Zizzi
All lush brown leather and deeply burnished wood, Zizzi has that overly slick interior you come to expect from a budding restaurant chain poised to take over any small piece of land Pizza Express isn't already hoarding. Faking out the customers nicely, the electric pizza oven is disguised as an authentic wood-burning one of Italian peasant descent. But the working replica does turn out some fairly imaginative and tasty pizzas, although in keeping with English tradition, embarrassingly small. The tables in the rear overlook Parkers Piece, giving diners a first hand look at the football and cricket 'skills' of local Cambridge residents. Zizzi's is a good place to keep the hunger pangs at bay before a night out but sadly, an icy glimpse into the impersonal spirit downtown Cambridge may soon acquire if the chains continue to invade.

