ZIZZI in Newark is one of those restaurants you think should be something else. It has an "olde worlde" half-timbered facade, a riverbank location opposite the castle and even, according to its website, a ghost.

None of which seems to tie in with a modern, slick-service pizza chain.

Zizzi is the high street alternative to Pizza Express. In Nottingham, you'll find them shoulder-to-shoulder and over here in Newark they're a two-minute walk apart.

I think Zizzi probably considers itself to be slightly more rustic than Express, which is more of a city diners' destination.

Inside, it's light and airy – like a new-built conservatory – with an open chrome kitchen and wooden log walls. The clientele is couples and families and they've come because it's a name they know.

Zizzi has platters full of things casually arrayed: tomatoes, shredded mozzerella, bruschetta. It has, however, a long way to go before it matches the dizzy delights of Amarone, our Derby Road destination reviewed in November.

Fresh ingredients are the key to great Italian food, which is why so many chains pale in comparison to the local joints. Try as they might, the food has a mass-produced feel.

Our Zizzi starter is a plate of pizzettes – a selection of mini pizzas with different toppings. They arrive on a ceramic plate.

One has tomato and an emerald-gleaming blob of pesto, one tumbling with red pepper and goat's cheese and one doused in balsamic vinegar and caramelised onions.

The flavours are unbalanced, the vinegar too strong, the tomatoes and peppers not zingy-fresh. But it fills a space. We also order bruschetta, which is incredibly difficult to eat because of skydiving tomatoes.

My main is also somewhat unrewarding. I've gone for a pizza rustica crust.

Mine has a mezzo e mezzo (or half and half) topping. Half is a jungle of chilli, roasted peppers and mushrooms hidden beneath an overgrowth of rocket, half is little new potatoes, creamy cheese, red onion and thyme.

The creamy side is nice, if carb-heavy. The jungle side is a tad confused with tastes blasting you from all arenas like an all-action comic hero – chilli, POW!, peppers, WHACK!, mushrooms, ZAP!

The crust is really hard and the pizza is as long as my arm. You need to saw at it with your knife. If you pick it up, the toppings slither off. It's OK but not bella, bella.

Zizzi is standard food – no more. But it's reliable. You go there next month or next year, you'll get exactly the same meal prepared exactly the same way.

The service is great, the setting's a dream – but at £35.35 for a meal for two, excluding pudding and wine, it's more expensive than Amarone and not anything like as good.

Nor did we see the ghost. He's probably dining elsewhere.

Jennifer Scott