My husband and I had walked by Zia's a bajillion times and always thought it had a super cute exterior and we were curious to try it out. So we did this past Saturday... and we were seriously disappointed.
The one thing that stood out about Zia's is that it is a seriously CONFUSED restaurant.
Here's the thing: I'm fine with fine dining. I don't mind paying fine dining prices. But, when doing so, I expect a fine dining atmosphere. And, Zia's came really close to having fine dining prices, but the atmosphere SUCKED.
First of all: Servers and bus staff. Should be neither seen, nor heard - unless needed. Unfortunately, at Zia's the servers and bus staff are more like black ants at a picnic -- pervasive and EVERYWHERE. Literally, at one point I counted 10 server staff just kind of milling around our table, having loud conversation.
There was a disgruntled server who was pissed about her section being shuffled due to a rainstorm (I'm presuming she got moved inside?) and she stood behind our table bitching about this fact and swearing under her breath.
Every time my husband and I tried to have any kind of conversation we were interrupted by a server or busman asking us if everything was okay, or refilling water (literally, a guy stood there and refilled my water glass after I had taken a single sip, then I took another sip as he walked away and another guy refilled my glass again.)
I mean, I appreciate attentive service, but this was WAY OVERBOARD. When people are dining at a restaurant it's 100% likely they are most interested in the food in front of them and having a conversation with the person across from them... And, to be interrupted every 30 seconds is annoying.
Then the actual atmosphere: Again, they are going for a fine dining look with this place. And, the actual restaurant is gorgeous. But, it totally throws off the mood to be hearing acid rock over the sound system as you eat... Think about it: Low lights, candles, a bottle of wine, an intimate dinner table... and, Lynard Skynard?
Not a match at all.
The food: It was okay. Just no where worth the prices they were charging. First of all, my husband ordered veal scaloppini with a morel mushroom sauce... sounds great, right? Haha, not so much! When his entree arrived it looked like he was being fed wet dog food with peas in it. Seriously, so much gravy on this entree that you couldn't see the meat or the polenta it was served with.
It tasted better, we concluded, without the sauce (which he scraped off).
I ordered a pork loin wrapped in panchetta - which was actually tasty, except for the fact that several pieces of the pork were served to me bloody in the center. The brocolini was over cooked and the meal was served with huge hunks of potato (in the menu it said "russet potatoes," but these were likely baking potatoes they were so big.)
Both dishes just lacked any kind of finesse, which at the average menu price of $31.50 per entree, you'd expect...
I hate to say this, given all the four and five star reviews -- but, in my honest opinion, Olive Garden is a better dining experience than Zia's is.
The only thing I *really* enjoyed about this dining experience was the wine, which was excellent. A great selection, with lots of options. We sat across from their "wine cellar" and saw that Zia's has a pretty impressive selection. I had a Malbec and my husband had a Pinot/Zinfandel/Syrrah blend. Tasty. Well and generously poured. Worth the $10/glass we spent.
Overall, though, Zia's was seriously disappointing, we really thought that this place had a ton of potential to be one of our go-to places, but I doubt we'll be coming back.