Zibibbo

01/28/2008 Posted by kayatcitys

Based on a good experience a few years back, I decided to hold a birthday party for a friend here. I called and was told that they have other big parties at 730 that will make the kitchen busy, so they gave me an 8pm reservation. We got to our table and it was 25 minutes before a server showed up. Some guests that arrived late were treated rudely by the hostess. Then the birthday boy found a mosquito swimming in his drink. We tried hard to attract attention (i.e. said "excuse me" and then waved hands wildly in the air) when the waiter came to the other big table in the room. He finally noticed us about ten minutes later. In the mean time, the birthday boy's wife (a vegetarian) discovered some suspicious brown tidbits in her gnocchi, that she had, naturally, asked for without meat. Turned out, they had forgotten to not put the bacon in. This is easily the worst service I've seen in my life (and I've even been to Vienna!). If you want to eat with a large party, find *any* other place.

Pros: Ambience, Tables for large parties

Cons: Service is abysmal

04/28/2007 Posted by glavston

So my husband and I and another couple went there last night for dinner and it was just terrible what we saw. We were seated in a booth overlooking the open kitchen, seemed nice at first. But it turned really bad! We saw the chef in front of us, who we later learned was the executive chef!! constantly yelling angrily at the cooks and the waiters. He walked up and down the kitchen obviously mad and yelling at everyone around him. My husband joked that at least we were getting a show. I've had tempermental bosses before but this was extreme, and I felt so sorry for everyone he yelled. And if that's not the worst part, he said that "he was looking to kick someone's a** (butt)"!!! We just couldn't believe that this was going on right in front of us. Never going back and promoting such a place. DON'T SIT IN THE KITCHEN IF YOU HAVE TO GO OR JUST DON'T GO!!!

Pros: Don't even remember the food or drinks

Cons: Abusive chef, angry atmosphere

01/29/2007 Posted by snowboardsdeep

I expected a little more professionalism from a restaurant of this caliber in Palo Alto. Coming from the industry myself I understand that it is management’s job to handle confrontations between their servers and customers promptly and with tact. Whom ever the young women claiming to be the General Manger of this establishment was, clearly was not qualified to manage a restaurant or staff of that size. Immature behavior and embarrassing for the guest is how I would describe the situation and I wasn’t directly involved just a witness to an ugly scene. It’s unfortunate because my wife and I were visiting the area from Southern California and our friend who had attended Stanford mentioned it was one of the best places to eat in town. The food was ok, took forever, but the service or lack there of was pretty apparent. I would not recommend this to anyone

11/13/2006 Posted by sperans

Zibibbo used to be one of my favorite restaurants. But over the years the quality of both the food and service have gone down while prices have gone up. Recently we had a birthday party for a friend and the service was awful. We were seated on the patio which was really dark, and when we asked if we could get more light, the staff laughed awkwardly and wandered away. It took several requests before they turned up the lights. When they brought the food we were told we 'had' to eat 'family style' (with all plates in the middle) because that is the kind of restaurant they are - the servers actually argued with us when we asked to have specific plates put in front of specific people. It also took several requests to get them to clear away our empty appetizer plates in order to make room for our main courses. Also, a coupld of the dishes were so salty as to be almost inedible. Bring the old Zibibbo back!!!

Pros: quality ingredients, interesting options

Cons: poor service, terrible lighting on patio, very salty food

08/24/2006 Posted by senatorsmith

This is my favorite restaurant in Palo Alto. They have a great menu that changes continually to highlight seasonal items. Preparations are fresh, creative and tasty. The ambience is wonderful and integrates a romantic sensibility with a noisy energy, giving the place a buzzing vibe. The wine list is awesome -- with rare finds and wonderful treats -- but also pricey. Wait staff is great --- warm, personable and highly knowledgable.

08/04/2006 Posted by jjsakura

One of my fav restaurants. It can be kind of loud, but it is a great place for groups. The menu has something for everyone and it is all served family style so folks can try a little bit of everything. The duck on saturdays is really good, but so is most of their rotisserie menu. They have a huge wood fired rotisserie. If you're in palo alto, you should definitely stop by and check this place out.

06/22/2006 Posted by pdowley

Based on my dinner at Zibibbo last night if given a scale of 1-10 to rate it I would give it a 5. An average of a 10 for location and atmosphere and a 0 for the food. I had the misfortune of ordering Pallella, an all time favorite of mine. Suffice to say what the waiter presented was a long way from what I was expecting. A pan of WAY overcooked rice (to the point of being hard and stuck to the pan) with 2 shrimp, 2 musscles, and a few pices of sausage whose texture resembled crispy bacon thrown haphazzardly on top. I have been to Zibibbo in the past and have not been dissapointed. Perhaps it is simply a question of their needing to take Pallella off the menu unless they are going to comit to doing it properly.

Pros: Great location and atmosphere

Cons: terrible food

04/02/2006 Posted by xenainsf

Tucked in a little corner, the restaurant seemed really inviting and cozy. With no distinctive entrance, we sort of wandered passed an outdoor area before getting to the host. We were seated promptly even though we had no reservations and the restaurant seem busy. There really isnt much to choose from other than pizzas if you were vegetarian. The waiter was reluctant to vegetize certain pasta dishes which I thought really werent too difficult. The trio of appetizer turned out to be really meager for the price and I couldnt help but feel slightly cheated. The entrees were fairly decent sizes even though we didnt have to doggy bag anything. When we asked for bread, they served it cold. Is it just me or is that Mediterranean? Overall, the prices were too steep to pay for a noisy,mediocre dinner where the waiter asked if you prefer sparkling or still water.

Pros: Full bar, Decor

Cons: Noise, Value

02/19/2006 Posted by opakapaka

The worst meal I have ever had for around $100 for two. It was so loud, we had to yell at each other to be heard. The Mojitos are half the typical size and mediocre. The tuna appetizer was tuna-fish, the kind you get out of a can, not sashimi. We were asked to move because they wanted to put two tables together to seat four people. Can you imagine? We took the opportunity to move upstairs so we could talk, but we should have taken the opportunity to leave and unfortunately didn't. One main course was the special of the night - leg of lamb in Moroccan spices. It showed up in slices and was cold and tough. The presentation and flavor were awful! The only thing that was edible was the pizza with mushrooms which was just OK. Service was shoddy to boot. We couldnt wait to leave.

Cons: awful food, poor service , loud & expensive

02/17/2006 Posted by madhu_glen

Zibibo was in our list of restaurants to dine for a real good time. We finally managed to go there for dinner. I am glad we did that. Great food --- I tried the Game Hen ... It was really good. The menu is predominantly French. So none of the usual kabobs etc. They have a real extensive Wine List ... They also serve by the Pitchet = 1.5 times a glass ... The service was really good ... Ryan was our server that night... His service was simply outstanding... Don't forget to make reservations. I would avoid going there on Fri/Sat -- It gets too crowded

Pros: Food, Service, Location

Cons: Parking, Crowded