Restaurant Review - Zozoi
Creative cuisine with a difference Zozoi
Zozoi in Marbella’s Old Town offers a dining experience not to be missed by true lovers of food. A converted traditional house provides the quaint setting for the restaurant, with customers returning time and time again for its well-balanced combination of attractive surroundings, friendly service and delicious, well-presented food.
An open courtyard and cobbled terrace are ideal for al fresco dining, while the warmly decorated interior is perfectly inviting as winter nights draw in. The creative décor – including earthy-coloured walls splashed with Moroccan golds and blues, and multi-coloured square-pattered walls – perfectly reflects the creative cuisine, which combines contemporary international with French and Mediterranean influences.
Zozoi is certainly one of Marbella’s most popular restaurants and, although the atmosphere is lively and bustling, the ambience is also quite intimate.
Owners Maryse and head chef Benoit are from Belgium, and there is a notable Belgian-French touch to the food, although much of the menu contains lighter, more fragrant flavours. Each dish has been carefully thought out to include the freshest seasonal produce, which arrives at the table beautifully presented.
Having not visited Zozoi before, I persuaded my colleagues to share each dish so as not to miss out on any aspect of the food I had heard so much about. One thing’s for sure, however: the portions at Zozoi are generous and there was more than enough to go round as we delved into mouth-watering starters which included fresh scallops with caramelised chicoree and chives beurre blanc; smoked haddock fishcake with creamy leeks and poached egg; and honey-glazed baby back ribs with herb salad.
To tempt our tastebuds even further, we enjoyed soy-glazed tuna with crispy tempura vegetables and wasabi mayonese, grilled fillet of sea bass with saffron fettucini and green asparagus, and a braised lamb shank with parsnip mash and baby vegetables, washed down with a delicious Albariño.
