Zias Trattoria Linglestown

Inside what looks like was once a very small church. It was nice and cozy. Food was ok. Service was friendly and prompt.

To me, Zia’s is a somewhat uninspired Italian restaurant. The food is OK, but nothing special. Definitely not one of the better Italian spots in the area… They have an almost odd ambiance which I can’t quite describe and quite frankly, while I didn’t think they were all that great either, I prefer La Piazza which occupied this space before Zia’s came to town.
*I should add that there was an item on the menu I was really looking forward to try but they were out of stock. Will I return… maybe?

Once again a great meal with a great atmosphere!!! The chicken gusto and veal medici were cooked perfectly and tasted great. The chicken was tender and the veal was succulent.
You’d be hard pressed to find such a good restaurant for the price!

I just got home from celebrating my birthday with my family at Zia’s. It was a wonderful experience! Brace yourself, this is going to be a long one. I like to be thorough.
The first thing I’d like to say is that service was very friendly, with everyone eager to please. I apologize to the hostess/​manager and our server for not remembering their names because they really deserve a shout out for excellence! The décor is very nice, presenting a relaxing atmosphere without the clutter that many Italian restaurants resort to in order to feel Italian. It is very clean and comfortable.
We were offered the choice of a free glass of wine, gin or vodka drink. They are waiting for their license to sell alcohol, but in the meantime you get one of these options for free on Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursdays.
Now to the food. We were given a plate of warm rolls that were crispy outside and chewy inside, just the way a good Italian roll should be. The dipping oil was tasty. We each ordered a different entrée so that we could try a variety. First, the Lobster Ravioli. The sauce was really light and creamy. The flavor was a really good balance of cream, wine and seafood. Perfectly blended with nothing overpowering the other. There were a few perfectly cooked shrimp in the sauce. I wish it would have had few pieces of lobster, but the shrimp were good. The menu did say that it was a shrimp sauce, so there was no misleading the customer. My husband had Chicken Parmesan. All I need to say about this is that he cleaned his plate. Chicken Parm is one of his all time favorite dishes, so he knows good from bad from average. This was definitely good! My son-​in-​law had the Penne ala Vodka. I didn’t taste it, but he loved it and just like my husband, declared it as some of the best he has ever had. Next was the Chicken Medici. It was a tasty combination of chicken topped with crab meat, portobello mushrooms and 2 sauces. Delicious! I had the Pan Seared Scallops over Spinach, Basil and Asiago Risotto. The scallops were perfectly seared. I mean gorgeously browned and melt in your mouth tender. The risotto was creamy and very tasty, but just a bit heavy on the cheese. We got a side order of meatballs in the house marinara sauce. The sauce was really delicious. Since I am Italian I have had many marinara sauces through my years. This was one of the few Marinaras that I would call top rate. I will definitely order it again… and again. The meatballs didn’t have a lot of filler, were very firm and a decent size. They were a big hit with all of us, especially my 2 year old granddaughter. We ordered the chicken tenders and sweet potato fries for my granddaughter. There is no children’s menu, so it was a huge serving. Nothing extraordinary or remarkable about the tenders, but the fries were perfectly crispy outside and soft inside with a flavorful seasoning blend sprinkled on.
Here are my suggestions for improvements. First, a children’s menu would be nice. Lower priced, child sized portions would be welcomed. Since they have high chairs, then children are welcome or at least expected. Second, more light in the parking lot and outside in general. The parking lot is behind the building and it was pretty dark. There was a repair in progress in the ladies room ceiling. I assume it will be finished the next time I go back. We waited the longest for my granddaughter’s food, which is weird considering there was nothing complex about it at all. If we hadn’t ordered the meatballs, it would have been difficult to keep her happy. It’s a great place for a date night, girls night out, dinner with friends or family. These are the reasons it only gets 4 stars right now.
Please give Zia’s a try. It is now on my list of favorite Italian eateries!

We arrived about 7:20 pm. The people at the one occupied table left ten minutes later. For the next hour, and until we were finished, we were the only customers. That usually doesn’t bode well.
Our calamari appetizer was fairly good. The squid were tender, although the marinara sauce was a little too thick. However, it was downhill from there. I ordered the special of the evening: seafood over linguini with a cream sauce. I got a huge bowl of overcooked linguini, enough pasta for three people. Mixed in were four medium-​sized shrimp and a few tiny pieces of crab, maybe enough protein for a child. My friend’s lobster ravioli were OK. She thought that the sauce was good, but there wasn’t enough filling in the ravioli.
The grated cheese was served in a small dish. It had obviously been grated a long time before. It was so lacking in flavor that, if the server hadn’t told me it was parmesan, I wouldn’t have been able to tell. When I remarked to the server that it would be better for the restaurant not to pregrate its parmesan, but rather to grate it fresh for each diner at the table, he just shrugged and walked off.
We skipped dessert, but I made the mistake of ordering coffee. I should have known that with the restaurant having served so few customers that evening, the coffee was likely to be stale, and it was. The cream I asked for turned out to be milk, likely no better than 2% milk. No matter how much I put in, it failed to sufficiently lighten the coffee.
Our server was attentive, but had the annoying habit of starting to walk off before we were finished speaking with him, as if he had other things to deal with. Clearly, he didn’t, as the place was empty except for us. He also got defensive when we pointed out something that wasn’t to our satisfaction.
A positive is that the inside of the restaurant is quite nice. The building in which it is located was originally a church. It later housed a fabric and drapery business. Then it was converted into restaurant space. It has high ceilings, beautiful tall windows in front and on one side and a nice deck in front. The current décor (Zia’s is the third restaurant there) is tasteful, with a deep red and beige color scheme.
This lovely space has a lot of potential, which, unfortunately, has thus far not been realized by any of the three restaurants that have occupied it. Neither the Linglestown Chocolate Café (the first restaurant to open after the conversion) nor La Piazza of Linglestown stayed very long. With mediocre food, an unwillingness to listen to customers’ complaints and suggestions and a nearly empty dining room (at least when we were there), it will not surprise me if Zia’s meets a similarly early end. Unless we hear from other customers that they have made improvements, we won’t be back.

Very disappointed. We live in Linglestown and would frequent red door on 2^nd street for the crab tortellini. When we heard that Red Door would now be closer to home we were extremely excited. I was sad to hear they do not carry the crab tortellini, but even more disappointed in the waiter who scoffed at my inquisition. He proceeded to tell me that they will never have it on special and will never make it again because it is a «pain in the ass» I expected a much better from the wait staff than this, especially in front of my children.

Loved it. Clean, good service, and enjoyed my meal. Loved that it was in an old church.

What a dual pleasure it is to have a good restaurant in the church in Linglestown again, and to have it be Zia’s. Fans of Zia’s at Red Door rejoice! The menu is similar to the downtown restaurant, with a few added touches, and the parking is FREE! Food and service were excellent tonight. Had to have the Penne with vodka sauce, and old downtown fave, and it was up to standard. Started with Mussels with sriracha sauce. Divine! What an inspiration. (Full disclosure: I think there are few things that cannot be improved with the addition of sriracha.) Penne and vodka sauce, as I said, was sublime. B had the Zia’s pasta, a pesto pasta with artichoke, tomato and portabello, which she totally enjoyed. M had the lobster ravioli (what else?) which was served with a very nice white sauce, creamy and not floury. Portions are substantial. We’ll all be having Zia’s for breakfast. Place is BYOB (yay!) and reasonably priced. Menu is varied, and I am looking forward to trying several of the other dishes. Check it out!