Caitlin is our regular server and is superb! Timely, courteous, friendly but not intrusive. Food is great and not overpriced. When crowded, place gets a bit noisy (hard surfaces with just a few upholstered booths to absorb sound).
Walt
Our server Billy was friendly and did a great job serving us. He is very Good at what he does!
DENNIS
Zona offers great location and variety to offer to dine outdoors, bar area or dining room. What a menu! Thank you.
Gary
Service and food was good . Cocktails were overly expensive. $13.50 for a 5oz grapefruit mule. The bread and jam was ordered and they ran out of jam and still charge same price. I asked waiter since no jam will the price be the same. I will work something out . The bill came with no changes. They charged $6.00 for 6 thin slices of bread with butter . Waiter said my manager will reduce the price even though the jam was not received. It's principal before the reduction offer ask management before commenting. Maybe after management reads this review their thought process might change
Peter
Magnificent pizzas and beet salads. The kids loved their meals. Monday is 1/2 day for wine, so the four adults drank almost two bottles. Bravo to Paul and the staff.
lisa reff-stowe
My family and I went to have a nice meal at dinner time on Sunday. First of all, we waited a very long time to get our order and order to the chef. I have to order a gluten-free meal. They were out of gluten-free noodles. Which was OK. I substituted it for spaghetti squash. My husband, he had a salad that was supposed to have bacon in it. There was no bacon in it. And a glass of wine is normally $18 but Sundays are happy hour ,so the glass of wine was $14. I knew all this . anyway I think it’s pretty pricey , I was disappointed . Unfortunately, we are not going to Zona 78 Italian restaurant!
Belinda
The food was just so so. Could have been better. No one in the party finished their meal. My meal wasn't touched and the server didn't ask about it.
Alan Zeffer
To noisy and crowded for me.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 5
Service: 5
Nora Thomas
There was a time whenever we were on the east side of Tucson a stop at Zona 78 was a given. Sadly, a change of ownership brought a change in the menu, in food quality and in service. Visits in October and November 2024 were disappointing. Really hoping that all that was needed was time to get back to their former standard of food and service, we stopped at Zona 78 for an early dinner on January 22nd, 2025. Even though we arrived at the time that the menu indicated that dinner was available, we were informed that only lunch items could be ordered. We ordered bruschetta hoping for a return to what had been a great presentation. The crostini was hard and very dry with half the amount of topping that I'd loved in times past. I ordered the prime rib sandwich. The ciabatta roll was toasted (in an oven?) to an extremely dry dark brown, there were literally two thin slices of prime rib between the very thick, dry roll, and barely a hint of horseradish. The side salad was even more disappointing with wilted greens and there was an area of slimy black. Cucumber (I think) slices were dry and wrinkled; I took photos. I could not eat the salad but said nothing as husband is averse to sending anything back in a restaurant AND our server never returned to check on us. I'D hoped that the cheese cake that I'd ordered would make up for the disappointment. It was never brought to the table. We'd sat at that table for an hour and twenty-five minutes when the server dropped the check on the table and then another ten minutes passed before he returned for payment. No more than 20% of the tables in the restaurant were occupied so he certainly was not occupied or even visible for most of the time we were there. We left Zona 78 and agreed that we'd never again return.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 2
Service: 1
Chris Capanear
Worst manicotti short rib ragu ever. Your chef needs to look up the meaning of the word RAGU. What I got was a short rib with marinara sauce poured on top. That is not a RAGU. Do better.
Unfortunately , this was not a good experience - food cold- disjointed service- so sad as I love this restaurant-
Stan
This Italian restaurant is pleasant and attractive inside, with lots of seating. The service was friendly, but a little spotty. I ordered the Mediterranean pasta dish, which was good, but which lacked the tomatoes promised on the menu. I pointed this out to the waiter, and he simply shrugged. I probably should have rejected the dish. My wife ordered the salmon, and asked that it be prepared medium. It was cooked too long and was a bit dry. Prices were not bad, but the food was just ok.
Lucille
Nice little place. Not fancy, just feels like a neighborhood restaurant. Staff was really nice.
Marsha
We enjoyed our Zona 78 experience. The service was great and the food was also really good.
Shawna Barroga
The calamari appetizer is served like a soup and it is super fishy super tough like eating a rubber tire, tough and just not good at all. You seriously need a steak knife just to be able to cut through the calamari, it rings. Shrimp Alfredo was very tasty. They're salad. The Turkey tastes like it is not real Turkey. It is the texture of cheese. The birthday dessert was quite tasty. The waitress was super super sweet, accommodating, very nice, great customer service. The restaurant is clean. It's a great atmosphere. The waitress did everything right. It was just the appetizer and the salad that was very disappointing.
Caitlin is our regular server and is superb! Timely, courteous, friendly but not intrusive. Food is great and not overpriced. When crowded, place gets a bit noisy (hard surfaces with just a few upholstered booths to absorb sound).
Our server Billy was friendly and did a great job serving us. He is very Good at what he does!
Zona offers great location and variety to offer to dine outdoors, bar area or dining room. What a menu! Thank you.
Service and food was good . Cocktails were overly expensive. $13.50 for a 5oz grapefruit mule. The bread and jam was ordered and they ran out of jam and still charge same price. I asked waiter since no jam will the price be the same. I will work something out . The bill came with no changes. They charged $6.00 for 6 thin slices of bread with butter . Waiter said my manager will reduce the price even though the jam was not received. It's principal before the reduction offer ask management before commenting. Maybe after management reads this review their thought process might change
Magnificent pizzas and beet salads. The kids loved their meals. Monday is 1/2 day for wine, so the four adults drank almost two bottles. Bravo to Paul and the staff.
My family and I went to have a nice meal at dinner time on Sunday. First of all, we waited a very long time to get our order and order to the chef. I have to order a gluten-free meal. They were out of gluten-free noodles. Which was OK. I substituted it for spaghetti squash. My husband, he had a salad that was supposed to have bacon in it. There was no bacon in it. And a glass of wine is normally $18 but Sundays are happy hour ,so the glass of wine was $14. I knew all this . anyway I think it’s pretty pricey , I was disappointed . Unfortunately, we are not going to Zona 78 Italian restaurant!
The food was just so so. Could have been better. No one in the party finished their meal. My meal wasn't touched and the server didn't ask about it.
To noisy and crowded for me.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 5
Service: 5
There was a time whenever we were on the east side of Tucson a stop at Zona 78 was a given. Sadly, a change of ownership brought a change in the menu, in food quality and in service. Visits in October and November 2024 were disappointing. Really hoping that all that was needed was time to get back to their former standard of food and service, we stopped at Zona 78 for an early dinner on January 22nd, 2025. Even though we arrived at the time that the menu indicated that dinner was available, we were informed that only lunch items could be ordered. We ordered bruschetta hoping for a return to what had been a great presentation. The crostini was hard and very dry with half the amount of topping that I'd loved in times past. I ordered the prime rib sandwich. The ciabatta roll was toasted (in an oven?) to an extremely dry dark brown, there were literally two thin slices of prime rib between the very thick, dry roll, and barely a hint of horseradish. The side salad was even more disappointing with wilted greens and there was an area of slimy black. Cucumber (I think) slices were dry and wrinkled; I took photos. I could not eat the salad but said nothing as husband is averse to sending anything back in a restaurant AND our server never returned to check on us. I'D hoped that the cheese cake that I'd ordered would make up for the disappointment. It was never brought to the table. We'd sat at that table for an hour and twenty-five minutes when the server dropped the check on the table and then another ten minutes passed before he returned for payment. No more than 20% of the tables in the restaurant were occupied so he certainly was not occupied or even visible for most of the time we were there. We left Zona 78 and agreed that we'd never again return.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 2
Service: 1
Worst manicotti short rib ragu ever. Your chef needs to look up the meaning of the word RAGU. What I got was a short rib with marinara sauce poured on top. That is not a RAGU. Do better.
Restaurantji Recommends
Unfortunately , this was not a good experience - food cold- disjointed service- so sad as I love this restaurant-
This Italian restaurant is pleasant and attractive inside, with lots of seating. The service was friendly, but a little spotty. I ordered the Mediterranean pasta dish, which was good, but which lacked the tomatoes promised on the menu. I pointed this out to the waiter, and he simply shrugged. I probably should have rejected the dish. My wife ordered the salmon, and asked that it be prepared medium. It was cooked too long and was a bit dry. Prices were not bad, but the food was just ok.
Nice little place. Not fancy, just feels like a neighborhood restaurant. Staff was really nice.
We enjoyed our Zona 78 experience. The service was great and the food was also really good.
The calamari appetizer is served like a soup and it is super fishy super tough like eating a rubber tire, tough and just not good at all. You seriously need a steak knife just to be able to cut through the calamari, it rings. Shrimp Alfredo was very tasty. They're salad. The Turkey tastes like it is not real Turkey. It is the texture of cheese. The birthday dessert was quite tasty. The waitress was super super sweet, accommodating, very nice, great customer service. The restaurant is clean. It's a great atmosphere. The waitress did everything right. It was just the appetizer and the salad that was very disappointing.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 3
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Shrimp Alfredo, Garlic Bread
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