Zucco — Restaurant in Leeds

Planned to go to Hana Matsuri across the road but they were closed. Spotted Zucco because I happened to have parked in front of it. Having seen that the place was packed - following a quick google (to check the rating) decided to walk in, in my running attire. Was definitely the most casually dressed but was welcomed very warmly regardless. I’ve been trying a new restaurant in Leeds every Friday, it’s become a sort of tradition. Zucco exceeded my expectations (perhaps sometimes it really is best not to overthink where to eat and just walk in to a place on a whim). The things I loved about Zucco: The food was really very good: especially the ‘Pan fried king scallops, prawns, squid and saffron risotto’, I could smell the saffron and the scallops were cooked perfectly - the entire dish was just plate licking worthy. I think it was the best risotto I have ever had. I loved the attention to detail: such as the fact that they provide a steak knife instead of a regular butter knife as part of their normal table set up 🍴, the fact that they always ask you if you’re sharing a dish when taking your order so that they can provide you with adequate extra plates and the fact that they print out up to date menus every day to reflect seasonal/fresh produce they have on the day etc. All the staff are so friendly and efficient: I even witnessed the bar tender changing roles briefly to welcome some diners and act as the host/waitress - he did it seamlessly and with a smile on his face. This was so lovely to witness because customer service has really suffered since Covid and has never really recovered in so many other eateries across the UK. Special mention to my waitress Julia - she was genuinely lovely and made me feel so welcome at Zucco that I will no doubt be back very soon to try the rest of the menu! They do not add an “optional service charge” to your bill: which is so rare these days and just amazing to see because it makes you want to tip appropriately for the wonderful food and service received instead of feeling obligated to pay an arbitrary service charge that you might not feel adequately reflects your experience. The loos were well designed and always clean: which is particularly impressive given how...

We've been coming to Zucco since shortly after it opened, and I've never been disappointed! Really a testament to them to have kept the quality up for all these years.

We recently visited for a celebratory meal and were pleased to see it was relatively busy even on a Wednesday night - so I would recommend booking.

The offering has changed ever so slightly since the early days in that I would say the portion sizes have now increased and it's less 'small plates' now - we were slightly caught out by this a we ordered four plates between two, which probably would have been just right in the early days but was perhaps a bit much now. Needless to say, we still demolished the lot

We ordered the seafood risotto, chicken diavola, beef pappardelle, and the gorgonzola and walnut pizzette.

The beef pappardelle has always been my favourite as the beef is so tender and flavourful and the dish itself is very understated and simple in flavour profile but I'm afraid this has now been usurped by the seafood risotto, which was unbelievably good.

Aside from the food, the FoH team are always so friendly and attentive, the atmosphere is calming and intimate, and the drinks offering is very impressive - both alcoholic and non alcoholic options with a range of fancy italian soft drinks.

We've been coming for years and we will continue to come for as long as Zucco remains open - probably even after we move out of Leeds! It's worth noting we really pushed the boat out with a bottle of wine, soft drinks, and four dishes and it still came to less than £100. Exceptional value for what...

Despite numerous glowing recommendations and incredibly positive reviews, our recent visit to Zucco left us decidedly underwhelmed. The restaurant failed to impress on several fronts.

We anticipated a flavorful and dynamic dining experience. Zucco, regrettably, did not deliver. The food was... OK. Each dish was ultimately quite bland and required seasoning.

Service was a mixed experience. The staff taking our drinks orders were exceptionally friendly and approachable, creating a warm and welcoming atmosphere. However, after all our food had arrived (and long after the table next to us had left), an additional table was added to ours. I heard the conversation between staff explaining that this was done in order to prevent a table being available for a late walk-in. This, however, was presented to us as if it was done for our benefit and convenience. The disruption detracted from our dining experience, and made me feel really quite uncomfortable.

We visited on a Saturday evening. The restaurant was busy, and there was a good atmosphere. However, there was little ventilation, so it was extremely warm and quite noisy.

Given the rave reviews and high expectations, Zucco did not justify the hype or...