| Address | 781 7th St., Washington, DC 20001 |
|---|---|
| Phone | (202) 393-2929 |
| Website | http://www.richardsandoval.com/zengodc/ |
I went to Zengo for the first time on Monday because Open Table had a groupon-type deal. It was a fantastic experience, and I highly recommend the restaurant. I went with four other friends for a 22nd birthday, and they were very accommodating. We had a reservation, and they were able to seat us immediately. Our server was very attentive, although we didn't need her to clarify anything on the menu. I ordered the vegetarian sushi roll which came with asparagus, red pepper, mushroom and artichoke. It was very tasty and fresh. It was also filling, and tasted as though there could have been meat in it. I also had the charred tuna wonton tacos. This was a small but filling portion. It came with diced up pieces of charred tuna that had a smokey-peppery taste that melted in your mouth. It was especially excellent with the sweet mango salsa served on top. There was also a touch of cilantro rice in the tacos to give it some more sustenance. The tacos were served in a wonton shell that was light and the perfect amount of grease and salt to tie the flavors together. These tacos were then served over a rich, creamy and perfectly limey guacamole. I was also able to try some of the dishes my friends ordered. The scallops were just slightly over cooked in my opinion - a little on the chewy side - but the dish overall was very tasty. It was served over a corn, rice and bacon medley and the bacon was superb. It was cut into small cubes that were salty and flavorful just as bacon should be. It was a nice compliment to the scallops. A friend also ordered the crazy Zengo Sushi roll which had avocado, yellowfin tuna, and a sesame chipotle cream on top. The cream on top pulled out all the unique flavors in the roll including wasabi and made it one of, if not the, best sushi roll I have ever had. The last noteworthy dish was the crispy tofu. I tend not to like crispy tofu because I don't like the contrast of the textures. However, this tofu wasn't fried cubes - rather it was slices that had been sauteed in a light oil batter just to coat the outside but not to change the natural smoothness of tofu. It was served with what tasted like sweet and sour chili sauce mixed with a sesame ginger cream served over asparagus.
At the end of the meal, because it was my friends birthday, they brought us a complimentary dessert of her choice. By this point, I was very full but was still able to enjoy a churro and Mexican hot chocolate.
Overall it was a great meal and I look forward to a chance to return. The ambiance is very trendy/swanky which made it a great place for a birthday, but a little on the pricey side for a college student to go to for any given meal. But I hope to return in three weeks when my mom is here!
This was by far one of the worst restaurants that I have been to in a long time. I was there for a birthday dinner and was surprisingly looking forward to the event because I have always wanted to go to Zengo's. However, my excitement quickly diminished after we were told that our 7pm reservations wouldn't be honored until almost 8:30pm. After waiting until 9:00pm the hostess told us that we were going to have to eat at these little ass tables in their waiting/lounge area that could barely fit 5 people much less a party of 11. I was so over it, Zengo's tried to make up for their sloppy customer service by giving us free shots and free desserts, but at this point it didn't even matter because now it was 10pm and we still had not eaten. I wouldn't recommend this restaurant to anyone. Their slow service and lack of consideration just does not sit well with me, so I can firmly say that Zengo's will not be getting anymore of my money.
I thought overall Zengo was pretty good--a bit overpriced perhaps, and pretty loud in the dining room, but several things we ordered were quite delicious. The arepas with pork were excellent--the meat was excellently seasoned. I'm not sure how well some of the Asian/Mexican dishes combined--the seared snapper was good, but the platano puree with a thai curry sauce was not as well-done. Nicely decorated, food was good, but probably won't make a habit of going as it was a little too pricey.
I thought the food here was excellent - ironically enough, my two faves were the dishes the reviewer obviously didn't care for. I thought the calamari was totally yummy - different from the same boring dish other restaurants serve, and the black cod was awesome!! Two minuses for me, however, are the lack of good desserts, and the bathrooms, which as one reviewer mentioned have no doors. I would definitely come back, although given the expense, not at frequently as I would like!
Great mango mojitos, but the food I ordered during restaurant week was not good. I ordered off of the restaurant week menu and my friend ordered off of the regular menu. We were not pleased with anything we got. If you want a good mojito though, it is worth the visit.
beautiful restaurant,beautiful bar and bartenders are not bad.
I thought the foods were to sweet for my taste.
mostly everything .... apps,entrees,leave alone dessert ..
but overall ... its a very nice addition to the washington DC dining scenes.
I'll give another try ...
Food is hit and miss; gyoza were bland and boring and the empanadas were totally overwhelmed by the 'Thai' chicken flavor. However, the plantains (with honey) were some of the best I've ever had and the black cod a friend ordered was loved by everyone at the table. Somewhat overpriced. Decor is passable but would be much more interesting if there weren't 5 other restaurants in the city - well, in the same neighborhood - that already look just like it. The lack of a solid door to the bathroom is disturbing. Not sure what really sets this restaurant apart from the rest of the similarly priced and decorated options in Gallery Place, but if you stick to a few really well done dishes it's pretty good.
Zengo is large, loud and very obviously, a chain restaurant. Think Cheesecake Factory trying to be trendy. If you are into that kind of scene, then Zengo is for you. If, on the other hand, you want good food in a pleasant environment, Zengo is not. The lack of vegetarian options was a major disappointment, given that both Latin and Asian cuisines have numerous vegetarian dishes. I had a mushroom dish with some sort of cream and guacamole that did not work at all, and an asparagus dish which was slightly better. If you are in the area, you would be much better off trying one of the authentic Chinese restaurants.
I finally walked into Zengo to find out what this place had to offer,so on friday I got the chance to dine in. I had a time of 10:00 to get there and when I arrived I was seated in less than 2 mins.The walk upstairs to the most beautiful ,smooth and sexy dining areas I've ever seen .The food was awesome and my new favorite drink "Mojito" was a very pleasent taste to add to the outstanding service from my server Michelle. All in all a 10 in my book...
PS:If you get the chance try sitting at the window seats or a booth, this could add to a even greater nite out with that special someone.
Great food. Horrendous service! This was my second visit in less than a week. I love the food, but I notice during my first visit on Sunday evening that my service was rather bad. I chocked that up to a waiter with a serious chip on his shoulder. My friend and I even tried chatting him up to get him out of his nasty funk, and still gave him a 20% tip bringing our bill to almost $170 bucks! The food was so good, that one bad waiter wouldn't keep me away.
Well folks, last night’s visit was even worse! I was seated after a 10 minute wait - even though I had reservations. Once seated, I was not waited on for over 20 minutes! I asked other servers 3 times (after being totally ignored a few times) where my server was and was once told very rudely- "we are all very busy and he'll be here when he gets here!" I was mortified and quite embarrassed that I recommended the place to my date- since he would be paying for the horrible service. We were both irritated and very hungry! After another 5 minutes a waitress (who had previously ignored me) came over and told us that our original server could not serve us and that she'd be happy to help. Five minutes after that, the manager came over and apologized rather sincerely. This was a nice gesture, but a bit too little too late. I'm not sure why or how the wait staff suddenly was readily available, but we noticed after finally receiving our appetizers- nearly 40 minutes after we arrived, mind you- that a couple was seated next to us and served immediately. I'm not going to speculate as to why, but I did notice the difference in service. Also, the food was good, but took way to long to come out after we ordered and the service was still very slow.
I love the ambiance and for the most part the food, but the slow service and rude wait staff is a HUGE turn off for me. Its a shame- I wanted to have a last minute get together for my birthday next week, and originally wanted to have it there, but after how we were treated last night- I wouldnt want to take the chance of being embarrased again.
Four of us went for dinner at Zengo, and we were less than impressed. It wasn't awful. But I could not, in good conscience, send anyone else there, at least not for Restaurant Week.
We ordered all three appetizers: rock shrimp ceviche, chicken arepas, and calamari with eggplant. I neither tried nor asked about the calamari, so I can't comment on that. The rock shrimp ceviche was probably the best part of the meal. I'm generally ambivalent about shrimp, but I thought this dish had good texture, a zingy, citrusy flavor, and was an adequate appetizer portion. Thumbs up. The chicken arepas, however, were a disappointment. The pulled chicken was tough, chewy, and room temperature, and the corn arepas were so tough that I LITERALLY could not cut through one of them with my knife. A shame, as the menu description made them sound so good.
We tried two of the three entrees. The "rice stick noodles with chicken" was, essentially, a big portion of pad thai. I tried a few bites of my date's dish, and I thought it was fine, but somewhat boring and underflavored. I've enjoyed frozen entrees more than Zengo's rice stick noodles. I got the red snapper, which had potential (despite being no bigger than a deck of cards), but it proved overcooked and dry. The overcooking might have been forgivable had the advertised scallion-curry broth moistened the dish, but it proved to be nothing more than a ring of (albeit appealing spicy) sauce around the edge of the dish. The rice, which is labeled "chile pasilla steamed rice," appeared to be "dirty rice," and did not provide the flavor that such a vivid description promised.
The churros with chocolate dipping sauce were very, very good, but do not expect the foot-long churros you've seen at some restaurants. The dish contains four mini-churros, each no bigger than a pinky finger, and a shot glass full of chocolate. Each of my dining companions ended up with 1/2 to 3/4 of their chocolate sauce left, and though they joked about shooting the rest, none actually did. I had the coconut tapioca with tropical fruit and blood orange sorbet, which turned out to be a half-mug serving of a fruit-flavored smoothie with a small scoop of sorbet in it. It came with a small shortbread cookie that was nothing special. I actually liked the dessert, though the portion was fairly small.
In light of the fact that I'm having four three-course meals this week, I'm actually somewhat glad that this meal did not leave me feeling full, but that appreciation doesn't go far in light of the meal's mediocrity.
I had heard so much about this new and exciting restaurant in Chinatown that I had to try it out for myself so I decided to take my boyfriend and two friends to dinner. We had a wonderful experience. The combination of Latin and Asian dishes and herb and spices made each meal enjoyable. Each of us tried several dishes and shared which made the combinations even more exciting. The server was very attentive, knowledgeable and welcoming. Beverage prices were a little expensive but not so important in this day in age. We will definitely be back - ALL OF US.
christian
So, I kept saying the entire night that the only things I would have changed were the height of the banquette in the bar and the stairs. Those stairs will be the death of either a drunk, a woman in heels, or just the loss her heels, and the resulting broken ankles... Oh, and only he fact that the waitress kept emphasizing how the food would be staggered as layed out on the menu made us highly aware that this was not at all the case. Everything came out willy nilly, but surprisingly fast, so no real complaints there!
We treated ourselves to a drink in the lounge as we awaited the arrival of our friends. We climbed onto one of the banquettes (quite a feat in my skirt and heels) and felt like idiots with our legs dangling like those of a small child in a highchair. We quickly moved to a much more comfortable and sexy settee where we ordered the best cocktail (something with cherries and vodka). Once our friends got there we ascended the steepest set of steps. Okay, the negativity ends here! And the delight begins. The decor was delicious, the food scintillating, and the service comfortable. The prices were as expected, but approachable. And we enjoyed every minute we spent there. We will be back definitely, albeit with more appropriate foot attire for those stairs. I will say this though - those stairs were inevitable, if one was to have such decadent vaulted ceilings. It obviously had to be done...so should a trip to Zengo by you.
I went yesterday with my boyfriend and we were both really impressed with the food. I was a bit of a skeptic because normally "fusion" food concepts leave me less than satisfied but I enjoyed everything we ordered. The only thing that didn't wow me was my entree "Palomila"- not bad but nothing really special- the pork entree was delicious. The service was very good but we got there early (5:45 pm) so really there was no excuse not to be attentive. I highly recommend the won ton tacos and the volcano sushi.
Don't expect anything extraordinary at this asian-latin fusion restaurant. We had a horrible experience the night of our visit but we're guessing that they're still working out a few kinks. The decoration of this place is fabulous and eccentric, which makes the servers' outfits so disappointing. The food is mediocre at best, most of the dishes we tasted were "okay" but nothing special. it seems like if you had some time, you could probably do a better job. some dishes were way too salty, and some appetizers were woefully inadequate in portion size.
