Zen Restaurant

A group of us headed out to Zen last month in between Xmas and NYE as Lou's Scottish friends were over on a visit and it's one of our favourite restaurants which serves Japanese and Asian cuisine with a Western fusion.

We were seated upstairs in a secluded wooden booth which is perfect for an intimate private meal amongst friends and it would be great if other restaurants adopted this seating style. The room layout is also well designed with a mirrored glass catwalk running the length of the room in between the booths although I would imagine it might cause a bit of a headspin if you had to traverse the length after too many drinks!

I ordered the Japanese dumplings [gyoza] for starters and they were delicious. Everyone was happy with their first dish and I was on my last dumpling when the waiter began taking everyones dishes away which I found quite rude and incompehensible as the main course was not served for another ten or fifteen minutes.

I had the squid with green chillis for my main course which was also delicious although there was no dipping sauce which could have complimented it alongside the boiled rice. This time none of us were hurried along despite being told that the next party was due at 9pm.

Despite the rude service of which I have read about in other reviews, the dining experience and quality of food is of a high standard and it remains one of my favourite restaurants in Belfast.

Rating

Menu *****

Value ****1/2

Service ***1/2

Decor *****

Disabled *

Parking ***