Enzo’s Bar

Yes, Enzo’s has been taken over, and although Tu & Lee can hardly be described as ‘older’ it does have a more subdued atmosphere during the week although weekends are far more lively.
I can only say I have always been very disappointed by the food served in the past at Enzo’s. In my opinion there is far better Italian food available in Woking at far better prices and this has not changed. Overcooked fish, tinned tasting sauces etc are just some of the delights served and as the chef is the same this hasn’t changed either. However the Vietnamese specials, which Lee prepared to her Grandmother’s recipes are fantastic. Light, fresh and very traditional and a great change as this type of food is not readily available in Woking, more is the pity.
I wont say there aren’t some teething problems while the new owners settle in, but all in all give it a go — you might be surprised.

On one of the great snow days of woking, I could not be bothered to cook, so we popped out for dinner. Zucchini (the new italian) was completely empty, so we thought we’d mosy on down to Enzo’s, which came heartily recommended by a colleague.
I’ll cut to the chase. The appetizer was vile, and the main (pasta for both of us) was semi-​synthetic, and good insofar as it wasn’t as bad as the appetizer.
The basket of bread they bought us is the worst bread I’ve had in … well, the world actually. Even Florence’s unsalted horrors were better than this paper-​flavoured dusty thing. I’d rather have had cheap sliced bread, toasted, than what they served us as fresh bakery bread. I had a small piece to check if what my fingers told me was accurate (it was) and didn’t touch the rest.
As an appetizer we had the fritto misto. The only thing that was borderline edible (and even then, I’ll bet it came straight from Iceland freezers) were the calamari. They weren’t good, but tasted nowhere near as bad as the shrimp and (oh. my. god.) whitebait. I had 3 of those little fishies, and stopped. If 3 random ones are awful, then it’s not going to get any better. For the record. I’m greek, and we love seafood, and I gobble down whitebait like no tomorrow in the summers back home. This truly was awful.
The meatballs in the Penne siciliane were store-​bought and tasted almost like the swedish meatballs IKEA serves. Not what you’d expect in a small town’s small restaurant-​pub-​bar.
I had fettuccine… I can’t remember what. With broccoli, feta, tomatoes and cream sauce. They were actually very good, if slightly overcooked. Sadly, they weren’t 100% fresh, as the plate had obviously spent some time in an oven being kept warm. Some were very dried up around the edges. Also, some broccoli pieces had an odd flavour. But that might’ve been my brain playing tricks on me. I did rather like the pasta. Just would never want to have them make it for me again. I’ll make it myself at home, thanks, and I’ll bet it’ll be a hundred times better!
Service was lovely. Thankfully, I’d been warned. My colleague said that Enzo sold his business recently and an older vietnamese couple have taken it over. The ambiance and service were correspondingly subdued. We only went because he also said they’d kept the chef. I would not go again to test out my theory, but perhaps the chef, being italian, stayed home due to the snow that day? Maybe someone else will try it out and let us all know.
Overall, for £13 each (with tip) it’s jiust not worth the trouble. It was £6.80 for most pasta dishes. Keep walking, head to the embers inn pub down the road, where you can feast like a king on traditional british fare for half the money.

Enzo’s bar is a hard place to give a rating to. In some ways it excels but in others it just doesn’t feel quite right. I went for a meal a while back and decided on a nice rare steak which had the option of being accompanied by various sauces. Although not on the menu, I asked for the 70’s classic steak Diane, the waitress said she would see what the chef could do and after a short wait I was presented with a beautifully rare steak Diane. I have yet to this day found a chef who will make that extra effort for a customer. The food was excellent from starter through to dessert and I really can’t fault it. My only gripe with Enzo’s is where we were seated. We had a table at the far end of the bar and although clean it just felt more like a table in a unloved pub than a restaurant/​bar. Very friendly, great food, a nice bar but just a feeling it could be that little bit better. Enzo’s still gets ⁴⁄₅ from me and is well worth visiting.