One of the nicest meals we've had in Victoria, hands down! Nighttime dining is magical with lots of candles, beautiful decor, and the feel of the city bustling outside the floor-to-ceiling windows. Server was kind and cheerful. Most dishes we ordered ranged from great to amazing. Great wine. The steak with polenta and grilled portobello mushroom ("Manzo"), the boar ragu (off the features menu), and the hazelnut gelato were our favorites and I would definitely order those again. The only item we didn't like was the crispy broccoli appetizer (turned to dust in our mouths). It was a wonderful experience and we will absolutely be back. Highly recommend it. read more

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Food is very good! We tried the trinity as a starter, penne with peas and gorgonzola & fettuccini alle vongole as mains, and the basque chocolate cheesecake for a dessert! All of it was awesome, especially the fettuccini! There seemed to be some sort of issue with our reservation when we arrived which caused a 5 minute delay which did not bother us at all. However the staff felt really bad and gave us each a glass of prosecco which was really nice! Restaurant is very nice inside with a dark ambiance! Definitely give it a try! read more

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We ordered a special end of the week dinner to be picked up after work. I called the order in an hour and a half early. We I arrived to pick up the meal I was told they forgot to put the order in. Very disappointing. read more

We were in the area, and we made the decision to stop at Zambri's for dessert. We went the classic tiramisu and two scoops of gelato: chocolate and pistachio. Loved the vibes, which rendered an upscale ambiance! The pistachio gelato was my personal favorite. The chocolate ice cream, not so much! The tiramisu was divine and tasted amazing, Great service as well! The host got us a spot at the bar right away, the waitress took care of us and we enjoyed conversing with her. She was lovely and friendly! While indulging in our dessert, I couldn't help but notice the pizzas and pastas being prepared in the open kitchen - they looked incredible! We'll be back to check out some food items off their menu. Highly recommend this Italian restaurant! read more

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On Friday February 14th my wife and I visited Zambri's to celebrate our wedding anniversary and Valentines day. We had been very excited to try out this spot but were left extremely disappointed. The atmosphere was lovely, but unfortunately that was about it. We each ordered a drink as well as an appetizer to have before our entrees. Our drinks arrived without issue, but then literally 10 minutes after ordering everything, our mains were dropped off at our table. I asked our server why our appetizer didn't come out first, and we were told "Oh, we are out of that." No one bothered to let us know the appetizer was 86'd and we were not even given a chance to order something different. The server just assumed we no longer wanted an appetizer at all. Both my wife and I have worked in casual fine dining, and we were very disappointed in the lack of care and communication with our table. To make matters worse, I ordered a $50 fish entree, and when that did arrive 10 mins after ordering it, the dish was the size of an appetizer. The fish piece was literally 4" x 1" in size and served on a grey coloured bed of puréed squash. It was basically an off-cut on a cold and tasteless vegetable smoothie. I was shocked that they could justify charging $50 for such a pathetic looking morsel of food. My Wife's meat tagliatelle was fine, but also very small for ordering the full size pasta, and extremely under seasoned. Because we have both worked in this industry, we try to give restaurants the benefit of the doubt because we know how hectic it can get, especially on nights like Valentines Day, but there was no excuse for the experience we had that night. We were celebrating 3 years of marriage and thought Zambris would be the perfect place for good atmosphere and great food. We were willing to spend money, we would have ordered multiple drinks, and desert with coffee, but in all honesty, we couldn't wait to leave by the end. What went wrong? Am I crazy or is this in extremely poor fashion for an establishment that prides itself on being one of the best Italian fine dining experiences in Victoria? We ended up ordering a pizza from Dominoes later that night because we were still so hungry. The pizza was better than any of the food at Zambris, and thats a problem. read more

Lovely Italian restaurant w great ambience and service. Loved the buratta appetizer. I had tagliatelle w bolognese, husband had lasagna. Son had aglio and olio w meatball on the side - a staff favourite. Great dinner for the family or date. read more

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Not as casual as I expected, but what a nice surprise! The server was super friendly and helpful. Our party of two had the following: 2021 Catavela orange wine - this paired well with all our dishes Crispy broccoli - cooked perfectly, and indeed, it was crispy Octopus antipasti - this dish was cold, but was marinated well, so it was flavorful Cotechino and lentils - this sausage, made in Vancouver, had just the right amount of salty and pungent flavors, which the lentils cut nicely. Tortelloni di zucca - this is the winner of the evening. Handmade pasta filled with squash with pieces of cookie on top was genius! Orecchiette with sausage and broccoli puree - this also had good depth of flavor and was perfectly seasoned. Crispy pork shoulder - this reminded me of carnitas, but elevated. Served as a 1 inch thick steak sized piece, the meat was succulent, flavorful, and crispy! I would certainly return! read more

Lovely romantic atmosphere for dinner. The food though was very underwhelming. We tried the Orecchiette which had a house made sausage crumble, the protein portion was lacking and the sauce needed salt! For the funghi pizza we had the crust was unfortunately black but the toppings were flavourful. The service was good! I would say the price is pretty relative to the quality of food: $25 for a good amount of pasta is not bad these days. Il trerrazzo is much better. read more

Zambri's - Italian Near Me - Victoria, British Columbia

Server was completely uninterested. Kitchen refused to sub vegetables for carbs. $50 steak of mediocre quality in a pool of sauce on a giant plate. No garnish; no nothing. Pork milanese had zero seasoning - no salt, no pepper; tough; inedible. It says something when the best thing about your meal is cabbage. It also says quite a lot when the server doesn't even bother commenting on a plate of food going back to the kitchen virtually untouched. Hard to imagine a worse overall dining experience at this price point. read more

Service was not good, they didn't like us. We ordered pizza and the waiter made weird comments. Food was good, took forever. Why did the cake not have flour? I fear for my stomach. Pasta with pieces don't have that much pasta. Why were there jalapeños in my pasta? Restaurant looked very cool. Slow service but it was a busy night. I didn't think the cheese plate was going to be only that cheese. We didn't even sit inside the restaurant. We sat in this mall beside it. I felt very excluded from the restaurant, felt social distanced, expensive Would go again if someone else was paying. I would not wait that long, please create a delivery service. "Better than the MOD" -India, Marah and Ton 3 Broke UVic Students read more

Zambri's - The mall we were in, pretty nice looking - Italian Near Me - Victoria, British Columbia

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Lovely evening. Service was A1. Professional and friendly. The food was delicious. The price was good. Restaurant was warmly decorated, music well chosen and not too loud. We will be back! read more

This place came highly recommended to me by some locals so I had to check it out. They happily took a reservation for me over the phone, and I noticed it is easy to make online reservations as well. The hostess was not very friendly or welcoming, but the vibe otherwise was great. The place was buzzing with conversation, the lighting was bang on, and the entire walls of windows were a nice touch. I was a bit disappointed to be put in a back corner with none of that stellar scenery to look at even though the restaurant wasn't very full yet, but I did get a partial view of the lovely patio where other guests were being seated. My server was just okay, but I must say what was phenomenal for this place was the food. The menu is small and I get the impression that every item is an absolute masterpiece. I had the Tagliatelle with Meat Sauce and it was the best pasta I've ever had- and I love me some pasta! The helping was also big enough that it made 2 meals for me. I also had the last cocktail on the list- the name escapes me. It sounded like it would be a bit on the sweet side but I found it to be quite bitter and didn't overly enjoy it. I think next time I'd just stick to the wine! The server awkwardly brought over my bill and the debit machine when I had accepted a phone call so I had to juggle that. I found the service to be a bit off putting for the most part, but I did notice that the staff seem to attend to all the tables and keep everyone's drinks full, which I definitely appreciate. I think coming here alone spoiled the experience a bit- I think it's the perfect place to come with another person and you're guaranteed to love the food and would probably notice the wacky service a little less. read more

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Went with my girlfriend last night, amazing food, our waiter was so friendly and helpful. Can't wait to go back again :)

Good Italian bistro the likes of which are 1000 fold in Toronto and NYC. Yet, rated No. 3 Victoria restaurant by several magazines shows just where the Victoria foodie scene is at. That said, our appetizers were excellent, and Pasta Vongole and Tagliatelle with meat sauce were tasty. A much-vaunted Tiramisu was enjoyable, no more. Bread (good) is extra and served without butter or oil/vinegar. That has to change. Excellent olives. Good wine list. We had the Barolo. Superb. A very pleasant server (just one mistake in ordering) and a lovely vibe. Great location, too. Pleasant enough to return, but nothing memorable. Price with 2.5 courses, wine, tax and 20% tip was $228. read more

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We were so happy to find Zambri's while we were exploring off the cruise ship. Our drinks were good, the Chicken Parmesan , Gorgonzola Pasta, and Beef Tenderloin were delicious! Our server/ bartender Ian was so friendly and helpful with our menu choices and the other staff were just as friendly. We highly recommend! read more

Let me start by saying that for the most part Victoria is not a foodies paradise. Most of the restaurants are pub type places (but for fine dining at Saveur) and the general fare is pretty ordinary. That said, my 2 NYC GFs and I were recommended to Zambri , which we were told had delicious fare and a lively atmosphere. The hostess who greeted us couldn't be nicer, and as our reserved table was not ready, offered us a drink at the bar. That unfortunately was the high point of the meal. Service, though courteous, was not too good- the appetizer, pizza and pastas all came simultaneously. The pastas were just OK and lacked depth of flavor, however the prosciutto pizza was very good. the atmosphere was anything but lively. All in all, the food was bland. I think a better bet would be Chinatown. read more

Lots of great places to eat in Victoria, this might be your favourite if you're looking for something trendy, noisy and expensive. Great for a first date. Between the music, constant din of your fellow diners and lack of any sound absorbing furnishings you won't have to worry about coming up with any interesting dinner conversation. Your dinner companion will only hear every second or third word anyway. (The sound level was over 80 db on our visit). The food is sufficiently expensive to impress the most jaded date, and is especially popular among picky eaters...portions are sufficiently small that no one will complain that they don't like the meal...the mains seemed to be appetizers. Didn't see anyone asking to box up the remainder of the meal. Again, good choice for a first time date, you'll have plenty of experience to bond over as you stroll down to one of the great pubs on Government Street for a beer and a snack afterwards. read more

Pasta wasn't cooked to perfection, the food didn't match the images we saw on yelp, so... I don't know if i'd come back here. It wasn't tasty, service was lacking, and our basket of breads came after we had to ask for it, with no butter, no olive oil and no vinegar!! I think the stars they have are'nt justified. read more

We saw some good reviews and thought we would give Zambri's a try. We got there before the massive dinner crowd thinking we could have a quick bite. Ended up that our order was lost with some big crowds and it took 20 min after finishing the appetizer to get our entree. I had the pasta with scallops and may wife had the prosciutto pizza. Nothing special and actually, the pasta, even though prepared well, had mortadella and scallops. Odd combination. However, the salad with strawberries and arugula was very fresh and crisp. The kitchen did buy us dessert for the slow main course service. Can't say we would go back. read more

Food was ok, salty not great... we had the sausage pizza and the tagliatelle pasta ... wouldn't recommend either. The wine was good Decor is trendy and the waiter was good, but slow when we wanted the bill... I guess it got busy at that time though, the hostess was friendly, and seated us promptly. We had reservations for a Saturday at 7 and honestly...I don't think I would recommend this place nor would I come back... sorry read more

Honestly. We were SUPER disappointed with Zambri's. We came here on a Tuesday evening. We were served cold, stale bread to start. Definitely not even close to Pagliacci's bread, or even Il Terazzo's! We ordered two appetizer and two entrees. The Caesar salad was pretty average, not much flavoring - you're better off with a head of romaine and some bottled dressing to be honest. The other appetizer was the mussels. Again, not impressed at all. They were all tiny. Now, for the entrees. We got the pea and Gorgonzola penne (you cant screw this up), and it was pretty good! Nothing exciting but great flavour. We also got the pork. And this is why we walked out. It was so bad. The pork tasted like a big round dry rib that was full of fat and a dollop of mayo on top.... what really did it for me were the accompaniments on the plate. It tasted, and sorry if this is rude, but it tasted like puke. I think it was a mixture of grapes, kale, potatoes... and others. Hopefully this was just an off night. read more

Zambri's - Italian Near Me - Victoria, British Columbia

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Good drinks, great food, lovely ambiance and even better servers. Will certainly recommend this place if visiting Victoria.

I took my partner for our ten year anniversary for dinner to this place. It is recommended to us by our friend. I was not disappointed. Our waiter Ryan was excellent and very attentive. The food was great and my partner was also pleased with her order. It is quite a busy place and I recommend anyone who want to give it a try to make a reservation. read more

Good Food...Great staff...but had to wait 55 minutes past reservation...then another hour and a half to get meal...unacceptable. Not staff's fault...I blame the manager. read more

I have tried several times to figure out how to order via their website. There are so many conditions as to what you can order and when that I gave up and ordered Domino's read more

Pretty disappointing dinner. Don't get tenderloin steak at any cost. It's buried in molten cheese and it came well-done (asked for medium-rare). Who on earth came up with this recipe???!! Peter the owner??? My advice: keep it simple. Pastas were ok (apart from orechiette which were bland). Pork dish was good. Staff were helpful. But seems like this place could use a new chef!!! Sorry, need to raise your game to do justice to Italian cuisine that we all love. read more

Pleasantly surprised by this place. Friends recommended it and I would go back. Unique dishes, like 'beef cheeks', which were delicious and very tender. Roast pork shoulder was excellent. We were a party of four and everyone was impressed. Peter (and his trainee) were our servers and they both did a great job! read more

We were happy that Zambri was open after the virus shutdown. The menu was limited, with less tables due to distancing requirement. The four of us enjoyed the meal of pasta and lasagna. The dessert of tiramisu was great. Service was efficient enough. However there was one black mark: A service charge of 15% was included in the bill, and the server never told us. A built-in service charge is not common in this part of the world, at least not until now. So we ended up paying double tips and didn't realize it until too late. I understand the challenges facing the industry and don't mind paying good tips, but not 30%, and not as a result of deceit. read more

We just had dinner there, and really have nothing to complain about that. However, during our dining, a table of three males were sat next to us. I should add that was just after the two shootings in the Top grocery store and the elementary school in the US. One of the men pulled out a ammunition belt (with bullets) and showed it to the other two men and the three apparently found this quite amusing. When we told the busser, we were told that we shouldn't worry, that the mang was a previous employee and that the belt and bullets were fake. And we were told (somehow paradoxically), that the party would be ask to leave. And although a hostess did come up to speak with them, they remain (at least until we left). The whole episode has soured us on the restaurant. read more

We had a private dinner event here and had the back room to ourselves. Convenient location if you are living anywhere in downtown Victoria. Great festive ambience, much to the delight of the guests. The servers were great and met all our needs. Great bartender! The food kept on coming, starting from appetizers, entrees, followed by dessert. We were all quite satisfied! The dishes were quite tasty. We had to spend a certain amount of money depending on the number of guests for the private event, and we met that and more. Overall, I thought it was well worth it. Jayme is your contact person. Thank you again Zambri's. read more

Zambri's - Italian Near Me - Victoria, British Columbia

Our first experience at Zambri's. My wife ordered the chicken thigh meal. She enjoyed the chicken but the potatoes were very dull. She ordered the crispy broccoli as a side and enjoyed it. I had the rack of lamb. My potatoes were cooked differently and they were excellent. The accompanying artichoke hearts were very nice but there were far to little. The overall value was good and our service was great. The decor was very nice but nothing there absorbed the sound and it was very noisy. I don't think that we will return. read more

My favourite restaurant in Victoria, no doubt. Not just the food which is great every time, wine which is good and affordable, lunch that's fast and furious, but also Peter and Jo Zambri and their staff that make it a treat to visit. Friendly, professional, great service. Peter is an avid supporter of local farmers and producers he also makes best octopus in town, I don't know if that's important to anybody at all. I am not italian so I cannot comment on how Italian, or authentic it is, who cares, the food is superb, and if you have trouble reading menu just ask , they will gladly decipher italian pasta terminology and put it into simple shapes and flavours for you. I saw the comment on the furniture. ...I did offer to refinish those tables...But hey they just contribute to the AUTHENTICITY OF ZAMBRI'S Thank you Peter and Jo for all the food I' ve had there and the coffees I have contributed some photos to your profile: by Andrei Fedorov http://www.victoriaweddingphotographer.com and http://www.allfoodphotography.com read more

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Originally written - 07/21/11 Should I start backwards? You know, like that old sitcom episode. Well, they took 20% off my bill and removed the charge for the dessert. My dessert had 3, that's right, THREE hairs in it. And i hate to say they were short and curly. We had to ask for salt and pepper. The server did not bring more bread when asked. The bartender DID make the specialty drink we requested. There is no butter served with the bread and when I asked, they brought unsalted butter and said it cost extra for EVOO and balsamic. The server kept making some weird messed up face as is she had been sucking on a lemon. Nothing on this Italian menu had pancetta. Did i get it all out...hope so...just another fancy shmancy Italian restaurant. read more

I am the granddaughter of a wonderful Sicilian lady who made large, wonderful, completely home-cooked meals for the family at least twice a week. I have pretty high standards for my Italian food, and most restaurants cannot reach them. Why am I paying for pasta and sauce when I can make it at home from Grandma Falcone's recipes? Zambri's actually blew me away a little! I ordered the tagliatelle with meat sauce, and it made me think my Grandma had returned to earth to work in Zambri's kitchen. The pasta was perfectly cooked, the sauce was perfectly seasoned, and the portion was generous without being obscene. I can say not one single bad thing about that pasta dish. I would eat it every single night for dinner. My boyfriend ordered the insalata nizzarda moderna. It was beautifully presented, and he was raving about the smoked tuna. On a side note, I've been searching Victoria for the best Caesar, and I have to say that I think I have a winner. The bartender prepared me something mind-blowing. Totally impressed. read more

Had dinner here on a Sunday evening with 4 other adults and child (less than 1 year old). Complements: First off, kudos for being open on a Sunday in Victoria. Secondly, they were very accommodating for the young child and our server was quite with the kid as well. Finally, we started with a series of apps that included the octopus that came with some fried broccoli, pizza with potato/gorgonzola/olives/herbs and an endive salad - all very tasty and we felt these stole the show. We all ordered pastas as our second course but none of us were blown away by what we got - the Garganelli with balsamic lamb ragu (prefer a more rich, meaty sauce - this one was lighter and sweetened with peaches), Spaghetti alla sabbia (wished the taste of the sardines was stronger), and Orecchiette with rapini pesto & cherry tomato sauce (flavours settled during the meal so dish was better later than when first served). In the end, enjoyable meal. read more

Zambri's serves some of the freshest Italian food I've ever tasted - the pastas, the bread, the fish - everything is fresh. Zambri's also has a tendency to overload its tomato-focused sauces with tomato itself, drowning out all other flavor, making for acidic sauces. Its non-tomato based sauces are intensely and differently flavored, with compositions that distribute the flavors evenly. It's a gastronomic event. Zambri's is a rather small restaurant, located in a strip mall with one of the oddest-shaped parking lots ever. But there's always free parking! Once inside the restaurant, you wouldn't know its true situation, as it does a good job of shielding the pedestrian architecture and cars the restaurant's windows face. The walls are white, the paper table covers are white - the design is minimal, but comfortable. We found the service to be especially slow and inattentive, but the restaurant provides the warning that food may take over 30 minutes to be served, as everything is made to order. There's always a wait and no reservations are accepted. read more

More appropriately, 3.5 stars. We recently had dinner at Zambri's. The menu is nice, and the staff and kitchen is knowledgeable about its food and what is (and what is not) vegetarian. Many of its sauces and/or soups are made with pork stocks, so vegetarians/vegans beware. That said, the staff seems to know much of this, and I implored my server to check on a chickpea soup that sounded vegetarian but turned out was not. Overall, the menu at Il Terrazzo (another Italian restaurant where we ate the night before) was a bit more flexible and varied for vegetarians. I think the menu here was a bit more high-end and nuanced (in theory), and it was probably a few bucks cheaper to boot. That said, I preferred my meal, hands-down, at Il Terrazzo. We started with a mushroom-cream pizza. Because of a misunderstanding in the kitchen, we were served a pizza of the day, which was a pureed vegetable, tomato sauce, bechamel, and smoked cheese. They brought out the mushroom pizza afterwards. Of the two, to my surprise (because I'm loco for mushrooms), I found the pizza of the day more delicious (though the mushroom pizza was also good, and my father preferred that). The crust was good. It wasn't blistered or flakey or Neopolitan-thin, but it was good. Pizzas weren't too heavy. The highlight of the meal. My entree was a pesto dish. The server seemed to hesitate about the tomato-sauced pastas, and when she checked with the kitchen, she was told that the linguini pesto with long beans and potatoes was the best vegetarian pasta offered. So I went with that. My initial reservation was that the pesto would be over-powered by the linguini if it were not robust enough. True to her word, this was not a problem. Rather, this pesto got boring after a while. Zambri's serves good-sized portions for dinner (at least with the pasta), and it was a lot of pesto to eat. On the plus-side, it wasn't oily pasta. My father got a tomato-based pasta with scallops and something else. He said it was very good. At the end of the day, the meal was good. If the pasta would have been as good as the pizza, it would be a true 4-star. It's the kind of place that were I a local I could experiment with different possibilities and find what works best for me with this kitchen. Truth be told, I wouldn't order the pesto again, and if the server was correct -- that the pesto is the best vegetarian item on the menu -- then I'd have a difficult time here. Other than a mixed salad and a couple of pizzas, pasta is all that's left for vegetarians. No risottos, no eggplant, no vegetable-based creations or lasangas or inspirations. It has options, but it's limited. For meat and fish eaters, there is much more from which to choose. On the plus side, it seemed like more of a local haunt than Il Terrazzo, several blocks away from downtown and flying beneath the radar on TripAdvisor. That said, if I had to choose between the two, I'd unquestionably choose Il Terrazzo, even with the tourists. read more

Hmm. I'm definitely in the minority by giving this place a mediocre rating when everyone else seems to be raving about it, so I'm hoping I just hit an off-day or something. I've certainly heard enough good things about Zambri's over the years to fill a small book, and when my mom and I met here for lunch a few weeks ago my expectations were definitely high. First of all, the food: Both of us ordered a bowl of farfalle pasta with wild mushrooms in a butter/white wine sauce. Sounds simple but good, right? Well, not really. The flavours were so simple that I ended up getting bored of it after a few bites -- the mushrooms were few and far between, and the sauce didn't have even a hint of wine-ish flavour to it. Essentially, it just was a gigantic bowl of plain buttered pasta. I wasn't a huge fan of the atmosphere in the restaurant either. Granted, there's not much they can change about the parking lot view, but I felt like the layout of the restaurant itself was kind of cramped (as soon as we walked in, we were smack in the middle of a crowd of people trying to peruse the menu, place their orders, and pay), and the decor felt pretty sparse. All this said, I'd probably give Zambri's a try again sometime in the future, most likely for a dinner this time, to see if I can get a taste of what everyone else has experienced here. read more

I cannot say enough nice things about this place. I cannot eat most dairy products and let my waitress know of my allergy. I ordered a rigatoni dish and a short while after ordering, my waitress came back and expressed that they use butter in the red sauce. She presented me with another option that did not sound appealing to my taste, so I asked if I could just have the sauce on the side so I could ration it out myself. To my surprise, when my food arrived I noticed that the sauce was mixed in to the pasta. Following my look of dismay, the waitress smiles and says, "don't worry - they made you a special sauce with no butter!" I thanked her very much and told her I really appreciated it and she said that they always want to cater to allergies. My dish also had the olives in it that I wanted even though she had told me it would not likely come with it. Amazing service, very friendly staff, very catering. Oh, and my food was absolutely delicious! Give them a try! read more

Zambri's - Italian Near Me - Victoria, British Columbia

I am a meeting planner from the United States and was having a very difficult time finding a restaurant in Victoria that could accommodate a group of 26 in a private room. Zambri's was able to reserve us in their Atrium private dining area. I was a bit concerned about noise but the Atrium was actually much quieter than the restaurant. The food was phenomenal and there was plenty of it! We are still laughing this morning about how much food there was. Plenty of variety to please everyone. The service was also fantastic; very attentive and quick to respond to our last minute requests. Thank you for a memorable night Zambri's! read more