Zizzi is a nationwide chain of Italian restaurants similar to Strada, Prezzo and Carluccio's. They boast an impressive gluten free menu which isn't just limited to a couple of pasta dishes and salad. Their website has a separate 'special diets' menu, which lists all the food safe to eat for vegetarians and various allergies. I find this really helpful as you can plan in advance what you might have to eat, and it is particularly useful if you have trouble trusting the knowledge of the staff. They have copies of this menu within the restaurant, so make sure you ask for it when you're seated. Admittedly, when I asked to see it last night, I was told "oh you can have the pasta dishes, we just use gluten free pasta." This isn't true. Some of the sauces contain gluten and are not safe, and there are more choices than just pasta, so be persistent in asking for the menu if you aren't offered it!
Having eaten at Zizzi before, I already knew what I wanted to order - the Strozzapreti Pesto Rosso. I love chicken pasta dishes and this one is gorgeous. Spiced creme fraiche sauce with spring onions and torn chicken breast. I am slightly confused by their special diets menu, as this dish is not listed as safe for coeliacs anymore, yet it does say it's fine in the allergen table at the back, providing the pasta is substituted. I asked my server, and again had to ask twice as initially she said "oh it's probably not gluten free anymore then," and only sought confirmation when I explained about the table in the back of the menu. When she returned, I was told it was still fine and must be a printing error, so I'm going to raise this issue with Zizzi and ask them to recheck their menus. It would be a shame to miss out on my favourite meal because of a printing error. Needless to say, I did order that and was fine the next day, so I'm confident it's still safe.
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| My Strozzapreti Pesto Rosso. (Admittedly, it was hard not to divert my eyes towards my boyfriend's Rustica Pizza in the background! |
As with most of the gluten free menus at mainstream Italian restaurants, the only thing missing is pizza/bread options. It is understandable why they don't feature, with cross-contamination concerns etc, but it's still a shame as it would be lovely to have some garlic bread with my pasta. Perhaps they will look into some frozen/premade bread as gluten free options continue to expand and improve? I imagine that with Zizzi, it would be difficult, as their pizzas are cooked in a stone fired oven so I would rather know that what I'm eating was cooked separately and definitely safe. Lack of bread aside, the menu at Zizzi is brilliant for coeliacs. Various pasta and risotto dishes, starters (albeit only olives and prawns!), mains, sides and a couple of nice desserts are all safe, so if you like Italian food, you're bound to find something you like!
Maybe I could sneak a couple of slices of bread in my handbag next time?
Great review. I had one of the main salads recently as I asked and the only reason ti wasn't GF was because it came with dough sticks, the salad itself was fine. Goats cheese and beetroot I think. Was delicious
ReplyDeleteSounds nice! Going to have to expand my choices in future, I just really like that pasta!
DeleteLast summer they were trialling gluten free pizzas in about 6 stores nationwide. A couple were in London I think and the others were spread around the country, including a couple in the North and the Midlands. I don't know if these stores are still doing the trial, but it was advertised on Coeliac UK and other gluten free Facebook pages and blogs.
ReplyDeleteThat's handy to know. Perhaps they decided not to go ahead with it for the reasons I suggested, or maybe they're working on it still! Would be good to know though, I may email them to enquire about future plans!
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