Zina's Cucina — Restaurant in Marlborough

I prefer to write reviews that are positive and uplifting; that celebrate the best of our world. Unfortunately, this isn't one of those reviews. Tonight, my wife and I opted to dine at Zina's Cucina with close friends, who had wanted to give this restaurant a try.

The atmosphere is okay, but it became very loud over time. So loud that we could not hear one another when using normal conversational tones. The fact that the bar is in proximity to seated diners may be one reason.

The service was okay. I felt bad for the waitperson who spilled a beverage on the table. She was very apologetic, but seemed okay to do a cursory job drying the table, leaving the tabletop fairly wet. We had to point out to her that it was still pretty wet and asked her to dry the table.

Between the four of us, we ordered Chicken Marsala, Eggplant Parm, Lasagna and the veal special. My Marsala was delivered in a pool of pasta water. I originally thought it was a different approach to Marsala until I pointed it out to the waitperson, who told me it wasn't right. My dining companions finished only part of their meals and couldn't continue. They are not overly picky about food, so the fact that they could finish says something, When asked if we wanted take-away boxes, everyone declined.

My biggest disappointment was that the waitperson had some clear signals that we likely were not having a pleasant experience, from spilling water on a guest, to the watery Marsala, to the fact that only a portion of the meals were eaten and nobody want to take the rest home should have signaled that something was not going well.

While the waitperson included some discounts on the bill, it was still close to $200 (with no wine or liquor). They opted to charge 50% for the Marsala. They did offer a free dessert, which was nice.

Not every dining experience can be a proper representation of the establishment, but as the saying goes, "you only get one shot at making a first impression."

What could have turned this around? First, there should be no charge for a wrongfully made meal, even if some of it was eaten. That's just bad form. Diners who only eat a portion of their meal and don't want to take any home is probably a clear sign that they didn't like the meal. Given that it was everyone at the table, the waitstaff should have intuited an issue and mentioned that to the restaurant manager. Had the manager known, he/she may have been able to rehabilitate our visit.

Sadly, that never happened. It's unlikely that we will ever dine here again, and I cannot recommend this...

Very disappointed. I make better food myself. The $10 cocktail was mediocre. The crock of onion soup was light on onions and flavor. Tasted like the cook had watered down the soup to stretch it and keep from having to cook fresh. The French Fries were burnt to a crisp with many small end pieces, not full fries. The French dip sandwich was on an over toasted baguette with a poorly seasoned dipping sauce. My friend's chicken pot pie was OK with a decent crust but a lackluster filling. My friend has eaten there 3 times and been disappointed with the food all 3 times. The only good things were the given appetizer bread basket with warm bread and olive oil, the glass of wine and thankfully the food was NOT over salted. There is plenty of free parking. Also for December there is a 15% discount for lunch ( but don't know that compensated for the poor quality cooking/food). Service was slow (only one server for the entire restaurant who kept forgetting to get us things, the bread basket, our drinks, dessert). The waitress was totally courteous, just distracted and I think overwhelmed even though the restaurant wasn't anywhere near full. ** (My responsibility as a customer is to give accurate ratings. If a business provides good tasting, well prepared food at a good price with good service they will receive a 4 or 5 star review. I am not obligated to support your business with a positive 4 or 5 star review if you aren't doing a good or excellent job. An owner/ chef/ cook who is sending out burnt fries, dried out, over toasted sandwich bread and watered down (probably left over) soup has already told me they don't care about me, the customer, or doing a good job with their business or reputation in the community. I would rather go to Sadler's or Village Green Pizza Restaurant where I get good tasting, well prepared food, good service and * a good attitude*. I know what tastes good and this is America where I am free to share my honest and accurate opinions. And I'm sure I would have gotten the same snarky attitude in person that I got in your response to this review so I'm not obligated to give you an opportunity to...

My family and I went to Pumpkintown USA nearby and was looking for a spot for a late lunch. We searched and searched; we decided to go to the Chinese restaurant but they didn't have tables to dine in. We found Zina's Cucina right next door.

It's a very nice Italian restaurant. The menu looked great and the drinks looked delicious. The bar was full when we got there but the dining room was empty. The bartender was also our waitress. She was friendly and efficient.

We ordered bread and oil to start; it came out with olives and garlic, all very delicious. We ordered my toddlers Mac and cheese to share (huge portion) and I couldn't stop eating their meal lol, it was so good. My entree, I was torn between eggplant parmesan or the spaghetti and meatballs. I decided on the spaghetti and meatballs and I wasn't disappointed; the meal was simple but delicious and the meatballs were large and tasty (plenty of leftovers).

My family and I really enjoyed dining in at this restaurant. I wish we were closer, we would be here often, when we crave Italian. I highly recommend it if you're in the mood for some...