[3] The chain, founded by brothers Adam and Samuel Kaye in 1993, and floated on AIM in 1995, was the subject of a public-to-private deal in 2004,[4] after which it was merged with Pizza Express[5] to form Gondola Holdings,[6] later part of the Gondola Group.

[9] In 2010, Theo Randall started working with ASK Italian restaurants as their "expert friend", developing menus and coming up with new dishes.

[13] In November 2015, the chain was one of seven restaurants surveyed that failed to meet a basic level of sustainability in its seafood.

[15] On 20 March 2020, all restaurants in the United Kingdom were closed indefinitely due to new rules regarding the national lockdown initiated by the government to reduce the spread of COVID-19.

[16] On 17 July 2020, Azzurri Group, owner of the Zizzi and ASK Italian chains, announced the closure of 75 restaurants with the loss of up to 1,200 jobs.