Zucca

Excellent food at a fair price, with pleasant and professional staff to start with. The starters were mouth-watering and beautifully presented main courses were delicate, yet flavoursome. We arrived early ( our booking for 4 at 6.30 pm midweek) at an empty venue, though tables quickly filled from 8pm onwards. When booking our table, time slots were extremely limited and bookings were at least 2-3 weeks in advance. To this end, one expects courteous and customer-orientated waiting staff, supported by responsive and understanding restaurant management. Unfortunately the rude, obnoxious behaviour of the short-sighted, unsociable and (quite frankly) ghastly behaviour of the restaurant manager left a sour taste in our mouths after being told (after waiting 30 mins for our dessert order to be taken & a further 20 to arrive when one of the desserts we ordered was discontinued that night) half way through eating our desserts: " you have 5 minutes to finish your desserts before we need your table back". Thoroughly unprofessional and delivered in a wholly unthoufhtful way by an aggressive waitress. A shame - this was very close to being a lovely experience.
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6 Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 4 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 6
Thursday, February 03, 2011

5 of us went for linch on a freezing friday.

Food is wonderful;waitstaff extremely helpful;wine list is extensive and well-priced.

We shared a selection of 5 starters which were excellent(sardines in saor were extraordinary); followed by the fresh rigatoni with veal meatballs(delicious).Then for mains we had 2 octopus;2 duck;pollack-all were great.We shared desserts,and these included a wonderful ornage cake;a light as a feather pannacotta with rhubarb;a pear and almond tart;and an affogato with real espresso.

A terrific bottle of Franciacorta and Barbera;expressos all around and all this for £250 for 5 people.A great meal at a great price.
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C.Elder
9 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 10
Tuesday, February 01, 2011

Four of us (matured gourmet girls!) had a dinner at Zucca...We had to wait for a little while despite we had a booking.

The food - we are quite disappointed as we had high expectations...

For starter, we shared fritti, taglierini with squid, sardines which were all average taste. For main, I had a calf liver with lentil, it was tasty. But my friends had octopus with white polenta, veal steak with mash potato which were nothing special. One of us had main for chicken (it was like a stew) and it was too salty so she couldn't eat it. She complained about it then a staff offer her another menu so it was quite professional.

For dessert, I had a pannacotta and it was tasteless..

Staff are friendly enough however overall we think Zucca is overrated. We don't think we are going back there.
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Ash
5 Overall rating
Food 4 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 5
Friday, January 28, 2011

Zucca opened earlier in the year to rave reviews from bloggers and critics alike. Many had no idea how they could create their homely yet modern Italian cuisine at the prices they were charging, many of the same people also raved about the quality of the simple ingredients and this man, reading the bundles of food porn produced, licked his lips and vowed to get there, and soon. Well time moved on, and other places opened, and this man didn't get down there (though close) so it was with pleasure while sculling round for somewhere to go last week that this man was reminded of the little (still fairly new) cozy, modern and cheap Italian on Bermondsey Street.

Slightly uncomfortable sub-Habitat chairs aside, the space is a welcoming one. Light walls and exposed brick link the floor to ceiling windows that mirror the open kitchen across the rear. The tables are small and close together, but the high ceilings don't allow the volume to get too loud or your neighbours conversations too intrusive.

And the food? Well I've already booked my return. It's a rare place that makes you feel like that, but Zucca is the restaurant equivalent of a huge hug from an old family friend. And I want another hug. We started, encouraged by the friendly, observant and on the ball waitress, to go for a selection of shared starters. Prosciutto di Parma with a perfectly ripe fig was good, two excellent ingredients in harmonious marriage. Cardoons, celery like sticks of artichoke thistle a rare sight on a menu, came slathered in a thick and slightly boozy fondue cheese which proved perfect for being mopped up by the real star of the starters, the Zucca Fritti. Sticks of pumpkin, squash and carrot with the odd leaf of zingy basil came cooked in a tempura light batter and piled high. The healthiest fried food I've ever had and for a jaw dropping £3 a plate. This would be my lunch, daily, if I lived in the neighbourhood.

You have the option of a pasta course, either before or instead of the main, a bold and light chicory, lemon and gorgonzola taglierini that both companions opted for, and an intriguing bucatini, a spaghetti-like shape with a hollow centre, served with a seasonal pheasant sauce. The gamey notes continued into the carne, where I went for a whole partridge, served with slightly pointless and bland potatoes (the nearest to a duff note I had). Tender as I've had, with a rich stickiness on the breast and a salty umami-filled gravy made from the juices. We shared a homemade tiramisu, rich and creamy, and a panna cotta with poached pear, illiteratively pleasing but as a dessert just too bland for my palate. For £25 a head, it felt like we were committing theft.
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www.grumblinggourmet.com - View all reviews by this user
9 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 10
Sunday, November 14, 2010

Book. I've been four times now and can't wait for the fifth. Everyone we've been with - and we have very discerning friends - has loved it. Cheap it isn't, especially if you explore the excellent wine list, but for cooking this good it's a real bargain. (Angela Hartnett and a group of mates were having a great time at the next table one Saturday night.)
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Jon Allen
10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 10
Sunday, October 17, 2010

Lovely place in a lovely street. Had delicious lunch - chanterelle mushrooms in a pasta dish. So simple, but just gorgeous. Waiter was very professional and helpful and the whole place had a lovely atmosphere. Very reasonable prices.
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New Cross Eyes - View all reviews by this user
9 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 9
Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Zucca was lovely - simple, very fresh food cooked well. Friendly service by staff who generally knew the menu. We had 3 courses, pre and post dinner drinks and a nice bottle of recommended wine.

One fault was the service co-ordination. We ordered pre-dinner drinks at the table, they then took our starter and main course order and we asked to order wine.

The starter arrived before we had finished our pre-dinner drinks and before we had a chance to have much of the bread, and while we were still ordering the wine (from 2 or 3 different waiters). All of this in the first 15 minutes or so!

We then asked for a gap before the main course, to slow things down. The waiter initially suggested 5 minutes!! The service did seem to recover after this and remained quite charming throughout.

Zucca is great and we would return, but they need to slow things down and get co-ordinated. If people want drinks first they generally want to finish them. The wine order needs to be taken in time for it to be poured before the first course (and after the drinks), and.........etc - all obvious stuff.
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Dom
8 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 5 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 9
Thursday, September 23, 2010

What a wonderful restaurant, from the faultless food, to the friendly and informative service. Best meal I have had in a long time, I happily would return to Zucca tonight and eat exactly the same again! A fantastic meal, dishes and combinations I could never recreate at home ... it's what going out for dinner should be about.
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10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 10
Thursday, August 26, 2010

I haven't been to Zucca for a while, but i visited this restaurant on so many occasions and i've always enjoyed their food and service.

The previous review oozes ignorance.It states that "if you expect traditional italian

food this is not for you" and then it goes on to mention veal with tuna sauce and

pasta with walnut sauce, two great classic dishes of italian cuisine!! The zero awarded for value for money is utterly ludicrous and offensive.

Very few restaurants offer this sort of food at this prices.

On my last visit,my carpaccio of seabass was very good,and at £4,shocking good value.

The veal chop with spinach was to die for and it's no surprise it has become

their signature dish.At around £13,calling it good value would be an understatement.My dessert of panna cotta was perfectly wobbly and the poached plums served with it were delicious.
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9 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 10
Monday, August 09, 2010

After reading all the previous reviews... I was so looking forward to the Zucca experience with my boyfriend and my parents. Well where do I start??? Table was booked for 8.30pm. We had to wait for over 10 minutes to be seated. The previous family were asked to leave, as we were waiting in the cramped area by the entrance. The restaurant itself was immaculate, tables were clean. We were all handed a sheet of paper with approx 15 items of choice. We thought it was the specials. However when the waitress came over.. she informed us that the special for today was tagliatelle with pig cheeks. The wine list was in a binder, and there was more choice of wine than there was of the food. There was choice of 7 starters, Main course choices were 2 pasta, 2 meat and 2 fish. If you are expecting pizza, spaghetti bolegnese, carbanara, meatballs or traditional Italian food than this is not for you. The items are listed in Italian and we had to ask the translation for every item. Surely it would have been easier to have it printed in plain English like most decent restaurants. We had veal starters, which is served covered in tuna and mayonaise dressing... bit sickly. There wasnt really anything that stood out on the menu. I ended up opting for the safe choice which came up as flat pasta triangles, walnuts with a hint of lemon. My partner had Veal chop with a large spoonful of spinach. My dad had fish which was over chickpeas. We decided to decline the desserts, as there was no menu to read off, it was down to the translation of the waitress, who was hard to understand. We left there more hungry than when we went in. Will definately not be returning... EVER
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Julia Bathie
3 Overall rating
Food 3 | Service 5 | Atmosphere 4 | Value for money 0
Sunday, August 08, 2010