Oxford’s restaurant scene has a fresh rivalry, with Zizzi taking its new arrival as an opportunity to tease its competitors — and discovering that they are more than happy to give as good as they get.
The Italian restaurant has relocated from 59 George Street to 5 George Street, taking over the former ASK Italian site directly opposite Bella Italia and Franco Manca. Its opening has prompted a flurry of playful exchanges on Instagram, turning the competition for diners into a public battle of one-liners.
Zizzi started proceedings by offering free pizza to the first 100 people through its doors. Tagging several rival brands in its Instagram post, it asked: “I don’t see free pizza outside of these spots? Come join us.”
The message was aimed at Bella Italia, Franco Manca, Papa Johns and PizzaExpress, with Zizzi asking Oxford diners why they should go anywhere else when free pizza was on offer.
The responses came quickly. Bella Italia, which sits directly across the road from the new Zizzi, replied: “FYI your van driver is still here at table 4 😉” — an apparent reference to Zizzi’s promotional activity outside its rivals.
Franco Manca took a different approach, writing: “Let’s be Franco… you deserve good pizza 👀”, while PizzaExpress responded with a mock plea for attention: “Aww, is all this because we didn’t text back? 🥺”
Papa Johns joined in after Zizzi sent a van displaying a digital advertisement outside its restaurant in Marston. Its response was characteristically brief: “you can’t park there mate”.
Bella Italia had another opportunity to respond to Zizzi’s arrival prompted a separate exchange between the two restaurants. Welcoming its new neighbour, Bella Italia suggested that “if you can’t be Bella, be close to Bella” and offered 50 per cent off food at its Oxford restaurant on Friday 23 October.
Customers could claim the discount by saying “Zizzi who?” to their server. Zizzi countered by inviting anyone who ate at Bella Italia in Oxford that day to send a direct message with their receipt in exchange for a Zizzi gift card to recoup the value of their meal. Terms and conditions apply.
The exchange has turned Zizzi’s relocation into a distinctly entertaining welcome to George Street, with rival restaurants trading jibes, promotional offers and increasingly cheeky comments across social media.
But with so much attention being paid to one another, could there be more to this than a battle for Oxford’s pizza lovers? The teasing and playful comebacks have all the makings of a Heated Rivalry of their own.
Could Zizzi and Bella Italia secretly have a little crush on each other? After all, there’s a fine line between love and hate — and, on George Street, it seems that line runs straight through the middle of the road.
