ZaZaZa Glebe

This was really underwhelming, given all the hype this restaurant has. The crust was thin, but still soggy. I was expecting a crispy, wood fired pizza. I had the lover’s leap, my girlfriend had the Italian Too. Both were greasy, and kind of ‘Meh’ tasting. And one pizza is enough for two people, frankly, despite the insistence of our waitress that it wasn’t.
The beer selection was measly, the décor looked like an ugly Russian tea room, and we spent over fifty bucks on a mediocre pizza dinner.
I would have been much happier getting a walk-​in slice at Pizza Pizza one block away. There was nothing gourmet about my dinner except the price.

Very small and comfortable environment.
Went here with my girlfriend for a spontaneous date. I ordered the Sweet Glide (Pesto oil, mozza, prosciutto, shrimp, pear, pecans, brie& arugula), the best gourmet pizza I’ve had since Dr Okter spinach and cheese frozen pizza. My girlfriend had the Nacho Libre (Mozza & Cheddar blend, Tomato, Green & Red Onion, Jalepenos, Diced Avocado, and Hot Mama Drizzle). We really enjoyed the service and will come back.

I can’t believe this is my first time trying ZaZaZa. I’m a huge fan of The Works (the same owner, and therefor kind of the same idea — crazy toppings on delicious pizza as opposed to burgers!), and I love pizza more than almost anything on the planet, so visiting this place seemed like a no-​brainer. For some reason or another, I’ve never made it inside, but thankfully, the wonderful Christianne C recommended we visit after a day of wedding dress shopping, and alas, I finally made it in!
Their Glebe location is all sorts of wonderful. Dimly lit, with dark walls and fantastically funky décor make this spot feel secretive and somewhat romanic. It felt like I was in some sort of underground pizza club. (Can that be a thing? I would join.) It’s got a theatrical feel to it, and the menus are presented on Playbills. Very fun!
There’s not a ton of seating in this place, so I’d recommend reservations if you’re going during a busy time of day, but fortunately were were between lunch and dinner so it wasn’t bad at all.
Our server was fantastic. She was funny, and upon hearing that Christianne had just said «yes to the dress» immediately requested photos and chatted about her wedding dress shopping experience. She walked us through the ordering process (choose your crust, sauce and toppings, or one of the pre-​selected menu options, of which there are lots). Note that they have gluten-​free crust for all you celiacs out there.
I decided to try two pizzas, and split with Fauve G. We decided on the Simon Says (Hot mama tomato sauce, mozzarella, ground beef tomatoes, spiced havarti, avocado, green onion, sour cream drizzle — basically nachos on pizza!) on whole wheat crust. We eliminated the jalapenos because I’m a baby when it comes to spice. We also tried the Lover’s Leap (on their standard dusted cornmeal crust), which was my favourite: mozzarella, pepperoni, hot italian sausage, tomatoes, and black olives. I don’t even normally eat olives, but this was so good!
We also got the feta dipping sauce which I totally recommend — YUM! They also provide you with a spicy oil to drizzle on your ‘za if you like the heat.
I can’t wait to come back. The service, food and atmosphere exceeded all expectations. This would be a fantastic date night spot.

Have driven by various locations of this pizza joint and always think «gotto go in there, looks interesting». And it is interesting. The décor is well thought out and implemented with a bit of an artsy feel to it.
Menu is a fun — but a bit hard to interpret. Ordered a pizza and salad to split — enjoyed both, but nothing particularly special.
For the price, I think there are other places I’d rather go — but I’m glad we tried it.
Would I recommend: It’s fine.
Would I return: Probably not — we’ll keep hunting for that elusive perfect pizza elsewhere.

I have been to this location twice now. The first time I went to ZaZaZa with two of my friends. We had been looking for somewhere with pizza and we came across this restaurant. I had the Fancy Mushroom pizza and it was delicious! Our server was extremely nice and quick to respond to our needs. I had a great experience! So I decided to try it again for one of my other friends birthdays!
I made a reservation three weeks in advance for four people. When we arrived 10 minutes before our reservation time, they told us our table wasn’t ready and it would be a bit of a wait. Totally understandable because we were early, so I expected a 10 minute wait. I was wrong. We waited about 30 minutes for a table, in the incredibly small restaurant. The waitress kept asking us to sit at the bar, but as two of my friends do not drink we decided against it. She seemed rather annoyed that we did not want to sit at the bar. I told her we would wait outside the restaurant so we were not in the way. So we stood outside the restaurant for about 25 minutes, watching the people from the nearby running room jogging up and down the street. Finally we went back in and they still did not have a table for us! To be fair, in attempts to make amends for not having a table they offered us free sweet potato fries, which was nice because we were starving. But they brought us a basket full of fries and a plate with dipping sauce to hold at the door…(of course by basket I mean a sneaker which they were using as a holder for their side dishes). I was not impressed. Juggling plates of food, my purse, my winter jacket and all while standing in their narrow front hallway. Once we did get seated our waiter was very nice, he apologized again for making us wait. Our food was good, I had the Patient Paul pizza without pepperoni and subbed in chicken. It was very good. I am still unsure if I will return to this location again, although I do like their pizza. I am not fond of restaurants that can take reservations but clearly have a hard time keeping them! What is the point of having reservations?! Especially because I made the reservations well in advance and we were not late!

So far I’ve tried both the fancy mushroom and the sweet glide. Of these two, the sweet glide is my favourite by far. I’ve gotten it maybe 3 times. The combination of pear, brie, pecans and arugula is crazy-​good! The shrimp is a fun add-​on, although I think I prefer my sweet glide without it. I’d never have thought to combine these flavours myself, but I now aspire to make my own thin-​crust pizza with the same stuff.
My favourite crust has been the honey oat crust. I’ve also tried cornmeal and gluten-​free and while both are pretty good, the honey oat crust adds a little bit of sweetness that I like in my crusts. The gluten-​free crust seems a little thicker. I tried it after reading raving reviews about it and will say that it’s good, but not overly impressive.
The pizza is pricier, but well worth it, in my opinion! Next time, I hope to just share a pizza with someone else so that I can try these goats cheese appetizers and incredible desserts I’ve heard so much about.
Favourite pizza place in Ottawa!

Come here for interesting pizzas (ala «The Works).

While visiting Ottawa this week, we decided to try out this place some of our local friends had raved about. While I admit, I am not a huge pizza guy, the menu looked intriguing.
This location has a the look /​feel of a vintage movie theatre where the kitchen area is the «stage.» It definitely did not feel like you were in a pizza joint.
The servers are dressed somewhat funky, some may call it hipster — short sleeve dress shirt, tie, jeans, and converse. Maybe there is a bit of an identity crisis going on? Regardless, she was super friendly and helpful with our order and throughout the night.
Out of sheer curiousity, we tried the gluten free crust which was amazing. Seriously, try this option!
Onto the pizza: we have the liberty Bella and curry crazy and it was like eating a Philly cheesesteak and chicken curry (separately, of course). Wow — I don’t think you can call it pizza, frankly. Artisan crusts, fancy toppings, vintage surroundings (and vintage coke bottles) all make for a slick meal experience.
We wanted to try the dessert pizza, but we were simply too full. We will go back!

Pizza is beyond mediocre. The owner is miserable to deal with. Perhaps the dumbest pizza place name in history.

love the lemonaid (no sugar) here. I’m might be on a kick again — silly heat wave

The second location of this very tasty pizza place. We wandered in one late summer day for lunch and were not disappointed by these very tasty thin-​crust pizzas, which were such a relief after Gabriel Pizza, which is fine, but very different the pizza I’m used to. Now that I have ZaZaZa, I don’t find myself wishing I was back home in Windsor/​Detroit every time I feel like pizza.
The interior is very trendy and we took advantage of a QR code promotion for a (very tasty, but expensive without the promotion!) fresh-​squeezed lemonade, which really hit the spot. Unfortunately, considering the price, I could have finished one about 3 times the size.
The service was quick, friendly, helpful and professional. She guided us through choosing a crust (we both went with cornmeal, but it’s good to know that they have gluten free in case we’re ever catering to someone who needs it) and the size of the pizzas — unless you’re light eaters, you’ll probably want one per person, which will probably yield leftovers.
I had the Hot Hot Hot and he had the Crazy Horse — two wildly different pizzas. The Hot Hot Hot was fairly hot but not totally out of control (to me — I love spicy food) and a very heavy pizza with loads of cheese and sausage. The Crazy Horse, by contrast, was much lighter, with fresh looking (and tasting) ingredients and an almost sweet taste to it (it might have gone very well on the honey oat crust, while I couldn’t imagine the Hot Hot Hot on that). I also ordered a side of the Bajan creamy coleslaw — what a treat! It was spicy, creamy, limey and very refreshing. I could have eaten a whole bowl of it.
A quick note — those bottles on the table — they’re not just for show! Try the spicy olive oil drizzled on your pizza, it adds a little extra oomph even to a mild pizza like the Crazy Horse (the boyfriend, who wasn’t in the mood for spicy but tried it, agrees).
He finished his pizza but I didn’t finish mine, which they wrapped up expertly in a thermal-​ish bag, toppings together so the crust didn’t get ruined. It reheated later (in the oven, of course) just fine. In case you can’t tell, we’ll be back.