21st Birthday Shenanigans: Part 2, Zizzi

This post cannot help but be full of pictures, but I'm going to walk you through my fabby birthday meal that I had out with the fam and boyfriend Thursday night at Zizzi's to round off my birthday celebrations for the week. I can tell you now, it was absolutely amazing. 

If you haven't heard of Zizzi's before, it's a really lovely Italian Restaurant (and when looking it up then I discovered it's owned by the same people as Ask, just in case you may have heard of them!) that cooks your food upon order, and if you're sat close to the kitchen part you can even watch them preparing and making everything right in front of you, which I always find fascinating.   

[A couple of couple pics...cringe!]

[Dress: River Island £32, Boots: Public Desire (Aria Boots) £26.99, Jacket: Lee's Vintage]

Now I said there was going to be lots of pics, but these are the only ones of my face I swear. I wasn't dressed particularly fancy, just in my trusty denim jacket and a River Island grey midi, but then again it wasn't a particularly formal occasion. Just a nice family meal! I teamed these with a few items of dainty plain gold jewellery and thick black tights to keep me a little bit warm, particularly as it is still february.

[Long Pomegranate and Raspberry Cosmo]

As it was my birthday, we cracked on with the drinks, and everyone tended to have their usual things - those who were driving on the cokes, the men on the Peroni - however me and my sister decided to branch out a bit and try a few of their cocktails, especially as the board of seasonal specials was just opposite us. We both had a Long Pomegranate and Raspberry Cosmo, AND a Berry Bella each, mainly because we tried each others and decided we liked them more than our own. But they were still both really tasty.

[Garlic Bread]

 [Fritto Misto]

 [Zizzi Antipasti]

For the starters, as there was nine of us we decided to get a few of the sharing boards so that we could have a try of lots of different things and be greedy rather than being stuck to just our own. One of the main reasons that I was drawn to Zizzi is my current love of Italian food - the meats, the cheese and the olive oil. I just can't get enough!

When I was choosing where to go, it was actually the Zizzi Antipasti that drew me in, being a mixture of different kinds of Italian ham with my favourite bufala mozzarella and some sundried tomatoes, so that was instantly a winner. But we also got the Fritto Misto which was a lightly battered seafood and vegetable dish/platter (king prawns, calamari, courgette - that kind of thing) along with garlic bread for the table and a Cicchetti sharing platter which had a bit of everything on it. I forgot to picture it though...my bad!

For the mains almost all of us went for the pizza option. Partly because they looked amazing, and partly because the portions were absolutely massive and we'd already seen people putting what they couldn't eat in pizza boxes to take home! I love it when that happens.

As I've said, there was a few of us, so I've just got the dishes of those who were sat to the sides and in front of me, but they're still a good bunch just the same.

[Classic Napoli Nduja]

[Rustica Pescatore]

[Rustica Pulled Pork Rosmarino]

[Calzone Carne Piccante]

Oli had a classic Napoli Nduja, which had mozzarella, pepperoni, basil and a spicy sausage on it. He really enjoyed it, although I must say that when they say spicy sausage they really do mean it. Mayo was needed and I'm pretty sure my mouth melted a little when I tried it. But then again I am a complete wimp with spice, I must confess. 

Mumma P and a few others went for a Rustica Pescatore, which was half prawn and creme fraiche, half crab, rocket and capers, which I must say I was pretty jealous of as my pulled pork pizza (although lovely) was in dire need of a really bold flavour, or maybe even the tomato base that I'm used to with pizzas. 

My sister had a calzone, which was something i veered away from, partly because the sheer size scared me, and partly because they all had mushrooms in, and to me mushrooms are just like edible slugs. Vile but oh so true.

For pud they bought me a princess tiara cake, which apparently was more trouble than it was worth! My lovely nan had spent hours making a chocolate and hazelnut cake, and then proceeded to drop it on the floor on Thursday morning and cry about it for ages before having to go to Tesco to get a replacement. Bless her! I'm sure it was lovely though.

If you ever get the chance, I would definitely take a trip to Zizzi as the atmosphere and food were amazing, and dare I say it so was the service! Incredibly accommodating for my nan who needs to be seated in a quiet area for her Cochlear Implant (a form of hearing aid), and very polite and quick with service.

Although I'm sad that my birthday week (I managed to drag it out a looong time) is over, it was truly amazing and I had a lovely time both in Cardiff and at home with all of my loved ones!

Thanks for reading!

Alice x

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