Z'Abbracci - Pizza, Pasta & Tap House — Restaurant in Castle Rock

In short: Initial experience of trying to get a table was horrible, server and manager were great and tried very hard to save the experience for us, but in the end the food wasn’t worth it.

We called on a Friday evening to see what the reservations/waitlist situation was and were told by the hostess (Hailey — who was super sweet and awesome!) that it was a 40 minute wait but we could add our names over the phone. So we did. Since we live less than 15 minutes away, I decided to jump in the shower quick. As we’re headed out the door, I notice I missed 2 calls — the first 15 minutes after my initial call to be added to the 40 minute waitlist, and the second 5 minutes after that. I called the restaurant and was told since we didn’t answer the phone, they gave away our table. When I explained I was told it would be a 40 minute wait, not 15, the hostess told us they had a table clearing right now and that they would hold it for us for up to 15 minutes. I told her we were walking out the door and she agreed to hold it. We got there 12 minutes later another server (NOT Hailey, but a small brunette with glasses and an attitude) told us it had been longer than 15 minutes (it most certainly had NOT), she had given our table away, and now it would be a 30 minute wait for a table. Initially we decided to leave and take our business elsewhere (spoiler alert: I wish I had stuck with this decision), but I decided to call the restaurant on our way back to our vehicle and asked for the manager. Chris jumped on the call, I explained to him what happened, and after a brief hold to check out the situation, he told me he had a table for us available immediately and that if we came back, he would meet us at the door personally and take us to our table. This guy is good! He knows how to take care of customers for sure. Our server Jenna was on top of it. She was awesome and super friendly! Despite me telling her I wanted to start from scratch and pretend nothing had happened before us getting seated, she gave us a discount on our first round of drinks and appetizer because had we been sat during our original time, it would have still been during their happy hour specials. She also threw in a free dessert at the end for our troubles. Unnecessary, unexpected, but much appreciated for sure. Chris came by our table a few times during our meal to see how things were and refill beverages. He and Jenna were definitely trying to make up for the initial interaction we had. We got the bruschetta appetizer and it was very good! However, and it really does pain me to say this because I had heard good things about this place and was really looking forward to the food, the entrees just weren’t very good. I got what was supposed to be bolognese but was definitely not bolognese. Instead it was a watery liquid that can best described as an attempt at a ragu — but nothing close to a bolognese. There was no finely diced onions, carrots, or celery at all, and when I say watery, I mean watery. My girlfriend got the mushroom risotto, which had potential to be really good, but for some reason they tossed halved uncooked cherry tomatoes in with it and the acidity completely threw off the flavor. Mixed with the cheese, mushroom, and herbs of the risotto, it tasted like eating dirty gym socks — or at least what I imagine that would taste like. Not to mention the texture of now warmed but raw tomatoes was off putting for sure. In the end, neither of us ate more than half of our meals and while I didn’t take mine in a take-home container, she did because she felt bad, but it went in the garbage as soon as we got home. It wasn’t even worth its waste of space in the refrigerator knowing no one would eat it. We left wishing we had stuck with our initial decision to walk away and find someplace else. Despite Chris and Jenna’s best efforts to save the experience for us, I can’t imagine a reason why I’d...

I have to change my rating which I don't do easily. The first few times we went here, the food was delicious, the staff was kind and attentive, and the COVID protocol was reassuring. The last time we dined in, 6 months ago, the staff were busy, seemed irritated with customers, spent time talking to each other instead of helping guests, and delivered incomplete dishes to our table - missing salad dressing, pizza toppings, no drink refills without asking, and napkins/silverware were not brought out without asking. The staff didn't wear masks anymore either. We decided the food was good enough to go back but that we would do carry-out to avoid the poor service.

We then did carry-out for the first time 4 months ago. The pizza was cold, the meatball appetizer was okay, but it comes with bread which was placed in the same container which causes it to soak up the marinara, making it inedible. We were really unhappy but thought it was a fluke. We were wrong.

2 months ago, we tried one last time. The experience couldn't have been worse. We ordered a ceaser salad, risotto, and pizza. The family sized salad had about 1 cup of lettuce, and that is being generous. The lettuce was not fresh. The pizza we ordered is the one we always get because it has always been insanely good before. This time, the dough was raw, the cheese wasn't entirely melted, and we had to cook it when we got home for about 30 minutes. We got the asparagus and mushroom risotto, which costs more. It arrived with no asparagus.

We were so disappointed since we spent about $70 on an undercooked, sloppy order which was inedible and of poor quality. We called the restaurant and spoke to a manager who first defended the food saying they were slammed with customers but then apologized for the situation. To help resolve the situation, he offered to have us come back and pick up the order again...this time getting a cooked pizza or a gift card for the cost of the meal. We opted to the gift card because we didn't want to go back out again. We never got the gift card.

The quality of the food has greatly gone down, and the last order was so terrible we haven't gone back. I'm not sure what to say about the restaurant since I know they are capable of a good experience and meal, but we definitely won't be going back anytime...

Happy Hour!

Let me say that Z'Abbracci' is a little gem here in Castle Rock! My wife and I have always wanted to go here and check it out. Well, that day came on the May 3rd, because we celebrated the wife's mom's birthday. Followed by a second visit 5/6/2022.

Upon arrival, we were instantly greeted as we walked in by the hostess. We were then seated immediately at a table by the entry way. Now, they do have seating outside as well, just on that day it was really windy out.

We were then greeted by our server Tim (Tiimmmmmmmmayyyyyyy) who was very patience with us as it was our first time there. So, Carrie (the wife) wanted to try the Happy Hour menu. We tried the daily pizza choice that they had for happy hour, which was Pepperoni, and Jalapeño. There pizza is made on a kilim (dobie of assort) and it was aaaaaaaaaammmmmmmmmziiiing!!!! Followed by Calzone and Spaghetti with sausage.

Friday 5/8/22Visit: Carrie and I went back to Z'Abbracci and we had the honor of having Tim (Timmaaayyyy) as our server. This time we tried their Hot wings, and man am I glad that we did. We had the pound was around $8 (normally $15 - $16) and we got the dry rub Garlic Parm and the Cajun. The wings were fire, and we could not get enough of them. Now they do have wet wings (wings made in sauce), but only the BBQ and Buffalo are wet. We also had the pizza again (Pepperoni, green peppers and cheese) and it was just amazing as the first time. We finished the evening with my favorite desert TIRAMISU cake. Which was tasty

Conclusion:

Staff: Tim is a GREAT server and very attentive. He is very knowledgeable of items on the menu, but most importantly.... friendly and EXCELLENT customer service.

Venue: Love this little piece of heaven that is smack dab in the middle of downtown Castle Rock. The patio / street seating was very nice, clean and maintained. Very family friendly

Food: Need I say more!

Z'Abbracci's is a MUST to visit and try if you are passing through while visiting the Outlet Mall or looking for a place for a date or a family night out. You will be VERY pleased and amazed if you get Tim as...