I would be stunned, the raspberry mojito had a bit of a kick but didn’t really have much in the way of a desire to consume.

The general hygiene of the restaurant was poor with flies swarming the restaurant not a fly zapper in sight, the waitress leaning over our meals to grate Parmesan cheese with added hair to our spaghetti bolognese, the chefs with their chunic half open and the kitchen looking generally grubby.

The aesthetic of the restaurant more resembled a Caribbean than an Italian, the chairs were extremely uncomfortable and the booths were comparable to sitting on a pallet.

Overall I would strongly recommend that you avoid this restaurant with a wide birth. A McDonald’s would have been a better choice...

A Zizzi-tastic Celebration with Super Waitress Sam!

When you step into Zizzi in Braintree, it's like being welcomed into a big Italian family gathering, and we had the joy of celebrating my sister's milestone there. The star of the show? None other than our waitress Sam, who was nothing short of super!

Sam, our memory wizard, remembered all our allergies as if she had them written on the back of her hand. She navigated our table's dietary no-go zones with the skill of a culinary cartographer, ensuring everyone's meal was safe, sound, and scrumptious.

The ambiance? It's like your coolest Italian friend threw a dinner party and everyone's invited. The food? Each bite was a 'Bravo!' moment, making our taste buds dance the tarantella.

And amidst the clinking of glasses and the chorus of 'Mmm's, there was Sam, our waitress extraordinaire, making sure every dish was tailored to our tastes. She's the kind of waitstaff who makes you feel like you're the only ones in the room, even on a bustling night.

But wait, there's more! Zizzi not only served up a feast for the senses but also honored our online voucher without a hitch, making the deal as sweet as their tiramisu.

So hats off to Zizzi, where the pasta's perfect, the laughter's loud, and where Sam, the maestro of the dining room, ensures your experience is nothing short of fantastico!

Five stars for the feast, the fun, and for Sam, who's probably out there right now, giving a masterclass in how to be an exceptional waitstaff. Grazie...

Normally great food and service from this site! We’ve eaten here many times over the years but this was by far the worst!

Took my children for lunch as a last holiday treat and they chose Zizzi as they love the signature pasta crisps. These were not available 😔

It wasn’t particularly busy but service was slow and flat! I wasn’t particularly hungry so ordered a bruschetta. I agree I didn’t ask for it at the same time as the children’s but as this was the only adult food ordered and the children had no starters it should have arrived together. We waited 10-15 minutes after my food for the children’s to arrive. My sons kid’s pizza was overflowing with sauce meaning the base was sloppy and the chips were cold - they looked like the left overs and compared to the sweet potato fries they were 1/2 the portion

We selected the grapes as one of the kids deserts but when brought over the staff informed us that they’d run out of grapes so had shared what they did have with my son and the table next to us but that they’d had some strawberries left so added these! Fortunately we are ok with these, this should not have been taken for granted the staff should have advised and asked if we wanted that!

Service was really slow for the amount of covers in there at the time and for the small amount of food we had - we were in there...