The Oxford Guide

This is a nice place. It takes the hackneyed Italian chain pasta/pizza concept and makes it a touch more elegant, a touch more varied. Its modern decor belies a pleasant atmosphere and, being at the bottom of George Street, is usually a bit easier to get into than Ask and Caffé Uno.

My pizza wasn't quite as good tonight (July 2003) as it has been in the past — a bit dry — but their pasta dishes and starters make up for it.

I prefer the slightly larger size of the portions here to those at Ask and prefer the food served here compared to Caffé Uno. If I'm after pasta in Oxford I either end up here or at Cleo's.My only complaint is that every single Zizzi looks identical inside which does make the novely of the decor wear thin after a while.

Zizzi has been said to be very noisy to the extent that conversation relies on shouting or lip-reading, though this may be overstating it slightly.

Service can be a little iffy. I've found it can be very slow, and the waitress had difficulty understanding 'lasagne'.