I'd heard tell of this place a few months prior to its arrival, and had from that moment been…read moreanticipating the arrival - here in Meanwood town we've a few spots that are worth checking out, but not exactly a lot. Any opportunity for new restaurants or bars to open is a good thing to my mind: It's probably one of the more attractive areas, given how green it is, and so populating it with more eateries will only add to it - especially since it's lacking in that.
So, on an evening where hunger took over, the chap and I wandered the short walk to Zucco. I'd heard somewhere that it was tapas, and so was pleasantly surprised to see an intriguing menu adorned with what appeared to be a sort of tapas and Italian fusion. The dishes were priced, and appeared, to be moderate - thusly tapas sized. When they're around £6 or less a go, I assume you order a few things, so I took the lamb stew and steak, opting to share the veggie dishes, whilst he had the pizzetta.
It's important to note at this point - the food is in no way miniature. In fact, it's almost like a two thirds sort of size. Not quite enough to simply order one thing, but certainly (for me at least) bigger than having several tapas dishes amongst you. When the stew and the steak arrived, without comment thankfully, and were placed in front of me I felt a little foolish, a little greedy, and a little overwhelmed!
Regardless, you can guess how this ends. I, of course, ate it all.
The service was really lovely. They had a young chap, perhaps 13, taking our orders and delivering our food and whilst he seemed a touch shy (or straight forward and nixing the chit chat) he was perfectly efficient and lovely. Everything came out in a timely fashion, and whilst the place was really warm from the sun, the open doors and fans provided some respite and air. It's decorated well, with striking black and white tiles, and simple dining tables - no fuss, just a good clean environment.
As for the food - it was fine. I really enjoyed the stew, although I couldn't put my finger on what it was that flavoured the broth. It was a watery (in texture, not taste) and beefy, with melt in the mouth lamb hunks (obviously slow cooked) and various veg - including olives, which went supremely well in the stew. This was so surprising! I'm not a caper fan myself, so could have had it without those, although I realise they added to the odd but pleasing flavour.
The steak however, was not as good as I'd hoped. Despite coming pretty rare, there was something missing in the flavour and texture of the meat - it didn't melt like some rare steak does, and it was chewy in places. However, I did finish most of it, so it wasn't that it was a poor steak, just perhaps not to my tastes. (And unfortunately the intended vegetables to accompany had run out, although they did come up with a lovely alternative.) Watch out for the beer prices though! We got stung there.
In summary, there's a fantastic environment to the restaurant, and it's amazing to see something a little bit different - especially in Meanwood. Being as they're relatively new, I'm hoping it'll come into its own where the food is concerned. The dishes aren't quite small enough to properly tapas it up (although there's loads of light bites to eat) and the vegetarian small plates aren't quite strong enough to act as a main. However, they dishes are a little bit different, freshly made, and put together with an obvious amount of passion - not something to be sniffed at. Check them out, and have a bite to eat.
