Tunbridge Wells has a very diverse range of eating places, and many have a common theme; they were once banks or building societies. As I sat in Zizzis this Saturday lunch time (October 4th 2003), I realised it was yet another. Zizzis does Italian style food, mostly pastas, pizzas and salads. The restaurant layout is of the open kitchen variety where one can see the chefs at work, twirling the dough round and getting pizzas out of the oven. You can also play “is that my meal” lotto, wondering if the food getting cold while it waits to be brought to the table is yours. Still it passes the time. I’ve not spotted another Zizzis and wondered if it was part of a chain. I think my question was answered when I spotted the name “ASK Ltd”, another pizza and pasta chain, on the bill so I assume it is part of that organisation.

On this visit, my wife and I just had a single dish each. I chose the special of the day; mushroom ravioli and my wife the “Insolata Tricolore” (mozzarella, avocado, beef tomato and basil), with a bowl of marinated olives and some Ciabatta bread. The ravioli was excellent (and at £8.25 it should be), but was spoilt by being served on a cold plate, so by the time I got to the last few pieces, they to were cold and not so pleasant. The Insolata Tricolore was not so good, despite being well presented on a huge plate, and looking very appetising. An overripe avocado (it’s a fine line between ripe and bad) combined with tasteless tomato and poor quality watery mozzarella made this a poor quality dish. My wife left quite a bit of it. The olives, were pre-stoned mushy and of poor quality. The bread was of the pre-part prepared, the just cook it yourself type you can buy in Marks and Sparks, and at £2.10 rather pricey. Service was pleasant, but stretched – is there a general shortage of staff in Tunbridge Wells? The restaurant has an upstairs, but although this was mostly empty, many customers gave up waiting to be seated and walked out. Again we would have liked a shot of expresso to round off the meal, but the speed of service made me worried that I might get a parking ticket, so we paid up and left. On a previous visit, at a less busy time, Zizzis produced three, almost faultless meals, including a very good pizza, with excellent service, so consistency needs to be improved. I’d go back, but not when it’s busy. Top Cat