Zia’s

Don’t expect to find authentic Italian here, but the food is still tasty and the atmosphere is comfortable and cute

Chicken piccata was perfect. House salad just the right size and the house vinaigrette perfect. Thanks to our server, Marc, who was extremely knowledgeable about the menu. He also exhibited just the right balance of taking care of our table and letting us chat for a while.(party of 6). This restaurant should be busier than it is! Tempted by dessert selection, but just couldn’t do it. Friends ordered the penne, Alfredo with shrimp, chicken parmigiana, and manicotti. All good!

Service is good. Food was ok. It wasn’t amazing. I had the root-​beer glazed porkchops. It was a bit overcooked and dry.
I had the cannolis for dessert. It was a bit stale and tasted like it came from Costco.

We hosted our son’s wedding rehearsal dinner at Zia’s recently. The manager was very accommodating, and responded quickly to any email correspondence regarding our wishes. The atmosphere was pleasant, and my son said the lasagna was some of the best he had eaten in a long time. Wait time was acceptable, considering the number of people being served, and there always seemed to be staff to see to the needs of our guests. We had approximately 30 people, and I would not recommend a much larger group for the size of the room. However, I would feel comfortable recommending Zia’s if you are looking for a place to hold a similar event.

The bruschetta was absurd. Avoid at all costs!
1 hour to get salads is ridiculous along with a $ 6 upcharge for a caprese salad!!!
The pasta was okay but nothing to write home about.
The server barely checked on us. The food that comes out is not reflected in the price.
Avoid at all costs.

When they first opened it was incredible. Like many other places managers change and so does the priority of the restaurant. Quality and portions lessened, service began to slip and the smiles are no longer on the Faces of the staff. The shame of it is, they were amazing. Best damn pork chops I have ever had.

Been here several times and never had a bad meal. Went tonight and was disappointed my favorite dessert, the mousse with raspberry sauce, has been changed though. It’s now with blueberry. Still good, but not as good as the raspberry mousse one. They really need to bring that back! Other than that, best mussels around and love the atmosphere inside and out!

Zia’s is hands down my favorite Italian restaurant in the Toledo area.
There really is no other one that is remotely decent, and don’t begin to tell me about La Scola or Mancy’s Italian… barf!
The location of Zia’s is beautiful. It is right on The Docks, aside The Real Seafood Co. and situated on the water. It has a beautiful Tuscan feel on the interior and offers outdoor seating to watch passing boats.
I have been coming to Zia’s for about 4 years and I have never had a disappointing or even remotely negative experience. The waiters/​waitresses that I’ve dealt with have been nothing but sweet, genuine, and thorough. I love going to a place where they seem genuinely happy to have you dining at their restaurant. That is mostly because of one of the managers, Caleb, who seems to go out of his way to talk to you and make you feel appreciated. It’s nice to have a conversation that is different than the, «how was your meal» routine that is SO stale and quite frankly annoying. As the night went on I noticed that it wasn’t just my table that he seemed to check it on, but everyone else’s as well and was very polite, kind, and thankful to each customer for dining there. As guests were leaving he knew many by name and had such a great rapport with them. Very impressive and I mention it because I have never seen a manager take an interest so greatly in their clientele at a restaurant.
Now let’s talk about the FOOD!
Zia’s makes some of my FAVORITE dishes, hands down. The penne al forno brings me to my knees. The baked deliciousness gets me every time. The pizza is absolutely fantastic and serves a good number of people. I’ve had their salmon dishes, chicken ones, the pesto dish is out of this world, I mean you really can’t go wrong with anything here. I am a HUGE fan of their house salad as well. It has chickpeas in it, it’s the perfect size, and has a delicious light dressing that doesn’t overpower the salad. Just remember to get fresh cracked pepper on top of it, it sends it over the edge. Also, upon first ordering you will get some delicious bread with olive butter and coming from someone who hates olives, this butter is amazing.
Zia’s has such a wonderful menu, complete with great workers, and is one of my favorite restaurants in Northwest Ohio, so much so that I even had my birthday party there. They have a a large room in the back and it can even be made private with curtains. I have since thrown parties there for my friends and it never disappoints!
Zia’s is a MUST for Italian if you’re in the area!

Manager just rude as can be lots of open tables outside one couple waiting up front mid week. Asked to sit outside nastily says we have ten people waiting it will be 45 minutes. Must be across river because place half empty. You won’t do better on docks in Toledo.

I recently went here for a celebration and it is delicious! The bread and olive butter is addicting– even the person I came with liked it and he usually hates olives. The prices are higher than I typically go for, but that’s what you expect for having a location by the river. I imagine it’s got to be quite expensive for property taxes.

Very nice meal, and mostly good experience.
There only reasaon I did not give 5 stars, was due to our experience while waiting. We sat at the pizza bar, and had a drink while waiting, as main bar was full. Bartender was great, but the pizza chef was nothiing but rude, to both us, other customers, and fellow employees. Quite honestly, we almost left after listening to him.
Turns out, glad we stayed. The restaurant really has nice atmosphere, the food was great, and for the money, I would say even better. Our server was attentive, and very friendly.

Decent food.
We went here for Valentines Day dinner. Food was okay for the most part. Nothing special. Mussels were good and minestrone soup was very good. I regret paying $ 11 for their champagne special though. They used Cook’s champagne… blah.

If you’ve never been to Zia’s before it is worth a trip! My first time going was with a family friend who told me Zia’s was the best, and it did not disappoint! The décor is so corky and fun, it makes you feel as if you are in little Italy. Also, the olive butter and bread that they give you before the meal is to die for. I love Zia’s for the food, but the friendly staff is what keeps me coming back! One time they ran out of the mussles that I wanted, so they went to the sister restaurant Real Seafood (also AMAZING) next door and got me some. Also, can’t beat the deals on your birthday. Now that I am moving, Zia’s will be one of my most missed places to eat!

The food is generally good, definitely not the best Italian I’ve ever had, but very acceptable. During the summer months, this place is always busy — especially on the patio overlooking the river & downtown Toledo.
Visiting in February though it’s fairly quiet. The night we visited there were only 3 or 4 tables in use. We sat at the bar for happy hour. What surprised us is that despite their being little activity in the place service was rather slow. If they fix this, my eating would jump to a 4.
Their pizzas are a specialty. We ordered two small pies one for each of us. If we go b ack, we’ll order only one small and share, as we took quite a bit home. Their full size pizzas are huge and one can easily feed 4 – 6 people as an appetizer.
Anything else we’ve ordered there is just average… nothing special. If your looking for a great place, go to their sister restaurant right next door The Real Seafood Company.

This is a fantastic location right on the river. Now don’t miss the road as you go over the bridge. If you do keep your head down and keep the car moving. Your going in a tough neighborhood.
Where they fall down is the food and temperature. The room got colder and colder till many in our party put their coats back on.
My chicken was so tough on my salad it took forever to chew it. And they bathed my salad in dressing to the point I had to stop eating it as I was having a dressing seizure. It Cesar for pete’s sake.

Visited for the first time for an anniversary. We sat in the bar area, in a booth, which was kind of obnoxious, but because of the guests at the bar, not anyone else. Our server was a little slow getting to our table for drinks and an appetizer. The bread and olive butter was to die for. Our Zia’s Pane di Mozzarella was amazing. My spaghetti and meatballs had the most delicious marinara sauce I’ve had in my life. The cannoli couldn’t be beat, either.
Only 4 stars because of the slow service and our salads were drenched in dressing, to the point of mostly being inedible.
We will definitely be returning.

Disappointed. Beautiful décor and good food but service was poor. We sat at the bar and had dinner and drinks a little before closing time. Bartender had a really bad attitude and ignored us most of the time. Had to ask other staff for anything we needed.

We went down to the docks to hit Zia’s all you can eat spaghetti Monday, but they have started a new special item for the month, this month it was sirloin tips in Marsala sauce with rosemary Parmesan mashed potato’s and fresh green beans with Italian seasoning. It sounded wonderful and with the recommendation of our server I went with it, much to the surprise of my wife who says if she were to cut into me I would be half tomato sauce and have chocolate, but the special was wonderful, perfectly cooked steak with an amazing Marsala sauce, the potatoes were very flavorful and the greenbeans awesome. I have never had a bad meal here and this one was among the best I have ever enjoyed here. If you are in downtown Toledo give this gem of a destination a try, and don’t forget the clamatta olive butter that comes with the bread it rocks, service is great and wine list is really well rounded, I love this place and recomend it highly.

This place was an experience. We had a half hour wait to be seated on a Friday night. We were seated by the fountain under a beautiful presentation of grapes and vines and leaves wrapped around the structure.
The funny part was the table next to us had a guy sitting directly next to the fountain and he kept getting splashed by the fountain. We didnt have that problem. We had the perfect seat.
It was my birthday. WONDERFUL birthday deals. Half of the bill and free dessert. This place is expensive.. about 18 or 19 dollars a plate. There are more expensive plates too. So I was happy to get the deal.
Marshall, our waiter was phenomenal. Our service was slow but the restaurant was packed. So we were forgiving of the slower service because when he was there, he was attentive and apologetic and helpful.
I’ve never been here before this experience and I was pleased. Marshall suggested the chicken tortellini which was amazing. My boyfriend ordered the pizza, which was the best pizza I’ve ever had. Everything there is made to order except the lasagna and manicotti. So every thing is fresh and customizable.
For my free dessert we got the cheesecake. I loved the texture of it but it was very citrus — like because I suppose it was made with orange juice and other fruits. It wasn’t a favorite but it was worth the try. I guess their chocolate mousse is famous and people always ask for the recipe. I’ll probably try that next time.
I know this is so stupid the water was so good and cold and fresh tasting that we couldn’t stop drinking it. I laugh cause my boyfriend even asked if it was filtered (it wasnt) but he said «if that was filtered I was prepared to buy a filter today to get that water» lmao! !!
Overall it was a wonderful experience. And the bill ended up being only 23 dollars because of my birthday discount which made it the best birthday dinner ever .
The only bad thing about it was that once the sun was going down and the waiters were walking in and out to the outside patio, Nats were flying in. And we had to swat them away which was gross and annoying. But the restaurant is off the water so I guess it’s something you can’t prevent. But eventually we gave up swatting and they surrounded our cheesecake. Yuck!
Oh and our dessert was served to us along with a candle. It was so nice having a candle lit dessert. Perfect birthday experience! !!

Food was awesome! The management (the only reason I think he was the manager was because he was not wearing the same outfit as the waiters, he was wearing skinny jeans though… SMH) guy that looked like Edward from Twilight was a total DICK!
The reservation process could go a little better. We put our names down and they told us it would be about an hour-​hour and a half, we said ok we’ll be at the bar. During this time there were MULTIPLE tables open that would accommodate 5, and were still open by the time we sat down 1.25 hours later. I don’t know if they just hold tables open for the heck of it or were understaffed or someone called ahead and reserved them. But the process could be better.
While at the bar waiting for our table, the hostess would walk by just saying out a random last name, «Smith» or «Jones». After building a rapport with the hostess I began to jokingly say my last name a few times, «Oh did you say R*%#*, You sure you didnt say R*%#*?» both parties had a good laugh. «Edward» on the other hand is not a jokster. He came up to me and said «Hey Pal (in a stern tone), when she calls your name you will know it! So go back to enjoying your drink and shut up.» I am not sure of a patron said something (I can be loud at times) or what but i don’t think that was the best way to talk to someone.
Now on to the reason it got 4 stars the food and service!
I ordered the pizza and let me tell you it was awesome! I highly recommend getting extra sauce. It fed 3 of us and we even had left overs. The food came out pretty quickly too. My cousins got the pasta and they both said it was very good and filling and not bland at all!
Our waitress was awesome. We were drinking Italian beers, can’t remember the name, and we ordered the last ones and we wanted 1 more round with dinner and she went to the back and found some more us. It would have been so much easier to just make us order a different kind of beer. So I appreciate the extra effort. She had a little conversation with us, about life and her favorite beer they had and gave plenty of suggestions on what food we should order.
Overall I enjoyed my night after the discussion with «Edward». If I am in the Toledo area again I would hit up Zia’s again for sure!