Zengo

This is a review regarding private events. I had set up a brunch for around 40 people and it was the most stressful party I have ever had. I thought at the time the event coordinator (who was not there on a Saturday when I would expect many events are held) made everything seem easy but in the end it doesn’t seem like she actually set anything up.
The staff had no knowledge of ANYTHING – right down to where my party was supposed to be seated within the restaurant, the table counts, or where anything was going. I was told we would have a custom printed menu so my guests would not have a menu that had prices on it, this was not done. Basically anything I asked for was not done.
The brunch was supposed to be two hours. 45 minutes into it my guests had been served nothing until they finally brought out edamame and a coleslaw. We had ONE waiter for 40 people until I complained and then they added another waitress. Everything was completely disorganized and they did not explain to my guests how ordering is being handled.
I was either stressing and telling the waitstaff what to do during my event or apologizing to my guests for the lack of food and organization. The manager tried to remedy the situation and the waitstaff were responsive but I still had to tell them what was expected from my talks with the event coordinator. I almost feel bad writing this review because the manager was helpful when he came into the mix (we had to ask for him) but I did not get to enjoy my event at all.
I don’t even see why they have an event coordinator at this point, it was basically to collect my contract which I found out later on that she didn’t charge us the deposit like the contract stated which made getting the bill more complicated at the end.

I came here for brunch a few times. This place is delicious. Worth every penny! My glass is never empty and the drinks are actually tasty. The lychee mimosa is my favorite =) Everyone is extremely attentive, which i’m pretty big on! Now the food is delicious, everything is just yummy. The hoisin pork arepas are a must try! Happy Eating all!

Wow. BRUNCH is where you should come for Zengo (or a private party– they have plenty of space). I came here with 5 other ladies at noon on Saturday to experience their 2 hour bottomless brunch, $ 42. Includes unlimited shared small plates from their menu, and unlimited alcohol. I tried the bloody Maria (bloody Mary, just with tequila), the guava and mandarin orange mimosa which was all very good. The food is not as bad as they say either and the service, for a crazy boozy brunch, was prompt and polite. Sure the food came out a bit slowly, and sure we had to ask for clean plates and whatnot but once we asked for things, we got things quickly. Not to mention it was a full house because everyone seems to really enjoy this brunch.
For food, we got:
— the chicken empanada (basically, we were a group of 6 so they tailor portions so that each person could have it), very good mango curry sauce, I liked this a lot
–two types of sushi rolls, I don’t remember which ones– spicy tuna and salmon something probably. Good.
–an overdressed Asian pear salad, but fine portion so to get our greens in
–Edamame, always good
–Shrimp/​veggie potstickers aka more like wontons, good
–The egg and duck steamed buns — this was ok; I was really looking forward to it but there was not a lot of duck
–Chicken chilaquiles — probably my least favorite; it was soggy nachos. With fried egg atop, they should have not doused the whole thing in saucy chicken and hot sauce so that SOME chips were still crunchy. Fried egg atop was good; chicken was ok.
–The crispy tofu — this was delicious!
–Korean fried chicken — WAY huge chicken drums, but at least you get full; these were NOT wings. The sauce was a bit too sweet… definitely not real KFC.
–Tonkatsu port cutlet– was ok; a bit too fried and dry. The fried egg and rice were good– they did not have to add spicy mayo
–plaintains– with black sesame, these were very yummy! Sweet, maduros style
For dessert, we shared the Mexican chocolate waffle (yummy) and the bread pudding (didn’t love it, too sweet dulce de leche taste), and the seasonal fruit salad with whipped cream.
I don’t think the food is WOWzers but neither was it when I dined here for RW dinner. However, the space is big and can fit lots of people and it is very fun — a good value. you definitely get your money’s worth. I highly recommend this brunch. The bloody Maria was really quite good…

superb agave spirit selection… sotol included [mezcal from chihuahua]
william served us to create an awesome experience
short rib udon noodle] was my favorite but the angry zengo roll] was also superbly tasty… unlike any maki l’ve ever had
cesar@la biblioteca [downstairs antro] knows his mezcals… congratulations richard [sandoval]. the magic continues

I was back at Zengo again yesterday (given that it’s right across the street from my office) along with a colleague for lunch. I experienced, this time, an upgraded culinary experience.
Service is highly attentive — from the busboy refilling my water glass to the waitress coming back to check on me periodically. The captain checked in as well at our table when the entrée was served and discovered our table rocked back and forth a bit. He came back immediately with a wedge to stabilize it.
The appetizers we ordered were huge — the Thai shrimp lettuce wraps and the volcano roll. The Thai shrimp lettuce wraps were made with shredded chorizo cooked with some tasty spices, whole shrimp and whole pieces of fresh peanut. The sweetness of the peanuts really went well with the salty chorizo. Then the tamarind chutney gave the dish that bright note to the flavors.
The volcano roll was also very tasty with its unique textures — the roll itself contained the shredded crab and it was topped with a slice of salmon and the aioli, both of which had been charred slightly.
I really fell for the crispy calamari salad though. The calamari is coated with a really flavorful batter and that, itself, could’ve been a standalone dish. They were mixed into a bed of frisee greens and creamy aioli. At first, I didn’t think that there was enough flavor in the salad since the aioli didn’t seem to have much salt or acidity. But the plate also contained a strip of what looked like a mole sauce (but is made from tamarind). Once I mixed that into the greens, the whole dish made sense flavorwise — I couldn’t stop eating the salad after that and ended up clearing the plate.
The yucca fries are really yummy too. I recommend getting an order of those for your table. I also wanted to point out that the menu has plenty of gluten free options (making it easy for those avoiding gluten to find a tasty dish).

I came here with a friend on a Wednesday night. The positives: very cool vibe, large restaurant with lots of tables available, delicious cocktails. The negatives: the food, slow service. The cardinal sin here is the food though, of course. We ordered the empanadas and the Arepas to start. We both really enjoyed the Arepas, and I was so bummed that there were only three. The empanadas on the other hand were gross. The waitress encouraged me to order them, saying how popular they are. They’re served atop a curry sauce which did not taste authentic at all. It was like a sweet curry, blegh. We left one on the plate and both tried to get through another. Then for the main course, I got the tuna tartare tostada. This was so disappointing! The ingredients seemed to be good but there was not one drop of sauce or marinade or anything moist to speak of. Painfully under-​seasoned and just not finished. My friend also got a sushi roll and ate it without soy sauce, because they didn’t give her any. SO, the food was a major letdown! My lychee Bellini was great though.

I always wonder why this nicely-​decorated spot is always empty. I have been to this place a couple of times for dinner. The food is good, nothing wow me. Food is a little over-​priced given the non-​wow factor. However, it is a nice space. So I guess it justify that.
So why the 2-​star? I came here with my co-​workers for lunch after a failed attempt to go to a new restaurant down the block. No wait of course. But just you watch…
We waited for awhile until we got the waitress finally took our order. We ordered the prix-​fixe menu. There’s only a few choices in appetizers and entrees in the prix fixe menu. So it really troubled me that they took 20+ minutes to make the empanadas we ordered. And YES the whole table picked the empanadas, AND they are one out of the 3 – 4 things off from the prix fixe menu. WHY 20 mins? By the time the appetizer got to us, we asked the waitress to just bring the main course. Of course it took another 15 min. My friends’ salmons were barely warm while my chicken was smoking hot. I’m guessing the salmon was waiting for my chicken to be ready. But you would expect a restaurant like this would make sure all the dishes are hot.
When the entrée arrived, wIthout us asking, the waitress said since you are in a rush, I will bring the dessert up. Well first of all, we were not in a rush. (But it because a rush after the unacceptable time you took to serve us the dishes) Mind you the only choices are sorbet or ice cream. So I wonder why the necessity to rush when you are only scooping out the ice cream. And also anyone with common sense won’t bring up the ice cream because it’s going to melt when we eat our entrée. Well, the dessert didn’t come until we finished our entrée. We thought, great, just in time. But a half-​melted ice cream and sorbet were served to us. They were like soup. At that point, we didn’t even bother.
When the restaurant is only 50% filled, you would think they would be up to speed especially for a lunch crowd. But the whole meal took us 1 hour and 45 minutes. I will never come back here.

Ended up at Zengo in an attempt to find La Biblioteca (it’s the bar downstairs FYI). Since La Biblioteca was packed and the food and drinks are basically the exact same — we decided to go to the upstairs upstairs bar at Zengo. It was around 5:30 so perfect for happy hour and we were the first ones up there! By the time we left the bar upstairs was PACKED and there were absolutely no open seats.
The happy hour is pretty good but only takes place in the bar sections so you can’t sit at a table and order things — you have to sit in one of the bars. The restaurant is super posh and trendy — really cool wood beams hanging from the ceiling. It was definitely a good vibe.
The tacos are teeny tiny teeny so even though you get 2 per order, you might want to order 2 orders to get the amount of taco that amounts to two regular sized tacos, ha ha. The fish tacos had way too much sauce on them which made them a bit soggy a bit fast. Margarita was good, pretty strong.
Overall this is a solid happy hour spot near Grand Central if you’re looking for somewhere cool to grab a drink and don’t mind spending a buck or two.

HUGE fan of this place. Have only been here once, but it was a great experience. You walk in and this place is HUGE! Super trendy with beautiful wood walls, and natural light. I had a really good first impression. It was about $ 40 for unlimited small plates and various mimosas. The portions were fairly small, but I guess thats what small plates are. We kept them coming! Fortunately the wait staff was perfect when it came to our orders and refilling our drinks. I love the location as well, 3^rd Ave/​Murray Hill/​Kips Bay is a really trendy young area, so I love it! Would definitely come back!

This was such a delightful brunch experience! Not sure if I should attribute it to the lovely NYC spring weather or just good Sunday vibes, but I throughly enjoyed my dining experience here.
I stayed at the NYC Grand Central Hyatt, which was only a short walk away. We straggled in here with no reservation & was seated right away.
Our waiter was very prompt & friendly & explained the menu in detail. We ordered the $ 42 bottomless brunch, which includes tapas & drinks!
When it was all said & done, my friend & I had pretty much ordered one of everything (almost). The most memorable items were the shrimp & veggie pot stickers (sooo good), the lobster grits (2bd best item hands down), the tuna & Alvarado Zengo rolls (tasty), the empanadas, the fried chicken (with a twist), & the bread pudding (delish)!!!
We stuck with the traditional mimosas & ordered one round of passion fruit mimosa (I think that’s the name for it…)
Most importantly, I left feeling quite satisfied & full!

Mixed experience for Saturday Brunch, but clearly a manager that cares about his restaurant.
I have had friends come here in the past and note that the service was exceptional. During this visit, however, the service was slow to non-​existent for our first hour. VERY disappointing. Since we were 7, we placed a large order at the beginning, and after an hour had only received 3 – 4 plates. HOWEVER, after the first hour or so, we spoke to the manager, and he got us back on track, and made sure we received the food we had ordered for the second half. Additionally, upon getting the check we realized that the manager had comped us almost half of the meal, and they continued to bring us mimosas for well after the 2 hour mark (even after we had paid.) While far from an ideal experience, but I had a great time, and appreciated the effort the manager put in.
I was really happy with the food and mimosas, but don’t go for the Bloody Mary. It’s not fancy food by any measure, but its good finger food for sharing between friends and there’s a nice selection.

Zengo specializes in a fusion of Latin American and Asian cuisines, highlighting a menu that features dishes made with regional ingredients and are designed for sharing. The downstairs of Zengo is La Biblioteca, a tequila lounge that houses one of the largest collections of over 400 agave-​based spirits. I really liked the spacious, modern ambiance of the restaurant.
I came here as a group of 7. We ordered Angry Zengo Roll ($ 13), Blistered Shishito Peppers ($ 7), Chili Crab «Hong Kong» Noodle ($ 19), and Zengo Fried Rice ($ 13) to start.
I would NOT recommend getting the sushi at Zengo. Nothing special, overpriced, and the rice to sushi ratio was dismal. The Angry Zengo Roll is made with spicy tuna, avocado, and cucumber topped with a dollop of chipotle aioli. Again, it tasted like any other generic spicy tuna roll. You can get this for $ 8 (or less) at any Japanese restaurants.
The Blistered Shishito Peppers were okay. They are topped with bonito flakes and in soy-​mirin glaze. The peppers themselves lacked flavors other than the glaze.
I enjoyed the Chili Crab «Hong Kong» Noodle, but the portion was pretty small for 7 people to share. In addition to egg noodles in spicy curry sauce with chili crab, the dish was topped with crispy noodles on top. The curry had crabs, eggs, asparagus, and sugar snap pea.
Finally, the Zengo Fried Rice included all sorts of protein like shrimp, duck, pork, and egg with cilantro. Again, like the sushi roll, nothing too special about the fried rice.
For my entrée, I had the Pork Carnitas Rice Noodle ($ 13). The dish reminded me of pad thai, but the pork carnitas was so salty and overpowering that I couldn’t really taste anything else. The noodle dish is topped with poached egg and has cashews.
We also added the Achiote Hoisin Pork Arepas ($ 12), which included 3 bite-​sized arepas. The arepas, made with corn masa, were coarse, hard, and very greasy, as were the hoisin pork (also salty…). It was topped with avocado and crema fresca.
One of my friends had the Chipotle Miso Glazed Black Cod with ($ 34) daikon radish, asparagus, kabayaki, and lemon togarashi aioli. He seemed to have liked it.
Overall the food was mediocre, but the service was awful. The waiter was not attentive to our needs, it took 40 minutes for our drinks to arrive, and the water glass was never filled.

After a very long, physically demanding week I jumped at the chance to wear a short dress and indulge in happy hour decompression. My friend warned me, based on her own experience and that of many Unilocal-​ers, that we needed to get there right at the start of happy hour before the place packed obscenely up.
We entered a nearly empty restaurant (1 person at the bar and 2 tables seated) so we were relieved to be able to sit easily at the bar. I witnessed tons of staff milling around, kissing and greeting each other, chatting in Spanish about random life stuff. Our bartender was attentive enough and made me a very strong capirinha for my first round, while joining in on the conversations of her coworkers nearby. The mahi-​mahi taco and Japanese meatballs we ordered were the ideal small bites from the HH menu. After round number 2, which wasn’t as strong as the first (probably a good thing), we were hitting on 7:30, just a half hour before the end of HH. Still tons of staff milling, but no crowds. Was Good Friday to blame? Possibly… although the tipsy people walking-​er-​waddling up 3^rd avenue seemed to tell a different story. I’ll have to go back to find out.

After trying a bunch of brunches in the city, this place gives me nothing to rave about. We went for the bottomless option. The food and drinks were meh.
We got everything vegetarian on the menu.
Drinks– sake sangria and margarita were the best drinks. Rest all ok, bloody mary being the worst.
Food– the eggplant flatbread, chocolate waffles and chilaquiles were really good. All the rest of the food was blah. The pudding comes in bars and is quite bad actually. The potatoes were extremely dry and the plantains were just ok.
For brunch, I’d say spend your money on other better bottomless places.

Amazing unlimited brunch. First time here and I hope to come back. The service is great and the food is constantly coming out. Luis was the best server and we loved him. He kept coming over to bring us food and drinks. We loved the food choices and varieties. Highly recommend it! The drinks are also yummy. I had lychee martinis and mimosas.

Not bad, but I’m not sure I’d go back considering the prices. Finally made it here for lunch with a friend, and found service and the cocktails (I’m now enamored with the lechee bellini) to be the best part of the trip. Cool atmosphere, but noisy.
We split the Thai chicken empanadas as an appetizer. They were quite tasty, although too spicy for my wussy limits. My friend, whose heritage is Caribbean, said she couldn’t even detect the spice, so I’m guessing most people would be fine.
Both of us ordered bento boxes, which were decent. They came with a sushi roll (my salmon crab avocado roll was more like a crab salad roll with spicy mayo), a protein (we both got the skirt steak), and a couple different veggies. Not bad, and plenty of food for lunch.
The bill with tip came to just under $ 100.

On a Thursday night, the restaurant was crowded with people for the Happy hour, so it was loud. Plus, they sit me by the entrance, so it wasn’t that enjoyable. There were lots of people coming in and standing in front of the reception.
I asked if they have drinks without alcohol, and the waiter suggested a virgin mojito. It was good. I went there mainly because the restaurant has a gluten-​free menu. I ordered a Chipotle miso glazed black cod: daikon radish, asparagus, lemon togarashi aioli. It came with a side of rice, I liked to mix it with the aioli. There were some bones in the cod. The miso glaze was sweet and delicious. The daikon were tangy.
I appreciate restaurants that offers a gluten-​free menu. But then I look at their regular menu and see all these appetizing dishes that aren’t part of the gluten-​free menu.

REALLY great happy hour deal. Would suggest going– deals only happen if you’re at the bar. $ 5 sangria, $ 6 wine., not bad. But the smal plates are pretty great– sushi, tacos… A bunch of selections.
Ended up getting dinner here last night, was empty at 5:45 and completely packed by 7. Insane. Service was decent, waitress was very attentive and made sure all was good .
I would suggest going with their rolls– probably the best on the menu.

The Quick: Trendy, open venue with amazing fusion Latin Asian food. Great for a large group or holiday party. The achiote salmon is a must try, while the sushi is forgettable. Take a date to impress.
The Details: A delicious combination of flavors and flare, this borderline clubby restaurant is an absolute treat. The appetizers were fantastic, especially the ceviche– so refreshing. The sweet potato side in an Asian glaze was addicting as were the duck tacos– both good for sharing. The real star was the Achiote salmon. The flavors are indescribable and sensational.
My group loved their meals, the only disappointment was the sushi — too much rice and not enough fish. Still a great experience, I would return.
The Damage: They have a $ 25 lunch pre fix for appetizer, entrée, and dessert. Not necessarily cheap but you pay for the experience.

Came here for restaurant week lunch and was not disappointed :) First off, the fusion of the two cuisines here is already so unique and sounds good already! My friend and I started out with margaritas (he got mango and I got strawberry) which I really recommend. Not so much the strawberry because the mango was SO much better! Definitely a margarita place I’d come back to. Apparently they make their own tequila? Anyways, on to the food:
I got the calamari salad appetizer, the salmon entrée, and the berry salad dessert. Ahh everything was really good! The calamari salad was a bit too sour for my taste but it had a lot of the fried calamari. Salmon was probably the best of the tree. They cook it with this sweet sauce that reminds me of teriyaki and they don’t cook the salmon til the inside is dry, leaving the entire salmon naturally sweet and tender. Ugh so good. A bit small though. The berry salad is a sorbet with an assortment of berries. Tbh the sorbet is PRETTY sour and I usually handle that taste pretty well so I had to mix a bunch of berries while eating the sorbet. Id go for the peach dessert of you can’t take sour things.
All in all, food was good and there’s also a waitress who looks like the Tangled princess from Disney! :)

Bof, franchement, l’endroit né casse pas trois pattes à un duck. Les portions sont minuscules pour le prix. C’est une vraie arnaque.
J’ai choisi sur la carte après moultes hésitations le Crispy Tofu. Et bien, il n’y avait pas grand chose à manger, c’était surpimenté et gustativement bof.
Beaucoup de mes compagnons ont commandé la pièce de bœuf. Bonne à priori, mais avec une sauce épicée que peu ont appréciée. Il suffit de regarder les assiettes: il y avait de nombreux restes.
Le Zengo, c’est aussi un bar lounge au sous-​sol: nous avons opté pour les mojito à la mangue, bon mais trop sucrés (c’est le principe de ce cocktail, mais il faut un juste milieu).
Ah par contre, il y a le free-​wifi, c’est la seule raison qui me pousse à mettre deux étoiles.