Zizzi Restaurants l Review l Liam Havard

It was last year when I first discovered the one, the only, Zizzi Restaurants. I always used to read about the food that they did all the time and always used to salivate over the images of it. I always wanted to go there because 1. they did vegan food HELLO and 2. their vegan food looked good so when I went I was pretty happy. I first went to Zizzi on a trip to London with my cousin and since then have gone to the Zizzi in Cardiff. For a while I've been meaning to do a post about my experience with them so here I am living up to my word.

Double sauce.

Single sauce.

My order

I always get three courses when I'm there because I'm a fat bastard, don't judge me. I start off with the garlic bread. You get quite a lot with whole cloves on it which is different. I'll be honest, it's good but I would advise you get some garlic oil for dipping or to pour over. Sure it's garlicky but I think you can handle it. I think without the garlic oil it can be a bit bland apart from the whole cloves you munch on. That's probably personal opinion though.

Now onto the main. Sure Zizzi do other foods like pastas but come on, PIZZA. Let's be real, of course I order their pizza, I'm only human. How can I resist it? It's rarely you find places that do good vegan food but it's even rarer to find places that do vegan pizza so Zizzi already gets a star for being so creative and hospitable for pizza lovers like me.

Started out with a bite and it was a delight, had to go back for more. 

I order the vegan rustica pizza which is a thin pizza base with all the toppings. I'm talking the tomato sauce (which I order double of because it is life) along with vegan cheese which they make themselves and some fresh basil leaves. Plus you get to order three other toppings of your choice as part of the price. There's a nice variety to choose from but what I usually get is fire roasted peppers, sweet balsamic onions and either butternut squash (it's not as weird as it sounds) - or oven roasted garlic cloves (I know I know more garlic, whoever sits next to me is a lucky person LOL). Overall the pizza is kind of sweet but has so much flavour to it, honestly. The only thing to prepare yourself for if you order it is that it can be a little bit sloppy - especially the cheese and sauce. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but maybe you'll want to use a knife and fork instead of your hands.

And last but not least, DESSERT. YAS. They offer one dessert for us vegans and don't quote me on this but I think they have a backup dessert which isn't on the menu. The one that is on the menu is a chocolate and date torte with a walnut base. What can I say about this? Well I have one word for you and it's moist. The dessert is rich in chocolate and is incredibly tasty. Tastes similar to a Ferrero Rocher except it's vegan. I wouldn't say it has much of a base though. It's pretty much just chocolate but I'm not complaining. It also comes with vegan honeycomb and coconut ice cream. Delish.

As for the other dessert they offer (MAY offer. I've had it a few times, once as a backup when they run out of the torte and at that time it wasn't advertised on the menu) - it was a blueberry and banana calzone with chocolate drizzle and coconut ice cream. I hate to say this because I do honestly love Zizzi but this dessert was highly disappointing. The calzone was barely filled with food so it was basically like eating pastry. I'm talking one or two slices of banana and one or two blueberries. The ice cream was good though but the main attraction was a let down. I would advice against ordering it if you are offered. 100% go for the torte if you can.

And that's what I order. Yes it's a truck load of food but it is heavenly. But aside from the food the service is also top notch. The guys and gals are very hospitable and really down to earth. I don't have a bad word to say about them. I definitely recommend going to Zizzi. They're fab.

Restaurant rating: ★★★★★

What do you think of Zizzis?

Liam

Follow @Liam_Havard Follow

Prezzo: Review

It was in a recent visit that I went to Prezzo to eat out. Full of expectation as the new restaurant opened nearby and ready to eat to my heart's desire. How did it go? Well... *awkward pause*

I always go to new restaurants with an open mind but I always have a level of expectation. I like basic customer service, a clean setting and good relatively inexpensive food. I don't think that's too much to ask. Well on this recent visit to Prezzo (which I've never visited before) I got only one of my expectations fulfilled: the cleanliness. As for everything else, it was an utter disappointment.

Let's start with the food. Off the very limited choice of vegan food, I ordered the bruschetta to start and the courgette pappardelle as a main. The starter to my surprise was anything but bruschetta. I'm a massive fan of bruschetta and if I'm right it's toasted ciabatta with chopped tomatoes and balsamic vinegar. What I got was two pieces of hard toast with some non-cut cherry tomatoes and a limited amount of pesto. Yum...not. It was a real shame as brushetta is one of my favourite starters to eat in a restaurant. This was not off to a good start. As for the main, it was a pasta dish made up of courgette, cherry tomatoes, onion, chilli, garlic and herbs in a pomodoro sauce. Sounds nice, right? Sadly it was not. It tasted like a cheap microwave meal just with a hefty price tag. It was a shame as I was really looking forward to it. It lacked taste and was very sickly and Prezzo overkilled it with far too much courgette. I like courgette as much as the next person, but there's a limit!

The customer service though, you're thinking that must have been good surely. Well I would have told you about the customer service should I have got any. My friend and I were not only greeted with a grumpy face, but we didn't even get a basic hello on arrival from the senior staff worker. This worker seated us, but did not do it with a smile or show any interest in us being there. If anything, it felt like we were an inconvenience. After he seated us he did not come back to check on how we found our food and there was no basic customer service. A real shame.

Overall a pretty poor visit but well done to Prezzo for being so consistent at ignoring my friend and I and having no manners. As for the food, it spoke for itself. A little more effort put into the food and it could have been something really nice. Let's hope in time Prezzo prove us all wrong and give outstanding service and food. Here's to dreaming!

Restaurant rating: ★

What do you think of Prezzo?

Liam

Follow @Liam_Havard Follow

Las Iguanas: Vegan food

Ahhh Las Iguanas Swansea, the place I go to so often that they know my name and my order when I arrive. Yes really. They have even called me that "lovely vegan boy" because I'm there so often! I am a true regular so you can guess that I highly recommend going there if you're thinking about it and can handle the spice. But say you do go, what are you going to order? Well sit back and put on your seat belt as I tell you what my favourite vegan food is to order in Las Iguanas that you'll end up enjoying too.

I like to start off with a cheeky dish of Holy Guacamole, usually to share (sadly) but this could be a dish for one if you don't like sharing, like me! It comes with corn tortilla chips, guacamole, red onions, chopped tomatoes and parsley. Mix all this together before dipping your chips in and you're in for a treat. That's a promise! It's very flavourful and super creamy. I've never had guacamole so creamy before. You get the perfect portion size to satisfy your hunger whilst you wait in suspense for the main.

As for the main, I recommend ordering the veggie chilli, made vegan, along with vegan refried beans and tortilla wraps. Why so much? Well if you haven't worked it out already, it's to make mini enchiladas, not just to be greedy. Sadly Las Iguanas only do vegetarian enchiladas and not vegan ones, so to make up for it add the rice, chilli and beans into the four wraps and it's like you're having the vegetarian enchiladas. Perfecto!

The chilli is made with butternut squash and chickpeas in a spicy tomato sauce and comes with spring onion rice. The portion size is fairly generous so you're going to leave with one full belly. The wraps and refried beans equally taste just as good and compliment the chilli dish very well. I advocate not eating much before this meal because it is a serious dose of carbocide that is going to fill you right up. This is my favourite meal to order. There is a ridiculous amount of flavour and you get so much for your money. I spend roughly around £10/£12 each time. Plus the staff are always so friendly. A massive shout-out for the Las Iguanas team in Swansea for always being so hospitable, so friendly and always knowing who I am! They create a great atmosphere whilst serving great food. Well done Guys!

What's your favourite dish at Las Iguanas?

Restaurant rating: ★★★★★

Liam

Twitter l Instagram l Bloglovin'

Like this? You might also like:

Top 2 places to eat vegan food in Amsterdam city

Zinco Lounge: Perfect Comfort Food

The Perfect Hangover Cure: Urban Zen Cafe