Zambri’s

A simply wonderful dining experience; from the warm and elegant atmosphere, attentive yet discrete service, and of course the cuisine. We tried the Caesar salad, muscles and clams in a butter sauce (on special) and 2 of the pastas. All was delicious and the portion sizes generous. The bread and olives were fabulous as well, and we were delighted when they asked if we’d like them replenished! I am excited to come back to try more of Zambri’s.

The restaurant had no problem accommodating or party of 14. The server was attentive and everybody enjoyed their drinks and meals.
The tuna was excellent and the Boss Hog cocktail read delicious!
I will return!

We enjoyed an excellent meal with excellent service and atmosphere. Highly recommend!

Just returned from a stunning dinner at Zambris. To be honest they had me with the apéritif: Spanish G&T served with fresh mint and sun dried orange: inspirational! But it was all up from there: fabulous beet salad with ricotta and lime dressing, catch of the day was perfectly cooked sockeye salmon all rounded off with a highly indulgent lemon cream tartlet topped with fresh BC berries served in the warm embrace of a signature dark chocolate sauce. The service was discreet, warm, courteous and attentive. Thank you for a wonderful evening with my daughter!

My experience here has to be THE best dining experience I’ve had in Victoria… EVER. Between the exceptional service & the fresh, flavorful cuisine which was beautifully prepared & presented, I was blown away. Just walking up to this establishment was very nice, and walking in it was gorgeous. I was assured this was ‘authentic Italian’. Thank dogs, because I wasn’t up for being disappointed by another crappy, over-​hyped Pagliacci’s. Why has nobody recommended this restaurant to me before when I’ve enquired about authentic Italian restaurants in the Victoria area? Apparently this place has been around for 15 years, in 2 different locations. I arrived dressed very casually after a day in the park & had zero problems being seated, regardless of the fact that I was underdressed.
The first thing to hit my table was their incredible freshly made bread with a side of marinated olives *bam* Melt in my mouth delicious, I swear. I believe it was a sourdough, soft & slightly chewy in the middle with a gorgeous crust. Even better with the side of olive oil & balsamic vinegar. I knew right then I had walked into an amazing restaurant & I hadn’t even ordered yet. I was drooling already just thinking of what was ahead. I had a very difficult time choosing but finally decided on an appetizer & a pasta dish. I ended up enjoying every bite of both.
Biting into the eggplant rolled around a beautiful soft cheese (buffalo mozzarella? I forget) all of which was marinated & very lightly spiced with chilies on a bed of fresh tomato sauce/​relish-​type condiment with olive oil was incredible. Not only were these perfect little rolls delicious, they were absolutely beautiful just sitting on the plate. The flavors were simple but perfectly balanced. I actually found myself closing my eyes & taking in every single moment of having these little bits of orgasmic appetizer in my mouth. This starter paired with the bread, olives & olive oil/​balsamic for dipping would’ve been enough to fill me up, but I was dying to try their pasta. I chose a fairly simple pasta dish with peppers, fresh garlic & olive oil, drizzled with buffalo ricotta which was perfectly cooked — properly al denté — served in a large, hot pasta bowl. And I could tell it hadn’t been pre-​cooked. Holy mother of pasta… good enough to make a grown man piddle himself. This ain’t your typical spaghetti & meatballs place!
Portions were quite large so, sadly, I wasn’t able to finish my pasta but was more than happy to take it home to shovel in my maw later that night. Right about when I was ready to leave, literally stuffed to the gills, one of the people serving me mentioned they also made their own fresh gelato… what WHAT?!? I adore gelato, so full or not, I couldn’t leave without tasting it. They had several flavors available including pistachio, chocolate, raspberry & lemon. An order consisted of 2 scoops & I was told I could mix flavors, so I chose lemon & raspberry. Wow… beautiful finish to a beautiful meal. It arrived at my table topped with cute little sweet biscuits. Again, excellent presentation. The lemon gelato had lovely little pieces of lemon peel in it & was perfectly sweet & tart. The raspberry was equally delicious. I had no intention of finishing my desert as I rarely order deserts, but this was too good to leave behind.
Oooh, I forgot to mention their spectacular Italian sodas! I chose grapefruit, which was perfect with everything I ordered. Super refreshing between bites of pasta, that beautiful bread and olives & eggplant.
You GOTTA eat here!

Very good restaurant, small portions but enough. Pasta was cooked nicely, I would also recommend trying their sausage.

Went here for the first time last weekend, and had an awesome dinner. The focaccia bread, however, wasn’t that great but everything else was cooked perfectly (even my fish) and the presentation was well done. I’m not a fan of tiramisu, but I was so impressed but theirs — it was more of a trifle than a cake, and it was memorable.

Service was impeccable, a drink never left unattended and every query answered diligently. Wasn’t very busy on a Tuesday night, which only added to the ambiance of a well set property. The truffle tagliatelle was divine, simple and executed to perfection. I must stop if looking for a formal dinner in Victoria.

Bön repas, le service est juste comme il faut. Les ingrédients sont frais. Le pain est délicieux, le vin est aussi et à bonne température ! J’ai pris les pâtes frutti di mare qui étaient bonnes mais pas extraordinaire. Par contre la pannacotta en dessert est un vrai chef d’oeuvre !

Perfect brunch for 20. It was the day after my daughter’s wedding and I wanted a place to take the whole family (including the groom’s family I had only recently met). Zambri’s did a flawless job. Perfect food, service and ambience. We had near privacy in the atrium. The food was really superb. Great variety and quality all served family style. Thanks Zambris for a family brunch to remember!

Went here for Valentine’s Day and had a great time even though the Valentine’s Day menu seemed scaled– back and less spectacular than others around town (this was our second choice in case our first choice wasn’t available).
Recommend it if you don’t get your hopes up too high!

Peter is a spoiler, yes, a spoiler of customers. 80% of my experience has been professionally and personally with him. I’ve requested things like Osobuco, and other things my brother has spoiled me with. The response is never like normal to lower quality places…(insert dull tone) «Oh, we don’ t do that.»
Sorry, but is not about you. Sorry, you see, is not too much. Zambri’s got me as a client for ever. Why? Because it is about me, the customer and he knows it.
Because every time I ask with my passionate heart, which is most times, they have passionate answers to my desires and experience; to the point they make sure it happens. «Osobuco?» — Peter said. «Osobuco it is». And in the next 30 – 40 minutes… osobuco was there. Delicious, fresh, marrowy, and just so good. Was never in the menu, and I think that in his heart he just cared.
I
2 years later he still does spoil me/​us and I still feel he cares rather than it was just it.
I know millions of dollars are transacted here, daily. And if you are so authentic that Zambri’s team notices you, you will sure get help. Not directly, so no quants. LOL!
Anyway, love this place and people. Always, fantastic Victorians. Wait, that is a redunance? Yeah.
ESL ESL

Originally written — 07÷21÷11
Should I start backwards? You know, like that old sitcom episode. Well, they took 20% off my bill and removed the charge for the dessert. My dessert had 3, that’s right, THREE hairs in it. And i hate to say they were short and curly. We had to ask for salt and pepper. The server did not bring more bread when asked. The bartender DID make the specialty drink we requested. There is no butter served with the bread and when I asked, they brought unsalted butter and said it cost extra for EVOO and balsamic. The server kept making some weird messed up face as is she had been sucking on a lemon. Nothing on this Italian menu had pancetta. Did i get it all out… hope so… just another fancy shmancy Italian restaurant.

We saw some good reviews and thought we would give Zambri’s a try. We got there before the massive dinner crowd thinking we could have a quick bite. Ended up that our order was lost with some big crowds and it took 20 min after finishing the appetizer to get our entrée. I had the pasta with scallops and may wife had the prosciutto pizza. Nothing special and actually, the pasta, even though prepared well, had mortadella and scallops. Odd combination. However, the salad with strawberries and arugula was very fresh and crisp.
The kitchen did buy us dessert for the slow main course service. Can’t say we would go back.

As a local this would be a place I would recommend to visitors. A really nice meal. With a drink you are looking at about a $ 45 splurge. Worth it. Everything on their menu is cooked well and is very tasty. My all time favourites are the gnocchi dishes (when available) and any of their vegetable dishes. I often find that the vegetable/​grains/​starch sides outclass the main! Cocktails are doubles. Let the staff recommend a wine for you.

Absolutely wonderful! Everything was perfect. The service was unbeatable. The food was to die for and the patio was great. Definitely try it out!

We had a fantastic time at Zambri’s! We sat at the bar on a quiet Monday night and were wowed with fantastic service from Willey and chef Louis, who came out to visit folks on a couple occasions during the evening. What a fun, lovely atmosphere these guys created for us (aided by the pretty, fresh, modern, sophisticated décor).
I didn’t want to leave.
We LOVED our salads (caesar and the special with strawberries) and beef carpaccio — would order them again in a second. Probably wouldn’t get the bread balls or the veal again, as they didn’t really «move» us. They were fine/​good, but we’d likely opt for pasta or pizza next time as it looked delicious.
Would happily return and highly recommend.

Our appetizer was still frozen…

We booked a table for New Years eve and had a spectacular dining experience. The food and service were superb. My wife is Italian, a fantastic cook and pastry chef, and she thought each dish was delicious as well. The atmosphere of the restaurant was perfect for a great dining experience. They had a party of about 15 seated in their back room and there was no impact on service or ambience in the restaurant. At the end of the evening the chef had come out of the kitchen to talk to a staff member for a moment and I asked him over to our table. Even though he had a tremendous amount of things going on, he took a few minutes to ask about our meal, speak some Italian with us, and recommended a great place to go for a New Years drink. It was a thoroughly enjoyable two hours of dining at a five star, quality restaurant. If you’re visiting Victoria, I would highly recommend Zambri’s.

I am the granddaughter of a wonderful Sicilian lady who made large, wonderful, completely home-​cooked meals for the family at least twice a week. I have pretty high standards for my Italian food, and most restaurants cannot reach them. Why am I paying for pasta and sauce when I can make it at home from Grandma Falcone’s recipes?
Zambri’s actually blew me away a little! I ordered the tagliatelle with meat sauce, and it made me think my Grandma had returned to earth to work in Zambri’s kitchen. The pasta was perfectly cooked, the sauce was perfectly seasoned, and the portion was generous without being obscene. I can say not one single bad thing about that pasta dish. I would eat it every single night for dinner.
My boyfriend ordered the insalata nizzarda moderna. It was beautifully presented, and he was raving about the smoked tuna.
On a side note, I’ve been searching Victoria for the best Caesar, and I have to say that I think I have a winner. The bartender prepared me something mind-​blowing. Totally impressed.

More appropriately, 3.5 stars.
We recently had dinner at Zambri’s. The menu is nice, and the staff and kitchen is knowledgeable about its food and what is (and what is not) vegetarian. Many of its sauces and/​or soups are made with pork stocks, so vegetarians/​vegans beware. That said, the staff seems to know much of this, and I implored my server to check on a chickpea soup that sounded vegetarian but turned out was not.
Overall, the menu at Il Terrazzo (another Italian restaurant where we ate the night before) was a bit more flexible and varied for vegetarians. I think the menu here was a bit more high-​end and nuanced (in theory), and it was probably a few bucks cheaper to boot. That said, I preferred my meal, hands-​down, at Il Terrazzo.
We started with a mushroom-​cream pizza. Because of a misunderstanding in the kitchen, we were served a pizza of the day, which was a pureed vegetable, tomato sauce, bechamel, and smoked cheese. They brought out the mushroom pizza afterwards. Of the two, to my surprise (because I’m loco for mushrooms), I found the pizza of the day more delicious (though the mushroom pizza was also good, and my father preferred that). The crust was good. It wasn’t blistered or flakey or Neopolitan-​thin, but it was good. Pizzas weren’t too heavy. The highlight of the meal.
My entrée was a pesto dish. The server seemed to hesitate about the tomato-​sauced pastas, and when she checked with the kitchen, she was told that the linguini pesto with long beans and potatoes was the best vegetarian pasta offered. So I went with that. My initial reservation was that the pesto would be over-​powered by the linguini if it were not robust enough. True to her word, this was not a problem. Rather, this pesto got boring after a while. Zambri’s serves good-​sized portions for dinner (at least with the pasta), and it was a lot of pesto to eat. On the plus-​side, it wasn’t oily pasta. My father got a tomato-​based pasta with scallops and something else. He said it was very good.
At the end of the day, the meal was good. If the pasta would have been as good as the pizza, it would be a true 4-​star. It’s the kind of place that were I a local I could experiment with different possibilities and find what works best for me with this kitchen. Truth be told, I wouldn’t order the pesto again, and if the server was correct — that the pesto is the best vegetarian item on the menu — then I’d have a difficult time here. Other than a mixed salad and a couple of pizzas, pasta is all that’s left for vegetarians. No risottos, no eggplant, no vegetable-​based creations or lasangas or inspirations. It has options, but it’s limited. For meat and fish eaters, there is much more from which to choose.
On the plus side, it seemed like more of a local haunt than Il Terrazzo, several blocks away from downtown and flying beneath the radar on TripAdvisor. That said, if I had to choose between the two, I’d unquestionably choose Il Terrazzo, even with the tourists.