Not that impressed for the price of this place. I figured if you are going to have high end Chinese you would make it all lobster tail's and filet mignon, or at least have some different menu items but from the menu I saw it was typical Chinese food  i.e (valley), most of the menu items where 15 dollars or more and didn't come with anything else. I will grant them they do provide a lot of food for what was ordered (chicken and crispy noodles) and it was pretty tasty but I didn't think I could see myself coming back for dinner. I did order the Mai Tai which was very good. They have a happy hour 3-5:30 Monday through Friday. 3 Dollar beers and half off apps. That might bring me back.
Review Source:Zen Bistro lacks some serious class!! A few months ago I bought a Living Social deal to the restaurant - $10 for $20 dollars of food. Because it is going to expire this month I showed up and ordered $17 of food to go. I would have only ordered $12 of food, but I was trying to use as much of the $20 values as possible. I waited a good 15 minutes and as I showed my voucher to the waitress ( who also appeared to be the owner) she just says " You can only use that for dine-in, read the fine print' in a sassy, no apologetic matter of fact kind of way. Seriously!!! You are a business owner and you have not figured out how important good (not even excellent!) customer service is to sustaining a respectable, profitable business!?! Yes, I will admit, I had not read the fine-print, which is my bad but in my book, If I ran a business and I saw a single girl make an honest mistake, and I was still going to profit $ 3.00 that she didn't use on her voucher, plus a $4.00 dollar tip and not have to wait on her....that's called common sense. I could not believe that she made me pay full out without even trying to be nice about it. The food wasn't even that good, which sucks because now they have $40.00 from me and I am pissed about what a rude, unforgiving tactless owner and business they have. If you have a choice to spend your hard earned money somewhere else, so somewhere with good food and where they value their customers.
Review Source:Holy gluten-free Chinese food, Batman!
Megalove the healthy ingredients. And the healthy portion sizes! Pow! Bang!
We haven't been able to eat Chinese in a looong time since going GF.
We came to Zen with a LivingSocial deal, after hearing it had lots of GF goodies.
The reputation was well-earned--labelling was really clear, options were almost overwhelming but well-organized, the soup (with crispy rice, yum) and two entrees (one beef, one tofu) were delicious, unique, and fresh, the service was impeccable.
The inside's beautiful, but we sat outside, which was perfect tonight in an area that's has a great view and is not loaded with tourists or crowds.
We took loads of leftovers home.
E said "oh, we'll be back. You've got to review this one on Yelp."
Done.
We'll be back soon. Join us next time: same bat time, same bat channel.
Portland has an absurd amount of Thai food around town, but we've been needing good Chinese food for a long time. Delicious food, high quality ingredients, and a nice atmosphere.
A few reviews complaining about the price, but most dinners for $11-13 a plate is more than reasonable for the peace of mind that the pork is actually pork meat, and the veggies aren't from your local freezer section..
On par with the best asian food in town, and far beyond the other Chinese options in town.
How did chinese food get this expensive? I kept asking myself this on the uncomfortable ride home. Â You see, after bringing a family of 6 people to the restaurant, and listening to their complaints and descriptions of the food I realized I made a mistake in my selection.
Well, initially chosen for a groupon discount, the food still came to 100 dollars after the 30 dollar coupon.....WTF!!!? Â I guess this expense could be legitimized by waterfront property, or exquisitely fresh ingredients and wonderful food, but I could not even compare the food to an average Chinese restaurant. Â
The two outstanding compliments I can give this place is that the bar is cool, and the wait staff is amazing. Â
This place has the start of something good, but the prices of something amazing. Â I do hope they succeed, but they are going to have to either bring up the quality and freshness of the food, or bring down the prices to something realistic. Â Maybe that is why the bar is so nice..... They entice you to get a little liquored up, so the bill doesn't hurt as much, and the food goes down easier....
All I can say is try another place, and keep that smile on your face.
Meh....Okay, starting with the one complaint and then to all the good. The food was just okay, not outstanding. Three of us tried to split a few different things to see if we could hit a real winner out of the bunch. We tried some chicken fingers, some Udon noodles, some Kung Pao beef and some chicken with broccoli. I was probably most impressed with the chicken fingers as those can often be mushy, greasy, etc. and these were very crisp and not saturated at all. Beyond those however, everything else was so-so with heavy, syrupy sauces, and just no real "wow" factor. There is another chinese place outside of Portland a bit where I think the food is far superior.
All that being said, everything else was fantastic enough to make me want to go back! Wonderful, knowledgable staff, (the owner or manager made a point of coming over and making an appearance, which is always a good sign, and overall he seemed very attentive to all that was going on around the restaurant) a great draft beer selection, and interesting, apparently well-executed drink menu, and overall a very clean, new looking property. While I was hoping for more on the food front, probably just because all the other reviews seemed to make it out to be sensational, I will certainly go back for some beer and appetizers - maybe try these dumplings everyone is talking about.
Excellent dining experience.  Ate upstairs; atmosphere was great upstairs.  Bar on first floor looked inviting.  Entire meal  very enjoyable.  Very good service.  Meals are more-than-filling and good.  Four of us split the pork dumpling appetizer..probably the best we have tried.  Four Happiness was terrific.
Review Source:Outstanding. From a warm welcome to drinks and even the meal itself, everything was great during our lunch last Sunday.
Started with a ginger mojito and a cucumber bloody mary. Great simple adjustments and properly executed.
For apps we had a huge Avocado salad and Rangoons and for entrees we had Udon Noodles with a light curry and a Scallop and Shrimp with Mala sauce.
The beer taps are great and paired appropriately as is the wine list which has plenty of white and bubble options given the lighter cuisine.
In summary, Excellent service, great execution, and finally Cantonese-inspired food in a town full of Thai-fusion establishments.
Dine here for a great experience or do take-out for more 'basic' menu items.
Finally a great Chinese restaurant in Portland! Excellent service, friendly and knowledgable staff, great atmosphere. The food blows away any other chinese restaurant around. Steamed pork dumplings were delicious. Fried rice was light and flavorful, not greasy. Totally exceeded my expectations. Â So glad to have this addition to the neighborhood!! I will be a regular...
Review Source:Today we had lunch for four.The place is clean and the service was pleasant and helpful.We ordered 4 different lunches and all shared.The portions were reasonable,but the flavors and sauces were pretty similar.Overall the experience was not memorable .I will give an evening meal a try,but today I give it a generous 3 stars.Mostly for the service.
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