Zibibbo, Palo Alto

Zibbio’s Throughout the years, I have spent 1000’s of dollars between Lulu’s in S.F and Zibbio’s I Palo Alto. Tonight, they have seen my last dollar. While the food is good and the atmosphere tendy, the philosophy of the restaurant is to try to pocket as much money as they can from the costumer. We ordered 1 appetizer, 2 salads, 4 entrees, drinks, capuccino’s and 2 deserts. We have been to the restaurants in Palo Alto and San Francisco, a multiude of times for both personal and private parties, so we know that they are known for serving things “family style”. Our server, who was very efficient, reinforced that the entrees were served “family style”. I believe that “family style”, means that you share the entrée and take a portion of it to put on your plate. Our party of 4 did just that, aside from my sister-in-law, who has food allergies, the 3 of us shared each dish. One delicious bite after another, we all agreed how good the food was until we tasted the salmon. We all certained that it tasted very bad and could not eat it. I told the server that it wasn’t good at all, and he offered us something else off the menu, as any good server would do. We took him up on the offer and ordered a more expensive dish. When, it was time for the check, he sheepishly disclosed that we had been charged for the salmon and the additional dish (which we would, naturally pay for) but that the manager would not subtract the salmon from the bill. We asked for the manager, who told us it was “company policy” to charge you for the entrée if half of portion was missing from the plate. If 3 people are sharing the plate, how would half of it be left on the plate to begin with? At no point did someone come out to apologize or to examine our individual plates, if they had, they would have discovered that the salmon was pushed aside. Have they hired someone to examine each plate that is returned to the kitchen via the bus boys and how much of each “family style” dinner they have actually consumed? The management and owner actually expected us to pay for a dinner that was not eaten? After all the server offered to replace it, as he should have. He did the right thing. The manager, Kassim, argued with us and told us about this ludicrous policy, he manner very abrupt and rude. He told us the owner checked with the chef to see if the fish was good and the chef said it was. Therefore, we had to pay for the salmon. Did the chef actually taste the leftovers? We refused to pay for the salmon and just wanted to pay for the replacement dish, that we all enjoyed. On the way out, I saw the owner, I told her how disappointed I felt about being treated so poorly and that she lost several customers over a $25.00 salmon dinner. All I can say is that she didn’t want to admit that she was the owner and when she finally did, she tried to say something about the fish being fresh. I wasn’t looking for any freebies, we had just spent a wad, an apology would have been appropriate. Instead, she began to defend the right to “rip off the customers”. So I will assume that they knew the fish wasn’t fresh and served it anyways (the worst), or that it was frozen and not truthfully advertised or that they just don’t care about their customers. As far as I am concerned all of it is insulting. Shame on you Lulu’s, Zibibbo, Azie, Lulu Petite!!!!

I am providing only three stars due to food taste. Service, etc. was all fine. The Mojitos are very nice. So was the Almond and Parsnip soup. The Skirt Steak should have been named Rosemary steak. It came rare (almost not cooked in the middle) when the order was for medium. The chicken was good but small portion of chicken as it was mostly potatoes. The food was just average except for the soup.

The food is decent, not good or great. However, the service at the front desk was very poor. The front desk staff was not knowledgable about basic hours of operations, how to make a reservation, much less rude. I would not recommend going to Zibibbo. There are many other places that are much better and the service is great!

Great wine menu esp with Italian Reds like the Brunello riserva I had and still cannot find elsewhere. The food on the other hand was not great. heard that was due to some kitchen logistics...may try it again later. service was good unlike what others have said.

From the folks who brought us LuLu in SF, a surprisingly unremarkable menu in Palo Alto. My companion had the chicken, which was boring and paired uninspiringly with greens. I had better luck with the paella, but I've had better elsewhere. Prices were too expensive for what we got. The ambiance of the greenhouse-like bar area is nice, but our dinner seating in the upper loft was claustrophobic.

This is a great place where you can take your family and friends for a night of traditional italian cuisine in a warm and inviting atmosphere of a truly fancyful Tuscan style restaurant.

Great wine selection - especially by the glass. If you're looking for a really great wine - especially one that is imported from Italy or France, this is a GREAT place to go. You can try several wines since they offer smaller portions. I also had some French appetizers - pate and brandade and both were delicious!

Pretty average - but yet overpriced.... so hard to find anything that isn't in Palo Alto or Menlo Park.... if you like Asian I'd try Straits Cafe on El camino - better food at better prices.