Za Za's Cucina is an Italian restaurant that serves pizza, pasta and other Italian dishes. They also have a bar.

Comments

2008-07-30 00:04:06   I'm not a fan of ZaZa either. The 3 or 4 times I've been there there has always been a major flaw with the dinner. Once the bread (which seemed like it should have been good) had absolutely no salt in it. Freshly baked, crusty bread with no salt. It was inedible. Another time my wife's dish was so laden with salt and anchovy flavor that it was inedible (and I like things pretty salty and I like anchovies!). —Anonymous

2008-07-30 00:06:25   I personally really like ZaZa's I think it is the most authentic Italian in town. It sure beats the kind of Italian restaurants around here who buy everything pre-made and heat it up or just serve doughy pizza and wings. I agree that it is a little bit on the pricey side for Italian food in this town but I think it's worth it. In the city these prices are cheap for lesser quality food. I've had the polenta and it's not my favorite so I just don't order it anymore, I don't get on a rant about food I order and just don't really like. I'd have to rant about a lot of restaurants if that were the case.

All of the pasta dishes are really good... the entrees are just ok. I like the thin crust pizza and the spaghetti bolognese. The spaghetti I think is homemade and is really delicious. —Anonymous

2008-07-30 00:07:05   I agree with you about ZaZa's. I only ate there once, and I was not impressed. I had the chicken parm, which wasn't bad, but definitely wasn't the quality I was expecting for the price. They charge fine-dining prices for food that is the quality of Olive Garden. The food is a little bit more interesting than Olive Garden, but definitely not as good as it should be for the price. Overcharging for mediocre food seems to be a bit of a trend in this town. —Anonymous

2008-07-30 00:07:42   I had a craving for good Italian food recently, and as a young professional in the industry, I opted for one of Ithaca's own. I should have known it would be priced disproportionately to the quality of the meal. First, I had the polenta with mushrooms and truffle oil, which was grossly under-seasoned by anything other than truffle oil, which it was visibly swimming in. Second, My potato gnocchi dish tasted like Chef Boyardee's son was trying his hand at it, as they were small, bland, and overcooked. The sauce, which sounded like a delicious medley of meats, was just as unimpressive.

Generally, I'm willing to put all of this aside and consider the fact that there are a plethora of things that can affect a dish from the kitchen standpoint... Until I get home and can't even talk to my ladyfriend in bed because I'm to the point of vomiting. Upon talking to my coworkers about this, they all replied "What did you expect? It's ZaZa's!" I had never eaten there before, nor will I again, because I honestly expected to have a delicious meal worthy of the Ben Franklin treasury note it cost. Instead I'm clutching my stomach and my wallet tight, weary of any Italian place that has the decorum of a Holiday Inn restaurant bred with a gawdy bordello. —Anonymous

2009-07-12 11:00:42   This place is decent Italian food. Before the meal arrives, you get bread and a dip of pesto and sun dried tomato oil, which I enjoyed. I went with a large group and ordered the meat sauce gnochi described in the review above. I also split this dish with a fiend who ordered the spaghetti Puttanesca (a red sauce with capers, achoves, and olives). The meat sauce was good but didn't have enough tomato zing, and the gnochi was slightly overcooked, but still decent. The puttanesca sauce was strong, as it should be, and was actually a nice contrast to the more subtle meat sauce. Its bold flavor also paired nicely with the crusty bread on the table. Overall the meal was tasty but not great. I still think it was better than Lucatelli's Ristorante, but its more expensive for the portions you get. —MattHh