Restaurant: Zio's Italian Kitchen (http://www.zios.com/oklahoma.asp)
Location: Bricktown, Oklahoma City, OK
Total Rating: 3.2
Food: 3, Price: 4, Service: 3, Ambience: 3, Accessibility: 3
Summary: Zio's Italian Kitchen is a chain restaurant that offers signature dishes from scratch, right when you order it. With an open kitchen designed for patrons to enjoy not only the fresh and delicious food that comes from it, but the show that process generates as well, the dining room is buzzing with people. Zio's provides a casual and comfortable, open-air Italian piazza atmosphere that is designed to provide a fun and entertaining place for parties, informal get-togethers, and evenings out with family and friends.
I went with a co-worker on a Saturday evening - and it was packed with large parties who were trying to eat before the baseball game and the highschool prom. We were initially told the wait would be 45 minutes for our table of two, but ended up waiting more like an hour and 15 minutes. The girls at the front were unorganized and frazzled, causing many parties to wait longer than needed when there were plenty of open tables. I would have rated lower on Service, but once seated, our waitress was expedient and attentive. The food was average - typcial classic meals like Spaghetti and Meatballs and Chicken Alfredo. My boss enjoyed her meal though - she had the Spicy Chicken Alfredo made with sliced sautéed chicken breast tossed with linguine, bacon, Roma tomatoes, onions, jalapeños and spicy tomato-Alfredo sauce; topped with tricolor tortilla strips. Also one note I had to mention - the "italain dipping oil" that they serve with the bread is in fact canola oil with seasoning in it (yuck!). We immediately told the waitress we did not want her to pour that all over our bread and asked her to bring some plain balsamic vinegar instead. All in all, with the crowd it was an ok meal. I probably would not come back again.
What I ate:
Cheese Ravioli on a Nest of Pasta
Cheese-stuffed pasta served on a bed of linguine with your choice of tomato sauce, Alfredo sauce or both.
