Zarrella's - A New Kid on the Block
After hearing good things about this new eatery which opened on October 28, 2016, we decided to order a pizza delivery from Zarrella's. in late December. We ordered the Wood fired 15" pie, $14 and since it was Half-Priced Apps. Thursday, we decided to also add the highly recommended Eggplant Stack'd, $8 to the order. Luckily, although we live in Cocoa Beach, we are within the 5 mile delivery zone. Despite the fact that NASA workers were having a large party on the premises, our order was delivered correctly in a reasonable amount of time. Both items arrived hot and were delicious. We were very satisfied at the ease of ordering, the length of delivery time plus the taste and temperature of the food. Since we enjoyed the appetizer and the pizza so much, we decided to visited the restaurant with another couple. The eatery is located at a corner location in a lovely strip mall on Astronaut Blvd in Cape Canaveral, FL.
One recent Wednesday evening the four of us arrived at the restaurant around 5:45 pm. We easily found a parking space right in front of the restaurant. The eatery was starting to get busy; we were shown to a table next to the large bar and open kitchen. The Black cloth tablecloths and maroon napkins added a note of sophistication to the lovely modern decor. Large picture windows that look out onto the parking lot and street are dressed in pretty patterned cloths. Soft music played in the background until the song "Sweet Caroline" played and then everyone joined in singing along - what fun! As the tables filled up, the eatery got quite noisy but not objectionably so. Everyone was having a good time.
Once our server, Mara, told us it was Wine Night Wednesday, both couples decided to order wine. Diners receive half off on bottled wines starting at 5 pm on Thursdays. As I glanced around the dining area, just about every table had bottles of wine ordered.
Both couples took half of the bottles home. The two ladies at our table ordered Bucatini Carbonara, $15 and we enjoyed the dish very much. I just wished that there was a bit more of the pancetta. Our meals arrived with a plate of four large garlic knots for us all to share. The knots were a bit heavy but good nonetheless. My husband ordered the appetizer, Eggplant Stack'd and he generously shared it with the rest of us- what a guy!. Not much was left for him but he enjoyed the remainder of it. He also ordered one of the Special of the Night, Lobster Francaise, (then $25, now $30) served with Risotto. It was expensive but he savored it. Our other male diner ordered the Penne Vodka, $15 and he was less enthusiastic about his dish and left some on his plate. He probably would not order it again. He thought that it was a bit bland.
Although the restaurant was packed, service was good. The staff worked as a team delivering dishes, refilling water glasses, bringing ice and removing plates. We will all definitely be back to try other items on the menu. We met four neighbors of ours who arrived a bit later and all of them were also enjoying their meals as we left. Three of their dishes were Spaghetti & Meatballs, $15, Eggplant Stack'd as a entree and Chicken Parmesan, $20. We will all definitely be back to try other items on the menu. I hope to return for lunch one day and order their Three Cheese Calzone, $10. Lunch is served between 11Am and 2pm. Other weekly promotions are Meatball Monday, BOGO and BOGO Pizza Tuesday. Early Bird Specials are 20% off between 3 pm and 5 pm. The several owners of this restaurant, former CNN Space Reporter John Zarrella, his son Michael and his son's longtime friends plan to open another location down the road in the near future. In the meantime we will continue to enjoy coming to this location.