Zio's Italian Kitchen, Colorado Springs, Colorado Restaurant Details

Food:

I worked here for about a year as a hostess.

The place is disgusting - the silverware gets handled by bare hands and only ran through the wash once before being reused, the menus don't get cleaned either, we wipe down all the tables with the same cloth, the floor usually doesn't get swept unless there's a glaringly obvious mess, dust coats anything that we don't touch, and I can ensure you that the bathrooms don't really get checked and/or cleaned unless someone complains. On top of that, the cooks/managers cook without gloves part of the time and we had a sewage problem that reeked in the front half of the restaurant for 4+ months.

Other notes: Over half of the tables are broken and wobbly, the seating is crowded and loud (they'll really squish you around a table that's much too small and you won't be more than three feet from another), and 90% of the food is frozen. The hosting staff doesn't typically have a clue what's going on, save a few, and there's usually no trusting your quoted wait time on a weekend. If you're especially unlucky, you get to sit under the "drying lingerie on a clothes line" décor in the way back of the restaurant.

In general, the place isn't competent. At one point, the gluten free menu items still contained gluten and no one either knew or cared.

If all that doesn't steer you away, then maybe you'll avoid Zio's on the sheer principle of morality. The staff are treated poorly and paid worse. I didn't make minimum wage a majority of the time, even after an 8-hour shift on Mother's Day. And although the waiting staff are good people, no one is ever enjoying themselves at work. The managers harass the hosting staff after hiring poorly-qualified high schoolers and drop-outs, and don't care about any customer complaint. It was, in general, a terrible working experience and if I knew this was the quality of treatment at any other restaurant, I'd refuse to give my service.

That being said, if you're looking for 2-star food and 1-star atmosphere, this is the place for you.

PS For the love of all that is holy please don't plan a date here.

Food:

I worked here for a year. The hygiene is non-existent. I was, and still am, genuinely surprised that it passed health inspections. The hosts handle your silverware with their unwashed hands. Everything that isn't a salad is frozen and then reheated. The management is awful - hence why I quit. They pay and treat their employees like s***, and they are by far the most incompetent people I have ever worked with. The employees, at least while I was there, are good people, but it's just a terrible job so nobody you talk to is going to be in a good mood. The hosts these days are awful (except Corbyn and a few others) and, again, you have the managers to blame as they hire any bimbo that walks in. Josh, the manager, is a dumb***. My advice would be to steer clear.

Food:

Worst experience ever at a restaurant. Long wait for drinks and food. When our food finally came out, we were missing two of my children's meals because the server forgot to ring them in and my dads chicken was RAW. He couldn't even eat another bite after the first one was chewy and pink. Manager came over and had the nerve to tell us he examined the chicken and it was pink but "edible". Ummm you eat it then JERK. Then got our bill which was supposed to have a free desert and comped meal. The meal was comped but dessert wasn't AND MY KIDS DRINKS were $2.50 a piece!!!! We paid the full bill without even telling them they messed up because we just wanted to leave. Will NEVER EAT HERE AGAIN OR RECOMMEND

Food:

We ate at this restaurant in Colorado Springs last Friday night. I had the Spinach Artichoke Pasta. It was too much for me, so I shared some with my 10 year old son. A few minutes later, he pulled out of his mouth what looked like a black olive. He said it hurt his tooth so I took a better look at it. It was a piece of metal. We promptly notified our waitress who was very apologetic. I watched as she talked to the manager. He made eye contact with me, but promptly returned to the kitchen. I thought he would come over and apologize, but nothing! As we were leaving, I made eye contact with him again and he rushed off to the back. I was very disappointed with his lack of concern for my child. We will not be visiting this restaurant again.

Food:

do you love Italian food and good service. if you do i highly recommend this sensational establishment the food is amazing this is rarely said by me considering that my uncle owns a 5 star restaurant. their performance was out standing it's a little hard to find but it's definitely worth your while. they serve large portions that the taste i so good it's indescribable. it's got a paper table cloth and crayons so you can draw and write. you'll never have to worry about running low on drinks the waiters consistently check on you and if they see that your glass is even half empty they get you a refill. i highly recommend this establishment and give it a five star review! :)