Zico's — Restaurant in Salem

I hope I do justice to this review, but oddly, feel I will fall short of how wonderful it is. My wife and I have been here twice now, and at first glance, we didn't expect much. It's a casual setting, but the food is equal to ANY restaurant in the area. A mixture of authentic Mediterranean and Italian, and topped out with NY style pizza. Having tasted NY pizza in NY and NJ, I can say it's NY pizza with first hand knowledge. The dough is imported directly from NY, and has the same cheese and sauce taste of that style. But this is the 'topper' of this restaurant. The first visit, I was looking for a nice steak and cheese, and that's what I got....including exception bread! Loved this steak and cheese!

The main reason we go though, is the authentic Mediterranean and Italian delicious dishes. My wife ordered the vegitearean platter that included salad, 2 forms of humas, moussaka (instead of the black beans and rice, that I'm told is out of this world from another customer), and a Greek salad. She was over the moon in love with the dish. Every mouthful was "yummy" in her opinion. That visit, Zico (sy if I've misspelled your name!) allowed us to test taste his pizza. The customer service is outstanding. Zekka substituted or created a dish (on hand items) on our behalf. Our next visit, my wife got the same dish, but I went with a Salmon Alfredo, which was to die for. Allergic to shrimp, he subbed out that for the salmon, and it was fantastic. This time I test tasted his chicken cacciatore , and wow. Just wow. Very authentic, and wonderful sauce. His sauce is amazing, and since I make my own, I'm a tough critic on sauces. The quality of food, I would find in any of the high end restaurants in the area, and be extremely pleased and impressed with. Everything was great, even the Italian dressing and Greek salad's we got as sides.

Bottom line is, you can't go wrong...

I came here with my family while visiting Virginia for my sister's birthday. Let me say, that the guy who served us was so so kind and personable. The service was good, and he was very attentive to us when it came to ensuring we had everything and were satisfied. I got the grilled chicken pita to-go, and the fish and chips plate. I didn't end up trying the pita because I left it overnight and it ended up being a little soggy in the morning, so I can't say anything about how that tasted. My mom and sister seemed to like theirs, but my mom specifically wasn't a fan of the tzatziki sauce, but my sister disagreed, I think that's more of a personal opinion rather than an objective statement. She likes hers chunkier and it was definitely on the smoother side with a more yogurt-like taste. However, the fish and chips were delicious. My fries were good, but my mom's tasted a little like they had been fried in maybe old or dirty oil. But it was nothing terrible and just a strange aftertaste on them. The two items initially got mixed up, but he was very quick to fix that and made sure everything was right for us which was very appreciated. He even brought out what I believe to be carrot cake for my sister, on the house, for her birthday, which was very appreciated and we all enjoyed it. I got to try the baklava my family ordered and it was so good. It was perfectly flaky and sweet, and the nutty part was made with walnut and sunflower seeds I believe. This ended up being good because my sister and I are allergic to pistachios and we took a gamble trying it. Overall great experience, a nice atmosphere, kind staff, good food, and great...

For starters: the food was pretty good. So I'm trying to be objective. But we had a terrible experience. Problems: They messed up my wife's order and forgot my daughter's shrimp scampi all together The owner did come over and apologize Staff not experienced... So I'm showing some grace.... Slow service.... Brought out the pita bread after half the meals were served... And they were not all served together. They forgot the salad dressing. Had to ask. And they only had Italian??

Issues I can't accept: They charge $1 per person for a cup of water.... Menu didn't state this. $5 extra for water for my family to drink water during our meal They charge to use your credit card... Also doesn't state that on the menu We asked for the water to be comped bc of all the mess ups. The waitress said no. We will ONLY go back and get take out at best. If we ever go back. It's a shame bc the owner seems very nice and food was pretty good. He supposed have comped half our meal. That's how bad the experience was. But... My wife enjoyed the food. So again.... Objectively, the food is good. So make your own decision. Give it a try but beware of extra costs... But you shouldn't charge for a cup of water.

Disappointing at best to pay almost$80 after water and to and credit...