A slice of Lebanon's food culture

Authentic cuisine

Situated in the heart of the capital, Connaught Palace, the casual dining restaurant Zizo offers authentic Lebanese flavours.

Named after a tiny Lebanese beetle zizo, every aspect of the place has a Lebanese essence — the grand glass door to sterling furniture to the embellished walls. While the ground floor of Zizo might seem as a usual café, the upper floor has a twist. Apart from the regular sitting area, there is a small, hidden way that takes you to the Arabic style hukka lounge.

With its two other outlets in Gurgoan and DLF Cyber City, Zizo also organises movie screenings and photo exhibitions with an aim of popularising Arabic culture in India. Also, every Friday night is a ‘Laylina Night’ at Zizo where live belly dance performances are hosted. Apart from this, patrons can have a sneak peek into the Arabic or Lebanese society by indulging in the popular Arabic game Backgammon or by reading through books available in the library for free browsing.

Coming to the food part, Lebanese cuisine focuses mainly on herbs, simple spices and fresh ingredients, relying less on heavy sauces and excessive use of spices. mint, parsley, oregano (zatar), garlic, allspice, nutmeg, and cinnamon are the most common seasonings. And if someone wants to taste the authentic Arabic home-made pickles, they can be picked up from their outlets.

Zizo’s quirky, bright menu offers an array of authentic Lebanese dishes and some refreshing juices, smoothies, cocktails and mocktails. To start with, Metrolife ordered the Fattoush Salad and mulberry lemonade from the juices section. The mixed vegetable salad, made with fresh herbs, organic sumac and pomegranate vinaigrette was just a perfect beginning of the culinary journey to Lebanon.

We then ordered the Trio Hummus which included the traditional, spicy (not as spicy as the Indian versions) and basil hummus, served with fresh and soft pita bread. Next we tried the Batata Hara and breaded shrimps with harissa sauce. Batata Hara is the name given to crispy potato cubes, made with Lebanese chilli and a strong flavour of garlic; whereas the shrimps were a crunchy affair, deep fried in Moroccan style.

Next served on our table was Chicken Cheese Man’oushe. The dish was a thin crust pizza topped with tossed chicken, garlic. Zaatar, the Lebanese oregano which is a bit spicier that the regular oregano and chilli paste made the dish a spicy version of our chicken pizza. For the main course, Grand Mom’s Chicken Pasta is a good pick. Baked spaghetti in chicken and white sauce is a must try for all those who crave for some good amount of cheese.  To end this flavoursome journey, we ordered the desert Cheese
Kunafa. Though the dish was little sweeter than what we expected, yet the warm desert with orange blossom syrup is worth giving a try.

FAQs:
Address: K-18 and 22, Connaught Place.
Time: 11 am – 11.55 pm.
Price for two: Rs 1,200
(excluding taxes)
For reservation call: 011 33106056