ZiZi Wine Bar’s New Lunch Menu Invites You to Stay a While

Add this to your lunchtime agenda: Mediterranean restaurant ZiZi Wine Bar (45 John St.) has cut no corners on its recently revamped lunch menu.

Menu items include an array of dips, like creamy hummus with crispy chickpeas, zhug and olive oil; and “crazy baba” with charred eggplant, feta and basil, both of which come with roasted tomatoes and arais pitas stuffed with beef and pickles. You can also opt for the “everything green salad” containing a lively mix of kale, broccolini and crispy halloumi, or ktzitzot dagim, i.e. three hearty fishballs drenched in a spicy tomato stew. Other options include chicken schnitzel in challah bread; the shawarma pita, which comes stuffed with a zingy tomato salad; and the Moroccan chicken tagine in a stew of freekeh, greens and dried fruits.

ZiZi’s new lunch menu strikes the perfect balance between quick bite and leisurely power lunch. “We try to bring something for people who like things a bit more elevated, like a glass of wine by their food,” Noa Tenzer, ZiZi’s general manager, told the Downtown Alliance.

The downtown iteration, which opened this past January, is the newest of three ZiZi locations across the city. To Tenzer, the Lower Manhattan outpost is the most locally connected and neighborhood-friendly of the three. “We have people coming here five times a week, which is amazing,” she said.

Tenzer says the best thing about Lower Manhattan is the people. “It’s a diverse, vibrant neighborhood. We have people who come in wearing sweat pants, and people who come in wearing suits.”

ZiZi Wine Bar is open from noon to 11 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 3 p.m. to 11 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.