Zianos
5907 Covington RdFort Wayne, IN 46804
Phone • (260) 444-4348
http://zianos.com
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| photo source |
FIRST IMPRESSION:
We are greeted at the door with a genuine smile and a verbal welcome. All of the servers are friendly and knowledgeable. We were promptly seated with menus. This clean, cafe-esque eatery was quite busy for a week night. Dinner specials were written in chalk on a cafe style chalk board adding to cafe charm.
APPETIZER:
On a previous visit, we had enjoyed Brushetta, but wanted to try something different this time. On this visit, we opted for a Mediterranean 10" pizza - PERFECT choice! For $8.99 (adding black olives to half will cost you $1.50 more) we enjoyed 6 slices of Greek topping heaven. The feta cheese packed a tasteful pizazz especially when it was paired with the plentiful kalamata olives and piled onto an exceptional crispy and chewy crust.
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| The kalamata olives were suppose to be on the whole pizza - hmmm, didn't notice it at the time. |
Unfortunately, salads are not included with entrees at Zianos but their small house salad is incredibly delicious and is only $1.99. The plentiful portion of crisp lettuce, soft shredded mozzarella, and chopped veggies are embraced by a delicious homemade vinaigrette. Standing guard over the small plate of goodness, is a garlic slice of crispy ciabatta bread. Delicous - a must order!
Allen L opted for a large Greek Salad as her dinner preview. Although the salad boasts a bold and beautiufl appearance, it will set you back $7.99 and is probably not worth the price - especially since the lettuce to topping ratio is definitely out of balance.
ENTREES:
Adams L and I opted to try something new, Fontanini Sausage and Peppers. At Zianos, you'll find a staff more than willing to please you and as such, we learned that we could get any sauce on any pasta. I opted to stick with the original recipe featuring Marinara sauce, but Adams L swapped it out for Romano sauce. Most definitely follow Adam L's lead here - choose Romano - it's delicious and definitely makes the dish much better. You must like bell peppers in order for this dish to be a home run for you! I probably won't get it again, but I am glad that I did try it.
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| . . . with Romano sauce |
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| . . . with Marinara |
DESSERT:
Adams L and Allen L shared a dessert special - Cinnamon Caramel Sicks. The breadsticks were crispy on the outside and soft on the inside and topped with 3 scoops of vanilla ice cream bathed in a dreamy layer of caramel melt-in-your-mouth sauce and topped with a sprinkle of cinnamon sugar. It was delicious and the Elles enjoyed it.
I opted for a creamy dish of spumoni. The triad of flavors is a palate pleasing way to end a meal. It's good, but not spectacular.
SERVICE:
Most of the paper-topped tables were occupied and changed over guests while we were there. Despite the patronage volume, we were provided with excellent service. Our water glasses were continuously refilled and fresh diet cokes were endlessly delivered to the table. Our server, Dawn, was fantastic. She was friendly and knowledgeable. She engaged in our friendly banter and genuinely took exceptional care of us including boxing up our left overs. The manager on duty, Kristi, was our server on previous occasions, recognized us (editor's note: this was the first visit we disclosed our blog or wrote up a review). She came to our table to greet us and check in our experience. Congrats to her for getting a well deserved promotion. Want to be taken care of but not pay a high brow price? Zianos is just the place for you.
FINAL THOUGHTS:
Zianos is a comfortable casual Italian cafe where jeans are welcome and there won't be a need to break your piggy bank. The service and food are outstanding and worthy of your attention in the near future.
Until the next bite -
