Zambri's

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!

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!

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.

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.

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!

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

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

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.

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

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.