Zecca - Amble

Amble is famous for it's fish n chips and indeed they are very good! However I wanted to tell you about a hidden gem we discovered last week. Zecca is an Italian and seafood restaurant situated just as you enter the town of Amble. We decided to visit for an early evening meal one night when we were staying at nearby Cresswell.

We were on a limited budget so specifically booked a table during happy hour when pizza and pasta is only £5.50. However as it turned out there is an even better value for money menu - the innovative 'Thrive at 5' menu. This menu is designed to show the customer what value they would enjoy if the government reduced VAT to 5% instead of the current 20%. You can choose 3 freshly prepared courses for £7 between 4-7pm Mon-Fri. What a great idea!

The atmosphere in Zecca is laid back contemporary. It feels a little more upmarket than most Italian restaurants but still has a warm welcoming feel thanks to the pizza oven in the centre of the restaurant and the friendly, helpful staff.

Our children were all made to feel very welcome. The children's menu offers great value - a pizza or pasta, sweet and a drink for £5.95 plus they received the obligatory colouring sheet and crayons.

If you choose a pizza from the children's menu, you get the chance to 'make your own' which our children thoroughly enjoyed. It is a great way to keep them entertained, get them interested in food and spend creative time together. Their pizza bases arrived on wooden boards with various toppings in little dishes for them to spread onto their pizza. I was impressed to see their pizza bases were handmade in house too.

Our starters (potato skins) arrived soon after the pizza creations were taken away to be popped in the oven. I was very impressed with the huge portion sizes and they were lovely.

I was pleased to see the children's drinks were automatically brought out in plastic beakers with straws. It causes much less stress for parents knowing that your child isn't at risk of smashing their glass every 2 minutes!

Our pizza's arrived and the children were very happy with their creations. The grown up's pizzas (prepared by the chef - not us) were also very nice! My only small complaint would be that my cheese and tomato pizza was a little on the bland side though and I think could have done with some herbs - I wish I had ordered the pepperoni and chilli pizza. Will remember to do that next time! This minor detail would certainly not deter me from visiting again.

For dessert we ordered 4 ice creams (which come from nearby Morwick dairy) and 1 coffee. They all arrived promptly and were devoured pretty quickly!

Our final bill for all of the above plus 2 alcoholic drinks was less than £40. We all had a lovely time and it is certainly a restaurant I will be re-visiting when in the area.