Zizzi: Leeds and Shrewsbury

Both venues are new and the Shrewsbury restaurant is really nicely done out and has amazing toilets which are well worth a visit. We tried the new tapas menu and like most tapas its not the best value for money, but the mini calzones were the highlight.
Excuse the quality of the pics - am blogging from my phone (it's how I roll nowadays!)

1) Rustica pizza (I opted for it in wholemeal and it was really tasty) the mezzo et mezzo. One half had creamy new potatoes, cheese and thyme the other half had roasted peppers, chilli, rocket and mushrooms. It was a really great combo and made a change from the usual veggie options.

2) Squid ink linguine - the husband opted for this and said it was very tasty and not too overpowering or fishy.

3) The decor of the Shrewbury restaurant.

4) Dough sticks brushed with garlic butter and rosemary. A great choice to share as a starter.

5) The mini calzones mentioned above.

6) Three other dishes from the cichetti menu (or tapas for Italians) the meatballs, aubergine involtini and insalata caprese.

Check out the menu here. On a par with Pizza Express and more variety on the menu. Would highly recommend - but don't get the calzone as it looked a bit measly compared to the huge pizzas!

Stratford London: Franco Manca best pizza ever!

My fav thing about the malls in America are the food courts. We used to spend ages deciding what to eat and it's great if your in a group and want to mix it up a bit - you can even get little dishes from a few stalls. For this same reason I LOVE food markets, food trucks and anywhere with a variety of well cooked dishes.
We were in London for the Jubilee and our first stop was Westfield in Stratford. Our first visit here we had some samples of Franco Manca pizza and we went back and brought a whole pizza to share as I am not kidding it is the tastiest pizza ever.
They describe their pizza as:

About Franco Manca

Franco Manca's pizzas are made from slow-rising sourdough and baked in a wood burning brick oven made on site by specialised artisans from Naples.  This oven produces the slow levitation and blast-cooking process which locks in the flour's natural aroma and moisture, ensuring a soft and easily digestible crust.

I think it is the sour dough and the delicate mix of flavours which makes it - I always just get the margarita when I go as sometimes simple is best. 

  I can't tell you about their drinks as we always get rootbeer at the rib shak or juices at the juice bar but I can totally recommend their yummy pizzas or garlic bread.

Where do you eat when you go to Wesfield?