Teatro ZinZanni

Excellent show, great food, terrible seating.. First of all, I must mention that we went to an evening three hour dinner presentation of the "Radio Free Starlight" production in February 2011. I know that the menu and show changes from season to season and varies based on whether or not it's the full dinner presentation.

The Good:

The Show: This was an extremely professional production with an amazingly talented cast. It was part theater and part circus. The aerialists were incredible and the hula hoop act was impressive. Top notch cast. Amazing.

The Food: The soup and the steak were fantastic. The steak was very tender and delicious. Everything seemed to be of a high quality.

Service: Our waiter was attentive and on top of refills. I was impressed by his professionalism.

Atmosphere: Once you get past the seating issues and obstructed views, the building itself has been decorated impeccably. The antique circus tent is an excellent touch and the theme is seamless throughout.

Parking: As far as Seattle parking goes, this was pretty ideal. There is a parking garage across the street, but I would probably avoid going on a night when there is a big event at the Seattle Center.

The Bad:

SEATING! The seating is just unfortunate. You have little to no control over where you sit unless you buy the expensive seats. They make the seating arrangement. If your party doesn't fill a full table, you will be sitting with strangers. Also, a number of the seats (like the one I had) have an obstructed view. Every time they moved to the front stage, I was blocked by a post. We made the mistake of hanging back instead of joining the mosh pit of a line when the doors opened. When we did get in, seating was limited. The booth we were in was a tight fit. Who wants to cozy up in an overcrowded booth with strangers? This is where Teatro Zinzanni loses a star in its rating for me.

The Appetizer: It was microscopic and just did not include anything I really wanted to eat. It was a bad first impression for the food. I was a little worried about what was to come. Fortunately, I was pleasantly surprised by the other courses. Shellfish is such a polarizing food. There are so many people who are allergic to it or just don't like it. Starting off with a mussel on the plate just didn't seem like a good idea.

Extra Charges: The tickets are exceptionally expensive. That said, the production is incredible and the food is tasty. However, I did not appreciate the extra charge for non-alcoholic beverages. Even pop and coffee came at an extra charge. They also add a $10 per person "dining room service charge." Overall, the show and dinner are worth the price and, according to their website, they are a non-profit. It is just annoying to pay so much for a ticket and then get nickle and dimed at the end of the night.

Conclusion: I would definitely go back. The production quality and the excellent food made the experience worth the high ticket price. I will definitely be on the lookout for specials, but the full price ticket is worth it. The cast and food made up for the foul cruise ship seating arrangements. However, I do think they should somehow compensate guests seated in areas with an obstructed view of the stage. I missed a lot because of where I was seated. Free soft drinks, maybe? :)

Side Note: There is a dress code. It is mostly common sense and not particularly restrictive (no t-shirts, shorts or sneakers), but you need to be aware of it just in case you slip in on a hot summer day. :)…

Teatro Zinzanni "Maestro’s Menagerie". I've been dying to see Teatro Zinzanni for years and finally had the opportunity to step into the tent for their latest production, "Maestro's Menagerie." For those who aren’t familiar, Teatro ZinZanni is an original show that combines European cirque, cabaret, illusions, live music and dinner to create a veritable Moulin Rouge it's like Cirque du Soileil light - with dinner.

When I first stepped into the tent, I was swept up into a another world surrounded by red velvet, Venetians masks, boas and sparkly accoutrements...so far so good. Then we were ushered into the "spiegeltent" and it all started to make sense. We were in a cozy little circus tent surrounded by the cast of Cirque du Soleil slash out wait staff. We sat down with our glasses of bubbly (I had heard through the grapevine that this was interactive dinner theater in that they pluck random people in the audience to join in the fun.) If that was the case, I was going to need a cocktail.

“Maestro’s Menagerie” was in a word – spectacular. I loved it, while I thought the show was just a bit too long (3 hours total), the story is of a 19th century circus troupe that comes to collect a puppet. The Maestro, a magician unravels a menagerie of characters including a ringmaster, a flying monkey, a phoenix princess, a strong man, a juggler and a Blue Fairy.

Teatro Zinzanni's tagline is Love, Chaos and Dinner so let’s talk about the food. The menu was designed by local celebrated chef Tom Douglas – not a bad start. I have to say, for mass produced food it was pretty good. The menu consisted of cream of asparagus soup, spinach salad with hazelnut encrusted goat cheese, and a choice of filet mignon, halibut with coriander, cucumber yogurt or mushroom strata. I tried each dish and found them all to be delicious albeit slightly over salted. The meal – and show ended on a sweet note with a light but sweet fresh fruit tart. A perfect ending to a perfect night.

I must admit I came into the tent being skeptical and quite frankly a bit scared. I left feeling whimsical, an official citizen of Moulin Rouge. If you're looking for a unique night out (first date, birthday, anniversary, etc) this is one show that is not to be missed.…

Making fun of heavy audience members is not funny. I went to see Zinzanni with my family for Mother's Day. At one point they pulled a heavy audience member on stage and made a series of jokes about his weight. The stage actor pretended to be a sumo wrestler and bumped the man, grabbed the heavy man's stomach and blamed the heavyset man for breaking a piece of equipment because his weight. I'm paying $100 to watch someone be humilated? I've been to Zinzanni 3 times before and will never go again. Surely, they can come up with better production than that. I STRONGLY encourage you to spend your money elsewhere. Zinzanni has gone down the drain.…