Zucca

Something has been brewing for years around bermondsey street. The Garrison and Village East instigated the food movement years ago and it is now well anchored in the fibre of this area, a hop away from foodie Borough Market. So when Zucca came along, and opened in a glass box on the ground floor of a modern development, as a resident, i thought oh dear.... but complete surprise, this is a very good restaurant, with lovely staff in the know of the menu and wine list. my only grumble are the white tables with the little vases on them which takes me back to the 90s when this was fashionable and fortunately no longer isn't. It is a lovely place and with the likes of Jose & Pizzaro around the corner you now must book well in advance.
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Jakson - View all reviews by this user
8 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 8
Tuesday, February 07, 2012

Headline would be "loved the food ; service needs some work - and would a smile really hurt?"

Arrived bang on time and shown straight to table (by the coffee machine). Ordered drinks, they forgot and came over and asked if we wanted to order. Wife's prosecco was good.

The antipasti was incredible - some of the best I've ever eaten anywhere (inc. 20 visits to Italy). Pigs cheek, mozarrella with tomato, raisins cauliflower and tomato and baked fennel with cream/parmesan - just wonderful.

Pasta was pretty good. The £8 starter portion was small compared to the £10 main portion - just an FYI (disproportionally speaking of course)

Ordered two glasses of wine, they forgot, ordered again, they forgot, they eventually arrived. The wine was comp'd in the end - a nice touch at £8.25/glass.

Mains were big 'n' meaty. Pork and porcini mushroom came with a pice of porcini the size of my thumb nail. The pork was excellent and came with chard and pearl barley (I think).

Skipped dessert as we were full. Bill was £74 and left £15 cash for a tip.

Would return. Could be superb is service was a bit better and the staff smiled, had more charm or showed more sense of wanting to look after you.
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Coops
7 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 5 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 8
Tuesday, November 01, 2011

Our experience of eating at Zucca was mixed.

Final conclusion: Good food but too busy to look after customers properly. We were rushed throughout our dinner to leave the table on time - a very unpleasant experience.

Pros:

- Good food (although slightly greasy fried zucchini starters)

- Very good value for money for London

Cons: The service was poor in many aspects.

-We had a table booked for 6 people from 6h30-8h30, 4 arrived on time, 2 arrived at 7pm because of work. The staff was unpleasant and the service appalling on the back of this late arrival, which can't be that uncommon in a busy city like London.

-One of the few day's specials wasn't available until one hour later so we couldn't order it;

- Someone ordered a main dish with mixed salad. The mixed salad never came yet we were charged for it;

- We had finished our mains by around 8h15. The waitress suggested "coffee or tea" and when we requested the desert menu, we were told we wouldn't have enough time. The least the staff could have done would have been to ask us in advance if we would like some desert so that it would be ready on time but not prevent us from finishing our dinner properly.

Although well fed, we left the restaurant feeling quite unhappy about the experience! Quite a disservice to the chef.
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6 Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 2 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 9
Saturday, October 08, 2011

Fantastic restaurant well worth going out of your way for.

We went at 7.30 on Friday night, half expecting the place to be busy, crowded and noisy – but looking forward to some great food. We were treated on all counts – the food was spectacular, and the service was charming, but the restaurant was neither crowded or noisy – I’m not sure, but they did seem to have a steady flow of people coming and going, but it was never the cattle farm you sometimes experience. Nor were we asked for our table back after the usually 2 hour turnaround period.

And the prices were incredible – almost half the price you would expect to pay at other high end Italian restaurants.

No wonder you’ll have to wait 6 weeks to get a table (unless you want to eat at 930)!
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Omair Makhdumi
10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Tuesday, March 15, 2011

We enjoyed our meal on Friday but a bit disappointed by the praised by all fried pumpkin starter (undercooked & tasteless) and my husband's veal chop was very rare but edible and only came with spinach (and they don't do sides). Wine is also pricey with the cheapest bottle being £19 whereas the food is very reasonably priced. On the plus side my liver with lentils and salsa verde may have been the best meal I've had in the last year so we'll go again and hope we have a more consistent meal next time.They also don't include service which makes a change and unsurprisingly the service was excellent (but the two aren't linked - yeh).
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Jane - Borough
8 Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 8
Saturday, February 12, 2011

Had a lovely meal in Zucca last night.

Fresh, tasty and colourful dishes are supported by friendly and knowledgeable service.

And unusual to get a pleasant surprise when the bill arrives!

This Bermondsey gem is a must for all serious foodies.
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HK
9 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 10
Sunday, February 06, 2011

Woaow .... Well done Zucca!

After so many friends and colleagues recommended me this restaurant, I went there on saturday and it was more than I expected!

Brilliant food and service, all melting in a relaxing and bubbly atmosphere!

Although it was very busy, we received a warm and friendly welcome before being seated at our table. we had a lovely glass of Franciacorta, which by the way was exquisite, recommended by the waitress and we decided to go for the Zucca Fritti to nibble on ( fried pumpkin)... delicious!

Then, our lovely waitress explained us ( as it was our first time there) the concept of sharing antipasti followed by a middle course and finally a main course to get the whole idea of Zucca, which worked perfectly for us.

We took, the Carpaccio of Sea bream, the Sardines and the Bresaola to start with no disappointment at all, simple, but so tasty! Followed by the ravioli with pork and fennel ( sensational as they make their own pasta )! We finished with a sharing Duck and Pollock both amazingly tasty and perfectly cooked!

We asked the wine waiter to select a wine to match our meal, ( a Conterno Barbera) and I have to say that I was nicely surprised about his knowledges and how passionate he was!

Wine and food were both heaven! We spent a wonderful evening surrounded by a smiling, friendly and professional team, which made us feel comfortable.

Just one more word to say..... Thank you Zucca and his team for the amazing evening we had, we will definitely be back soon!
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FM
10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Sunday, February 06, 2011

I'm a huge Zucca fan and have been going there since its' opening. Last night was another successful visit.

We were greeted as usual by the smiling hostess who showed us to our table.

We had a selection of starters to share and the carpaccio of sea bream and eel bruschetta have to be two of the most delicious I've had in a long time.

As a main course my friends took the veal chop which was a huge portion served with spinach, the grilled octopus with wet polenta which was a dish full of flavour and I ordered the grilled liver, again one of the best I've ever tasted.

The wine list has plenty of choice and is really good value for money. A knowledgeable sommelier suggested a brilliant sauvignon to start with and a powerful blend of sicilian grapes to finish, called Etna Rosso.

Despite the fact that the restaurant was absolutely packed I have to say that the service was very friendly and almost faultless. We were never made to feel rushed and were offered careful and helpful advice about the menu from our waiter, who clearly had a good understanding of the food.

Reading the previous reviews I wonder if these people went to the same restaurant as we did!

Zucca: 10 out of 10!
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AF
10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Saturday, February 05, 2011

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