Made reservations for a party of ten recently at Zuppa's. A text was sent to confirm the date and time. Along with the text, a menu was provided and an option to select for a special occasion was given as this was selected. When arriving at Zuppa, the hostess greeted us and brought us to our table. The waiter came within a few minutes and brought us menus. It was very difficult to read the menu as it was very dark and the flashlight from our phones had to be used to view the food. The menu that was brought to us was slightly different than the one texted. The following appetizers were ordered, burrata, fried calamari, and a margherita pizza. The burrata, and calamari came out within two minutes. These appetizers were only enough for two people so more food had to be ordered as another burrata was ordered as well as a plate of octopus. While waiting for the other food placed, the pizza came out and some of the slices were cooked while others were raw. At first, we wanted to tell the server to cook it a little bit more, but we did not want to cause a scene, so we told them that it was okay. Shortly after bread was brought to the table and the other appetizers as well. The burrata was not the best as it lacked seasoning. Zuppa is supposed to be an Italian restaurant, but there is nothing Italian about this place or the food as no one spoke it. The only thing that was Italian was the bread. We asked our waiter for a bottle of wine and a wine list was brought to us to see the selection they offered. A bottle of wine ranges from $40-50 each. We ordered a bottle of wine as per the recommendation of the server and the owner and it came without a top already opened. They said that we would enjoy it, but it was nothing special. We were surprised to see that for that price it was not even a 1-liter bottle of wine. The server poured a little bit into each of our glasses and when we asked him to put more into the glasses he was surprised.
For the main course several plates of branzino were ordered as well as veal, salmon, and a plate of broccoli rabe with pasta. Overall, those who ordered the branzino and veal were satisfied with their meal, but on the other hand those who broccoli rabe and salmon were not. The pasta was cooked perfectly but the broccoli rabe was undercooked as it was hard to eat. The salmon was bland.
Tiramisu and cheesecake were ordered for dessert as well as several cups of expresso. When the Tiramisu was brought out it was served in a "cup" but the cheesecake was served on a plate. When this was questioned by the waiter, they said that's how they serve it. That was very strange as why would one be served in a cup and the other on a plate. The table next to us was celebrating a birthday party and they sang "Happy Birthday" to them, and we were also but they did not even acknowledge this for us.
We were very disappointed with the evening. read more