Zizzi Ristorante, 1 London Street, Basingstoke, 01256 358300, Zizzi.co.uk.

JUDGING a restaurant on a day when Basingstoke suffered its worst snowfall this year perhaps doesn’t make this the fairest review.

But Zizzi at Top of The Town seemed unaffected by the severe weather, and it was business as usual when I arrived on a Friday night. I telephoned before, to check my booking for four was still possible, and to add an extra person to the table, which appeared to be no problem.

The restaurant was, as expected, busy for a Friday evening. The two waitresses hurried around, but at no point did we need to attract their attention – they were there to offer drinks and take our orders when required.

We opted for a starter of calamari rings, in a large portion to share costing £10.25, accompanied by a wedge of lemon, salad and garlic mayonnaise.
The rings were slightly rubbery, and the batter was not as crunchy as I would have liked, but they tasted nice with the dip and there were plenty to share between five.

When it came to choosing a main, I struggled to find a pasta dish that wouldn’t be too hot – more than half of the choices were accompanied by chilli, while the others were dull in comparison, such as carbonara or bolognaise. Eventually, I asked the waitress for help and she suggested I try Penne alla Vodka, minus the chilli, priced at £11.95.

When it arrived, the pasta was coated in a creamy tomato sauce, with large, succulent prawns and peas. It tasted nice, but would have been better with a few more prawns, which were the highlight of the dish.

Unfortunately, one of my dining companions had to send her fish risotto back because it was cold. But this was dealt with quickly and without causing embarrassment, and a fresh dish was promptly brought to the table, accompanied by an apology.

For dessert, we shared Torta Cioccolate – hazelnut and chocolate base with chocolate torte on top, accompanied by ice cream; and Torta Amaretti – mascarpone and amaretto cheesecake with mixed berry compote.

Although the chocolate torte had a great flavour, the base was rock solid, and required forceful spoon-bashing to break it up, resulting in a few giggles at our table. The Torta Amaretti was more to my taste, with the alcoholic taste of the amaretto combining well with the sweet, fruit sauce. Both cost £5.15.

Our total bill came to nearly £100, which was reasonable divided by five people, particularly as a bottle of wine had also been consumed.