Bistro Z

Our server Alessandra was the WORST ever. RUDE, dismissive and ignored/​gave little to no attention when needed; appeared to be too busy talking to co-​workers. Food was acceptable, but not as ordered and was not in the position to correct the problem with management. Won’t recommend or return anytime soon.

Gem of a place in the heart of Lenox. Pre-​dinner drinks (yummy martinis) and charcuterie were enjoyed in the quiet bar. Dinner menu was varied enough to accommodate all tastes. Scallops were outstanding and recommended! Ended the meal with a shared dessert of ultra smooth crème brûlée.

Delicious! The Bibb salad had a lovely vinaigrette. The salmon was cooked perfectly. My husbands pasta was undercooked and the egg it came with was overdone.
Lovely atmosphere.

1:45 waiting for our food. Food was nothing special. Would not go back. They need to get their act together.

The place is gorgeous! The service is top notch. The food was just good. For the price and all the hoopla I had expected more. I’m confused by the name — is this bistro Z or Zinc? If there’s only two in your party they squeeze you into tiny tables on top of one another (this didn’t bother us as much, but it really pissed off the people next to us who felt they we’re too close to us to have their own private conversation… and I agree, it was too close.)
I had the shrimp and polenta, tasty… My husband had the Coq au Vin and he liked it well enough.
Sidenote: everything in the main street/​downtown area is close by this time of the evening when you’re out having dinner. It’s silly, what a missed opportunity for the retailers. They close at three or five and the diners come out from five until nine… do the math folks!

We were 5 couples out together for the first night of a reunion get together dining at the highly recommended Bistro Zinc. Needless to say, we were looking forward to a pleasant dining experience. The restaurant was not full and I expect that our 8:00 pm reservation was on the late side. Two of the dishes we ordered… Fried calamari and the salmon dish were good as were the french fries. To our dismay all the rest were substandard! Four ordered the flank steak that was tough and tasteless, one ordered the duck confit that looked únappealing and also not very flavorful, one had a shrimp dish where the shrimp were overcooked and «mushy», and the other two ordered a burger rare that came out medium well! Very disappointing. After reading all the positive reviews the only conclusion we could come to is that perhaps the chef went home early that night.

The service was attentive but slow at times. The restaurant wasn’t nearly full but was incredibly loud. Tables are very close together. Food was alright. Nothing outstanding. Had the steak frites and those were the best we ordered. Oysters weren’t strong enough and not local. Coq au vin wasn’t flavorful enough. They gave a complimentary desert that was small yummy peanut butter cookies.

Tried this place as it was the only sit-​down restaurant open for late lunch in Lenox. Everyone in my family was very pleased with their meals– my mom and I both had the Zinc Burger, which was excellent; my dad had the Moules-​frites and my sister had an omelette. The service was quick, friendly and water glasses were always filled. They have very good coffee as well!

Dinner for 2 on Friday evening, 6 – 19, Called for reservations late afternoon and they were pretty full. Gave us 5:15 and we were the 2^nd couple seated in the main dining room on arrival. Attractive décor with nice tin or faux tin ceiling. Seemed to be well staffed and seated immediately. Water promptly and we ordered a glass of wine. The house white was excellent. My wife ordered red and both were offered a taste prior to the full glass. Very nice. We were not rushed ordering. Our waitress was pleasant and somewhat helpful answering questions. I went with the fried oyster salad with coq au vin entrée. K went with pork wontons and beef bourguignon. My salad was excellent with 4 lightly fried oysters on bibb lettuce with a light dressing. K enjoyed her pork wontons and recommended them to a couple seated next to us. My coq au vin rocked with tender chicken leg and thigh, falling off bone, moist and delicious. Piping hot with an excellent sauce half way between broth and gravy. Rich and plentiful. K’s beef bourg. was somewhat lacking I thought. She agreed. Meat perhaps a tad overdone. Adequate taste but not a standout. Not big desert people and we skipped it.
Pros — Accommodated a late reservation request on the opening night of Tanglewood. Well staffed. Some excellent food. Maitre’d (manager) stopped by to check in and was nice. Cons — Waitress difficult to pin down with answers to food questions. I didn’t want something super rich and she advised coq au vin was not. It absolutely was rich which turned out OK because it was glorious. Said the beef bourg. was very popular which is not a real answer. Tight seating at some tables (ours), but again they accommodated us last minute.
Would go back for the coq au vin. Would give some of the other items a try as well. Overall a 3.75÷5. Could easily be a 4 with some fine tuning.

Delicious food and a nice place to have a date night. Their shoestring fries are phenomenal and compliment the entrees I’ve had, such as the steak and the burgers. The bar has a nice atmosphere and is spacious so you don’t feel overcrowded. The only reason for the four star rating is because their prices are very high, but the quality of food is as well so I guess you’re getting what you pay for. I’d definitely recommend eating here or just grabbing drinks.

Went there in the Fall and sat at the bar. Great looking place. Had eaten in the dining room a few times at lunch and dinner. It was good. This time however, the tourists had left town and the whole place was slow. That’s Lenox in the off-​season. I do my best to patronize my local places. Not complaining. I live here. It’s Lenox in the off-​season.
The bartender was busy talking to the waiter at the other end of the bar. After quite a wait, she was able to tear herself away and wander down to see me. I was the only customer in the bar area and only one of a handful in the entire restaurant. Ordered the fish special, salad, an appetizer, and a beverage. Very happy to pay well for good food and service.
Food took forever. Fish was cold. Tried to get her attention several times, but the bar-​end conversation had resumed. Ate, paid, tipped and left. Disappointed.
Went back last week to give it another try. Cold evening. Same number of customers in the place. Hey, it’s still off-​season. I still want to patronize my local places. Owner was at the bar so I introduced myself, told him of acquaintances we have in common. Also told him of the prior disappointing experience, not because I wanted anything, but just felt he should know.
Ordered a beverage, onion soup, salad, beef entre. Beverage was fine. Onion soup not so much. It was virtually tasteless. I dug deeper into the broth, below the melted cheese, hoping to find the flavor. It was hiding … I guess. Never could find the flavor so mentioned it to the bartender/​server. Owner turned to me and told me he checks out everything that comes out of the kitchen. I asked if he had tried «this» and he said «yes». Told him it was tasteless. He told me I was wrong. He then left the restaurant. I cancelled the rest of the order. Bartender said there was no charge. I thanked him but told him I had drunk my beverage and had several spoonfuls of soup. Put money on the bar, thanked him for HIS effort, and left, too. I wasn’t looking for a freebie, just quality.
Walked up the street to Alta and had a truly delightful meal. I like to patronize my local places. I always support my local places that care if am there. Thank you Alta, Brava, Heritage House, Gateways, Nudel, Shots, Café Lucia,

We dined in here during our stay at berkshire. We are happy and satisfied with our meal. I’m feeling adventurous so I ordered the special of the day which is a baked quail with rice and greens on the side. The portion was good and it was delicious. Compliment to the chef. My husband ordered a pork dish which is also good. The service was great and fast.

This place is very good! I’ve been coming to Lenox for years and this was my first time here.
Pro: the food is out of this world! The dishes are meticulously done with great taste. The menu options are wonderful and always fresh.
Cons: we sat at the bar one Saturday night in September and the bartender was very rude. She acted like she didn’t care and didn’t want to be there.

Repeated visits have been increasingly disappointing. The food is lack luster. For example, the risotto is a large dish of bland, rich rice porridge which is heavily salted. The service is slow and full of mistakes. The manager is too quick to apology but not listening to the issues.
There are too many other great restaurants in Lenox. Arrive early at Brava or Nudel. It’s a shame because Zinc is an attractive place. There is nothing like a comfy French bistro.
If Zinc doesn’t improve, it won’t be around much longer.

There was nothing inherently wrong with our experience, but I just didn’t love it. Service was good, ambiance was typical upscale American dining. We started with the duck confit rolls which were super flavorful and really delicious.
For my entrée I made a rather unorthodox choice for myself and got the smoked pork loin. What came out was basically a piece of pork that tasted like ham with some really good sauerkraut and some brussels sprouts on the side that tasted almost completely like whatever alcohol they were cooked in. My husband got the burger, and somehow the one bite I had just tasted bland.
We finished our meals with a couple cappuccinos that tasted off to me in some way, so we didn’t finish them. It didn’t help that we had insufferable people sitting inches away from us complaining about their entire experience.
Long story short, not sure I would be back, although I had a fine time.

We arrived a little before dinner on a Saturday night with a party of 6. Were seated right away and drink order was placed. Waitress (Chalice) brought over fresh bread and butter. It was fresh out of oven. For appetizers we got duck confit rolls. It was 4 small rolls but full of duck with some greens. East coast oysters. There were about 8 oysters, very fresh! About after a few minutes after ordering the appetizers were brought out. As we finished with appetizers the main courses were brought out. I got pan seared salmon. It came with spinach and fava beans. The portions were pretty nice sizes. The meal was delicious. Everyone enjoyed their food as well. Service was great and timely.

Over salted, undercooked and left much to be desired. That is how I would sum up my experience at Zinc last night.
I went with a large party for a celebration and by the look of the place and menu I figured it would be a nice and upscale place with good food. I hate to say I was thoroughly disappointed.
Atmosphere: Nicely decorated, cozy bistro style décor.
Service: Ok, nothing great, bad if you consider the price point. The waitress told us the soup of the day was chicken vegetable and several people ordered it. When it came out the broth was red, it was loaded with ham and mushrooms. Clearly there was miscommunication about the soup of the day. One of the girls who ordered it sent it back because she does not eat pork/​ham. The waitress challenged her when she mentioned there was ham in it and didn’t apologize. Also we were a large group ordering tons of drinks, appetizers, etc and the waitress seemed pushy into getting us to order more.
Food: The bread and butter was amazing, and it all went downhill from there. The salads were fine, nothing special. The best thing I ate (which was good at most) was the duck roll appetizer. Then dinner (aka disappointment) came: I had chicken and it was fine, nothing special. The girls around me had the steak frites and their steak was extremely undercooked, one steak was basically black and blue (she ordered medium rare). The french fries were undercooked and soggy. The brussel sprouts tasted like potato chips (basically oil, salt and a little brussel sprouts). Overall the food was mediocre at best and completely over salted. Very disappointing when spending $ 30 per entrée. By the time dessert came there was a unanimous decision (among 11 women) to go home instead of order, and we were out for a celebration… need I say more.
Price: $ 30 per entrée, $ 10 – 15 for appetizers, one the pricer side, which would have been fine if the food was better
Parking: street and some side lot parking, we went in off season, so was not an issue
Overall I would rather stay home. I would not recommend this place and would not go back.

This is a lovely spot.
Sophisticated yet warm. Ample bar and lounge which is where I prefer to dine.
Imaginative cocktail menu. Their pear & St. Germaine cocktail is most delicious. The bartenders are adept and gracious.
French prints and mirrors adorn the walls reminiscent of a typical Parisian bistro, yet w high ceilings and ample lighting, buttery walls.
Professional service.
The menu offers a nice choice of local game, fresh seafood, and earthy sides all in the spirit of French tradition. The fried goat cheese salad is wonderful w a nice balance of the tangy creamy goat cheese, local greens and tart dressing. The oysters are über fresh & the moules frites is excellent.
Save room for their decadent desserts (I never seem to manage that though).

All in all the food here is decent, and the same goes for the service. Although the menu is modern French, I think they offer pretty standard fare and do not deviate too much from the traditional presentation of these dishes.
I don’t live in the area, so my visits to Zinc are pretty spaced out. I think that speaks volumes for their consistency because I have had a decent meal here each time. There’s that word again…“decent.” I don’t think this place elevates food at all. It provides an OK atmosphere, and puts out pretty good food. Nothing that’ll blow you away unless you are easily impressed.
My most recent visit was for lunch. I did enjoy the lamb chili. It was hearty without being heavy, and the lamb was tender. It did take me a while to get some bread which I thought was a bit odd. Shouldn’t bread always accompany chili?
They do a pretty good burger here, but it is not for the light eater. Their lunch menu is extensive which is nice because it has something for just about everyone. My wife also likes the crispy goat cheese salad.
Depending on the crowd, I sometimes prefer to sit in the bar here rather than the dining room.

Duck so nice, we ordered it twice. Quite the Jekyll and Hyde experience, howe’er.
Swinging by for something up and a light bite, KG and I posted up at the empty bar. Elegantly backlit array of small batch spirits next to universal standards, and a tempting (albeit basic) rundown of specialty cocktails.
We got down with two ducky apps so earthquacking, we couldn’t decide between them: duck confit rolls with hoisin & sweet chili and fried duck tenderloins sided by a dill remoulade (both $ 11). And a Maple Manhattan, m’good barkeep. Tis the season, amirite?
The ten buck tipple is well-​shaken and balanced as all get-​out. While a Luxardo may have offered a deeper sweetness, the drink drank til drunk. An easy re-​order, kinda like those amazing duck tenderloins. Battered without heft and salty enough to cause a deer stampede, we tore through the plate ravenously.
Same couldn’t be said for the sad and soggy duck confit rolls. Saturated in hoisin, the wrap became gummy and even the sharpest of pan-​Asian accents (these weren’t) could do nothing to zing up a flat, tasteless meat. Run away!
At such a crossroads when one dish severely outshines the other, and a limbo is created between three and four stars, I look to the staff as a tiebreaker. Sadly, the bartender couldn’t be trouble with small talk, questions about Lenox or the labels she was pouring. Not just neutral, she seemed downright annoyed and with a dead bench, we couldn’t understand why.