Zen Asian Fusion

This is one of those situations where the food is a hard three, but the service is a hard five. So, that averages out to a four. Let me explain.
This place tries to be everything to everyone with a Phở menu, a Chinese menu, a Thai menu, and MANY other items. In fact, their menu almost feels like an Asian encyclopedia of food with an additional TWO PAGE Phở menu. It’s just impossible to do EVERYTHING great. I think this place would be much better if it just picked a path and went with it.
We live pretty close to this place, so when we were looking for Asian food one night, we decided to go here, instead of our normal Phở 95. Of course, I ordered the Phở. I’m a bit of a Phở addict. My girlfriend ordered the Korean Sweet and Sour Chicken.
As for the Phở, it was not very good. Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t bad, it just wasn’t very good. A good Phở is all about the broth and meat. The diner basically mixes everything together, so the end product is on the diner. But, the broth and meat is solely on the restaurant. The broth really just tasted like vegetable stock. I expect a little bit more complexity in my broth. The meat was generally good, but the tendon was a large chunk, rather than thinly shaved. Tendon should not just be cut into large cubes. It should be thinly sliced. When the chunk is that large, it almost tastes like thick beef fat. The sliced beef was also over done. It should be more on the rare side. But, I will say the tripe and meat balls were spot on. Unfortunately, they were not good enough to make up for the rest. Plus, there was only two slices of jalapenos, one slice of lime, and no cilantro. Me thinks, I’ll stick with Phở 95.
Now, I actually liked the Korean Sweet and Sour Chicken. My girlfriend didn’t like it because she thought the chunks of chicken were too huge. She said there was more a concentration on having a huge portion than having something great. But, I thought it tasted like an elevated orange chicken. It even kept after a few days. Oh, and shout out to the shrimp dumplings. Those things were CRAZY good. I might go back just for those. Nonetheless, my passion is Phở, so the average of these makes a hard three.
Now, the service was amazing. Each employee went out of their way to ensure that we had a good experience. We were asked by three employees if we wanted water or drinks while we waited for our take out. And, we got our order extremely quickly. I couldn’t have asked for better service.
All in all, if you’re looking for Phở, DO NOT go here. But, if you’re in the area looking for Asian fare, give them a shot. Just remember, no one will think this place is amazing, but everyone will probably be OK with what they get, kinda like a TGI Fridays, just for Asian food. And, it’s BYOB.

I cannot praise this place enough! We go there often and have never been disappointed. The staff is super friendly, the restaurant is always clean and the food is above five stars! I recommend the green curry chicken, the Thai lemongrass noodles and the sesame chicken.

I’ve been a couple of times recently. I think I preferred the Tom Yum Soup from when this place was still California Phở more than their current version. It was GOOD. It just wasn’t quite as appealing to me as I had remembered it.
Today, a coworker and I went. I had the Moo Goo Gai Pan with a spiciness of 3. I liked that. Not bland at all (with the spices kicked up a little) and plenty of food leftover for another meal later.
We split an order of the tempura honey bananas with green tea ice cream. Excellent! :)

This place is the BEST! We got a take out menu in a flyer that had a coupon on is so we got some food Togo for a big group of friends. There were about 6 of us and every single dish was AMAZING! We tried every curry. I got the green and it was to die for. So creamy and delicious, red and yellow were great as well but green is my favorite. Combo fried rice, broccoli & beef, and pad kee mow were the other dishes and my friends said they were top notch too. We went there again a week after with a big group to dine in. The service was great, friendly staff. I got the pork vermicelli noodle bowl. It’s my new favorite. It’s SO much food and so cheap! I think I’ve been there four times (or more) in one month haha! That’s how great this place is! Very affordable and the portions are HUGE! I honestly can’t say enough good things about it. We really have been trying to spread the word because we hope it stays open since past restaurants at that location haven’t done well. If you go there ask for a take out menu because they have coupons on them!
Also the green tea smoothie with boba is the BEST!

Went here one night, was immediately seated and served beverage. Great selection of various type cuisine also can alter dish;for example leave out mushrooms if u don’t like, or make a dish more or less spicy. Very clean. Good food. Good selection. Good prices. Good atmosphere. Definitely worth trying!

OMG BEST PLACE TO EAT EVER
Hands down the chillest place to eat with my boyfriend or family! I always get an appetizer (crab rangoons or the fried tofu) and always try something new from the signature dishes. When I come there was free Thai tea or milk tea with my order which was so nice! Overall my favorite place to eat

Visited this place this past Sunday. Very good service and the place is very clean as well. My friend and I ordered the pad Thai, soft shell crab fried rice, and wings for appetizer. The wings were really good. Fave part of my meal. They were crispy and lemony. I really liked the fried rice. There was actually a very decent amount of crab meat in the dish. The pad Thai was mediocre and a bit too sweet for my liking. I would probably come back and try other dishes. The place is a pretty good take on Asian fusion.

Love this place and the Thai tea! Great change since the new owners! We’ve been here twice since the change and have loved it both times. Great service and great food!

Very good and fresh food. Boba is fantastic. I had the sesame chicken and egg drop soup. Great atmosphere and friendly staff.

Great service and good prices! Great food! Our food came out on less than 10 minutes and free refills on the rice!

I got the Pad See Eew and it was really good one of the best I’ve tasted around Arlington!

One of the best pad Thai I’ve had! I went here with some friends for lunch after school to try something new and it was better than I expect! Would come back again!

This place is soooo awesome. Zen is our go-​to for date night, birthday, after Sunday lunch, etc. we are never disappointed in the food, the service, or the ambiance. If you’ve never been, give it a try; you WONT regret it… and may I recommend the… EVERYTHING!

I order phở. Was one of the best. Good portion and loved the serving of the meat in the phở.

Great décor, fast service, amazing food and a variety of Asian cuisines offered, such as Vietnamese, Chinese and Thai! The desert selection is amazing!!! Must try!

Crab Rangoon was very good. Unfortunately the sesame chicken was not. It was mostly gristle. Very hard, difficult to eat. For the quality of food, it’s very over priced.
The staff seemed friendly and the delivery was made quickly. We won’t order from this place again based on the food.

Pad Thai was very sweet. There was no other flavor just sweetness. I do not recommend the pad thai.
Their phở is mediocre. It’s not bad but it’s not the best. We ordered extra meatball for $ 1.50 and it’s literally one meatball added. There’s other phở places that I can go to for a better price and quality.
This restaurant has the same vibe and almost the same menu as California phở grill.
The only good thing about this restaurant was the service. They were very attentive, but then again on a Saturday night there were only one other group besides us there. I think that says something.

Great new restaurant with a revamped menu with great new dishes as well as the good, classic dishes from when the restaurant was California Phở and Grill. The boba here is definitely underrated, great place for boba, in which I go regularly just to quickly pick up drinks. The service is also very friendly, nice staff. I highly recommend you give this place a try whether you’re feeling some chinese, japanese, thai, or even just for boba drinks, this place has it all covered! I often find it hard to settle on a place to go with friends, but since Zen offers such a variety of great dishes, it has become a regular place my friends and I go to.

Need delivery? This restaurant will deliver within 5 miles. Although we had an hour wait as it was busy, the friendly staffer let us know this over the phone when we ordered. She was very professional and knowledgeable about the menu items.
My husband ordered the salt and pepper shrimp which are large fried shrimp with salt, pepper, and chile. He had requested medium heat, and they were perfect. I liked that there was a vegetarian option where you can pick your vegetables and sauce as well as choose whether you want them stirfried or steamed.
The food arrived hot and right on time. It was all delicious. We will definitely be ordering again from their large and diverse menu.

Great Asian fusion restaurant with many different variety of foods (Vietnamese, Korean, Chinese, Thai). They also have a variety of drinks from Boba to smoothies/​slushies to fruit hot teas and coffee.
The foods I’ve tried so far:
— Pad Thai: this is the first time I’ve ever tried Pad Thai and it is my absolute favorite. Since it was my first time trying it, I can’t really compare with other Thai specialty restaurants, but this is my favorite dish out of any Asian restaurants I’ve tried so far.
— Curry: this was my go-​to meal until I had the Pad Thai, but nonetheless their curry is still a favorite (probably the spiciest dish on the menu).
— Walnut Shrimp: this is on the more expensive side of the menu (~$ 15), but well worth the price if you love crispy fried shrimp. I wish they had a special dip that comes with this dish that would compliment the shrimps, but I just made my own using the condiments on the table (soy sauce, Sriracha and Oyster sauce)
— Pineapple Fried Rice: This one I didn’t order myself, I just had a couple of bites from a friend’s plate. We thought it was kind of dry and a little bit flavorless. We’ve had better from other places. Note: we tried this before the restaurant changed from Cali Phở & Grill to Zen Asian Fusion, there may be some changes in management/​chefs/​etc so this dish may be better.
As for the drinks, I now always get the Volcano Sensation (hot tea with a bunch of fruits added in). They give you a teapot and it can usually fill up at least 3 teacups. Their smoothies/​slushies can be a hit or miss depending on who makes it. We’ve had one that still had large chunks of ice in it and another that was blended pretty well.
In the end this is by far my favorite Asian restaurant. It’s pretty clean and very comfortable. Each non-​lunch entrée is humongous so its best to share with another person (and add an appetizer) or get a to-​go box at the BEGINNING of the meal and put half of it away so you don’t over-​stuff yourself.

If you’re looking to try something a little different or an Asian cuisine with a twist, Zen is definitely worth a try. I’ve visited this establishment multiple times before and after its transition from California Phở and Grill to Zen Asian Fusion. Although management and the menu has changed, the food is still excellent along with the customer service! So far, my favorite dish is the sake simmered fresh mussels. Yum!

This restaurant use to be California Phở and Grill but it’s been changed to Zen Asian fusion. Heard they are under new management and new chefs as well.
They have a similar menu as their old one, but the food is delicious especially the pad thai and Korean seafood soup.
They do still serve Phở but it’s on a separate menu. Also the servings are pretty big. Got to full and had to take everything to-go.the
All of their drinks seem to be the same… Thank goodness they still have taro smoothies.
The wait staff are still great. They are very nice and welcoming. They seem to have kept the same waiters I noticed but I few new faces.
Also they don’t serve alcoholic beverages anymore. One of the waiters said it is because the license expired, however they said we are welcome to being our own! So BYOB
Overall great place and delicious food!!! Looking forward to trying their other new dishes.