Zaza Ristorante Italiano

Visited: November 12, 2011

With spouse and two friends in tow, we visited Za Za for the first time for dinner on Saturday night.  Our mutual first impression was to remark on how tiny the dining room appeared.  Judging from the depth of the building, we were all surprised at its compactness.  That issue notwithstanding, it was decorated tastefully in an effort to evoke an old world feel.

We were seated promptly because our arrival was relatively early in the evening and our server hustled a basket of warm, sliced bread to our table along with some flavored oil for dipping.  Two salads and two bowls of pasta fagioli followed.  The salads were typical in appearance but I had opted for the soup with high expectations.  We were not impressed with the soup.  It had been served lukewarm and was not consistent in taste with other pasta fagioli I have sampled.  It could be that this is in fact the authentic version and I am simply ignorant since I have never been to Italy.  Who knows?

Two of our entrees arrived, piping hot and steaming, but the other two were delivered almost six or seven minutes afterward.  It was awkward and no comment, apology, or explanation were offered.

Finally able to dig in, I will say that the chicken was very good.  Served on an al dente bed of linguine and smothered in a chunky, tomatoey (if that's a real word) sauce, the dish was rather enjoyable.  Of the four entrees, two were rated quite good while the other two were merely satisfactory. 

When dessert was offered, we were tempted beyond our ability to withstand and caved.  We shared a chocolate mousse while our friends opted for a "ball" of gelato covered in chocolate.  Both of these desserts--while somewhat pricey--were very good.

The inevitable comparison between Pestos and Za Za naturally arises:  both are Italian restaurants located within a few hundred yards of each other.  Although I am not any kind of an authority on Italian food, I get the impression that Za Za tries to project the image of being more "authentic" while Pestos has learned what makes diners in NWI tick.  For me, the overall experience at Pestos is better (the automatic gratuity fiasco incident momentarily set aside), and I think my dining partners would agree.

So in summary I would have to say I experienced a mixed bag of results:  some really good food juxtaposed against some rather average food.  Some really good service right beside some major gaps.  Would I return?  Our friends thought not... for me, the verdict is still out.

But I fully understand that with some places a single visit cannot alone be an accurate representation.  So we'll just see.

Value:  6 out of 10 (just a bit on the pricey side for what was delivered)
Ambiance:  7 out of 10 (Sinatra singing "Bad, Bad Leroy Brown" on the sound system...)
Food Taste:  6 out of 10 (the entree and dessert alone would have been higher, however)
Cleanliness:  7 out of 10 (picky, picky, I admit it!)
Service:  5 out of 10 (the large gap in entree delivery is problematic)

Zaza Ristorante Italiano
3534 Calumet Ave
Valparaiso, IN 46383
(219) 465-6800