Pre-Cinema Dinner At Zizzi, INTU, Derby
Published On Sunday 5 Jun 2016 by Sticky Beak
See Recent Dining Out Reviews | See All Recent Reviews
It was one of those rare occasions in the half term break where The Man Bird and I weren’t abandoned by The Chick, so we grabbed the opportunity for a family evening together. We agreed on a film we all wanted to see and booked the tickets at Cinema De Lux and reserved a table at Zizzi to have dinner before the film.
We were shown to our table and told that Lia, our server, would be with us shortly to take our drinks order. Sure enough, the lovely Lia appeared within a few seconds and we ordered our drinks and looked through the menu.
For starters Chickadee had the Mushroom Brindisi, I had the Bruschetta and His Nibs had the Arancini. The Mushroom Brindisi is creamy mushrooms and smoked mozzarella oven baked on Zizzi’s dough and garnished with parsley, grated riserva, crispy sage and smoked garlic oil; my Chick said it was very tasty indeed and judging by the clean plate I think it got a thumbs up.
The Man Bird was tucking into his risotto balls with his usual enthusiasm and with the mozzarella, peas and rice coated in breadcrumbs done to perfection it was easy to see why he loved them so much. The chunky tomato pepperonata dip was superb as well; it gave a great flavour to the dish.
My own Bruschetta was crammed full of fresh flavours thanks to the confit baby plum tomatoes, garlic brushed bread, riserva cheese, smoked garlic oil and fresh basil. All the starters were a nice size portion that sated the initial appetite but left you with room for the main courses.
For my main I had a classic pizza (also available on a gluten free pizza base) called Zucca; this has a creamy pesto base with mozzarella, roasted butternut squash slices, caramelised balsamic onions and spinach which once it’s been baked is topped with crumbled goats cheese, pine nuts and rosemary.
The flavours were nice and subtle and I loved the fact that the squash still had its natural firm texture, it hadn’t gone mushy as sometimes happens and the pine nuts provided some lovely crunch in the mouth.
The Boy Wonder had a Pizza rustica; stretched a bit more to make a crispier, larger base (for more toppingsJ), called Sofia. The Sofia has spicy chicken, pepperoni, spicy sausage, mozzarella, green chillies and rosemary on it, and it wasn’t too spicy either (unless you bit directly into a chilli!) so it would appeal to most taste buds. As was stated, the base was light and crispy and he really enjoyed his choice.
The Chick tried one of Zizzis pasta dishes, the King Prawn Linguine which is King Prawns and Courgette ribbons in a hot roquito chilli, tomato, white wine and lobster sauce. There was pleasing amount of Prawns in the dish, much to The Chicks delight, and she said that the sauce wasn’t too spicy but still had a nice kick to it.
We would gladly have had dessert, but unfortunately we were perhaps going to be pressed for time if we did indulge. Still, it’s a good excuse to go back next time and have the full Zizzi experience. If you haven’t been to Zizzi before, next time you’re in Derby Intu pop in, you won’t be disappointed.
| Autumn Comforts and Culinary Delights at The Peacock, Owler Bar I never mind when a good day gets made even better, and this was most definitely the case last week. Landing in our inbox was a lovely invitation to enjoy the Read The Article | |
| Stairway to Roast Heaven at Piccalilli Nottingham Another Sunday rolled around, and we all know what that means - time for one of the best meals: an iconic British Roast Dinner. Heading off for Nottingham city, The Man Bird was well prepped Read The Article | |
| Evening Delights at Scoozi Clevedon: From Burrata to Beef Short-Rib The Man's day job took us down to Bristol and we took the opportunity to go out for dinner with one of his colleagues and their husband. Having previously dined at Scoozi Read The Article | |
| Tapas Madrid Ashbourne Serves Up a Fiesta of Flavour Over the years, we've met many a lovely manager, and Mark is no exception. Having previously been at the Moon and Dog pub in Derby, and at another venue in Ashbourne, Mark Read The Article | |
| A Tasty Sunday Lunch at The Tavern at Tansley It had been a good while, i.e. several years, since we'd last visited The Tavern at Tansley but, with the weather being dodgy (to say the least!) a foray out into the wilds of the ‘Shire wasn’t Read The Article | |
| From Empty Cupboards to Thai Treasures - Our Feast at Mimi Kitchen, Eastwood It's no secret that I'm a bit lacking in the kitchen, and I've never tried to pretend otherwise. However, you would think that I'd at least be able to ensure that Read The Article | |
| Sunday Roasts and Country Charm at The Red Lion, Birchover Finally, the rain came! Like most things, this was a double-edged sword: on the one hand, the gardens certainly needed the water; on the other, it was impeding mine and The Read The Article | |
| Exploring the New A La Carte Menu at Hart's Hotel & Kitchen, Nottingham The recipe for success is a simple one: give the people what they want. Another factor is not being afraid to try something new, even though there are no guarantees Read The Article | |
| Trying Out The New Afternoon Tea At Fairways At Chevin Golf Club There are Afternoon Teas and then there are the ones served at Fairways at Chevin Golf Club in Duffield. It has been an absolute joy to savour each Afternoon Tea that we've Read The Article | |
| Out For Breakfast At S42 Cafe In Tupton, Chesterfield Hot on the heels of its recent win in Derbyshire Timess - What's your favourite Cafe across Chesterfield and Derbyshires poll, S42 Cafe in Tupton invited The Man and I along to Read The Article | |