We are planning a trip to Seattle in July and found some information on this European-style cabaret. It involves comedy, dance, clowns, acrobats, and illusionists. It is a dinner theater and sounds interesting. Has anyone experienced it or does anyone know anything about it?

Funny you should ask... we are going to the SF show on Sunday. I went last year and absolutely loved it. It's not cheap but it's great fun. The audience becomes a part of the show. While it sounds liek circus, it's so much more. Like Cirque du soleil with you in the middle of the madness. I highly recommend it.

Sandy,

I have been to this show twice, once 2 years ago when it ran in Seattle and again last fall. It is absolutely spectacular! It seems expensive but when you figure you are getting a fabulous dinner (Tom Douglas is the chef) AND a show it's actually less than if you went and tried to do those things seperately.

Without hesitation I highly suggest you get tickets if you haven't already! And they sell out almost every show so book in advance. Also people take advantage of the fun of the event and some dress up in formal wear or put on fun boas or crazy hats. It's really just a wonderful time! I hope you'll post a report if you attend!

Wendy

I looked at the website - the ticket price is 99-125. What is the difference in seating? Are you more involved in the show sitting in front? Can't find the seating chart, is it like in a movie or are the seats around some kind of a stage, or is it like U-shaped? I plan on going next month in SF.

The tickets are $125 on Fri. and Sat. night and $99 other nights. Keep in mind, this does not include drinks and a $10 per person table charge when you get there. The earlier, you book the better your seats. Also, a larger group is less likely to be seated with other people. There are tables in the center, close to the action, and booths around the perimeter of the theater. I went once with 4 people and we had a booth to ourselves. I went a second time with my two daughters and we were squished into a booth with 4 other people. I am guessing weeknights are easier to get good seats and be less crowded.

Thank you, Grasshopper, and one more question if you don't mind, at the bottom of the menu posted on their website there is a note: large parties have 18% gratuity added to their wine order.

So my question is about tipping: if I order drinks, do I tip only that? What if included coffee is enough, do I tip at all?

How do I figure out the amount to tip? I don't want to get strange looks if I under- or over-tip.

Faina, at least in Seattle there isn't actually seating that you pick. It is a large dinner theater in the round so to speak. They seat you with your group or if you are a small group there may be others at your table. We had a group of 4 once and had a booth to ourselves. The second time our group of 4 sat with 2 others at a table. It is great fun!

The 18% would automatically be on the bill with the bottles of wine order if you have a large group- usually 6 or more. Then you can tip additional on the meal and service if you like- that's how I would understand it anyway.

Have fun!!!

I saw this show for free, which was fine, but I would NOT have paid to see it. If you've seen Cirque, it doesn't measure up. If you have any sort of performance background, you'll cringe. It's simply "dinner theater" elevated to a SLIGHTLY higher level. A sexy contortionist to tittilate the middle-aged husbands, a drag queen host (funny, actually) to "shock" the middle-aged ladies . . . there were one or two acts which were strong, but the rest? Just okay. And the food is definitely mediocre, no matter how they market it. And I did get a little sick of the waiters and waitresses running in circles! with plates of food! to serve us! how exciting! Blah.

It's one of those shows that makes me think "oh, yes, my parents (60) and/or grandparents (90) would like this."

I LOVED my experience at TZ, but I would say that there is more than a grain of truth in what Tansy has to say.

The food is just okay, not great. I enjoyed the performers, but the schtick was not cutting edge.

In general, I think the show is expensive for what you get, but is nonetheless quite enjoyable, I'd go again, and I'd be okay paying for it.

And yes, you are sitting in an antique circus tent, so yeah, it's completely round, just like at a regular circus. The inner tables have a better view. The outer booths are more likely to be comfortable.

Please don't wear big hats, as it will definitely make it hard for others to see.

Thank you all!

BayArea, your last sentence makes me go: hmmmm.... is there something I'm missing? is there a dress code? is it like the opening night in the opera? is it cold and windy in that tent and I should be prepared? too late for sunhats in the evening... Hats in San Francisco? and it's not even Beach Blanket Babylon?

quote from an earlier poster: Also people take advantage of the fun of the event and some dress up in formal wear or put on fun boas or crazy hats.

Many people do dress up some, I wore my boring black cocktail dress and felt completely at ease, and completely in line with what most were wearing. It was the standard SF gamut of attire, extremely casual to somewhat dressy.

My comment was more in reference to the above quote as the tables aren't stadium staged much, so someone's crazy hat could be a potential viewblocker. That was all. The tent is perfectly comfy, in fact, you don't really realize it's a tent.

Faina, Will you let us know what you think of it? I may be easily entertained but I'm neither 60 or 90 and I really enjoyed it.

I will if I go. I got a hint I may be going there on my birthday

i wonder if it's anything like "tony and tina's wedding"? my husband and i absolutely hated that, but it was very popular in chicago, and most of the group we went with liked it (but not all).

It's similar to Tony n' Tina's wedding in terms of the premise.

It's different in that the location, the performers, the costuming, and the food are all superior.

(Note: this only pertains to my experience with T&T in SF. I was appalled at the poor quality of everything. That one I didn't pay for, and I'm glad.)

It's sad to hear that the SF show doesn't have the same great food as the Seattle show. One of the highlights here in Seattle is the food. Tom Douglass- local chef celebrity of sorts has been doing the menu. It is fantastic and makes the tickets worth every penny. The menu has changed from season to season but the food has remained stellar.

Report back and happy birthday Faina!

We just returned from a trip to Seattle and we agree with Wendy. The food was very good at Teatro Zinzanni. We were surprized to discover the chief at Etta's where we had eaten the previous night was the same chief at TZ. It was worth the expense. We thoroughly enjoyed the evening. The tent was beautiful and it was hard to really tell that you were in a tent. We saw everything in the way of dress, but we decided to dress up (no shorts, long skirt) and enjoyed the short walk to see the show.

Lots of good advice here but nobody mentions that the seating is very uncomfortable (Seattle). The booths have poorly padded and narrow seats with wood trim that gets very hard over the several hour show and dinner. The tables have wood chairs that also did not look very comfortable. We really enjoyed the dinner although it took hours to actually arrive, and the show was very entertaining even though some of the comments above are true. If we go again I'm taking my Mariners seat cushion. By the way, the people seated in the inner circle were much more involved in the show than we in the outter perimeter of booths.

ttt for someone asking about this

Sorry, Grasshopper and everybody else, I didn't go... We went to Calistoga instead. But that's another topic.