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Zin Restaurant & Bar

MY REVIEW: I really liked Zin because of many reasons. My date brought me there for dinner and the portabello steak was divine and cooked to perfection. The oven roasted potatoes melted in my mouth, along side the extravagant mushroom sauce. The wait staff was generous and I felt well-attended after leaving. They were kind, thoughtful, and very professional. The music was superb and the singing...was just wonderful, as well as versatile.

NAME: Lynda Corley
SUBMITTED: 7/8/2007   LAST VISIT WAS: July 2007
FREQUENCY: Visited 2-3 times

MY REVIEW: Strong points: Ample room, Weak POints: Expensive food, horrible house wine, you ask for certain type of food and you dont get exactly what you ordered, waiters& waitresses are not very polite, serve you in a hurry, dont bring water to the table. I had to wait over one hour to get muy food. I do not recommend this restaurant at all.

NAME: unpiano
SUBMITTED: 8/13/2006   LAST VISIT WAS: 08/13
FREQUENCY: Visited once

MY REVIEW: My original visit was for a pre-theater dinner. The restaurant had 2 waiters and no bus staff. The service was very slow and the wrong drinks were brought, dropped off hastily and then the waiter took off so fast we didn't get a chance to tell him the order was wrong. Since it took so long for those drinks to arrive, we just drank them. Long story short, thw waiter explained they were not expecting a 'crowd' (there were perhaps 10 tables occupied) and apologized. I decided to try again for lunch. Again, only 2 waiters although they did add a busboy. After 20 minutes of sitting at the table with no menu, no water, no contact of any kind after being seated, I saw one waiter casually chatting with the other while leaning against the bar. We left and went to B*irra P*oretti's across the street and had a lovely lunch.

NAME: Sada
SUBMITTED: 8/4/2006   LAST VISIT WAS: 7/31/2006
FREQUENCY: Visited 2-3 times

MY REVIEW: I have visited Zinn's many times to enjoy the band on the weekends. I will not return because of a policy of charging an $8 minimum for drinks in the evening, even when stopping for a few minutes. The waiters are not attentive to customers in the evening. The dinners I have ordered do not have enough flavor in the sauces.

NAME: Last Time
SUBMITTED: 7/25/2006   LAST VISIT WAS: June/2006
FREQUENCY: Everybody here knows my name...

MY REVIEW: My first visit to Zin will be my last. My friends and I visited the restaurant a few weeks ago for their pre-theater dinner. Let's hope for management's sake that it was an off-night, but in an hour's time, we counted about 15 people -- probably theater-goers -- who waited patiently at the hostess table before turning around and leaving the restaurant to dine elsewhere. I wouldn't say that service is part of the restaurant's vernacular. They were seriously understaffed, and on the rare occasion when we actually saw our waiter, he was gruff and surly. (Don't even think about asking him any questions about the menu, I warned my friend).

Food-wise, the dishes are passable. The meat in the grilled-chicken salad was dry and tasteless. The tiramisu offered as the dessert course on the pre-theater menu could be described as a lot of cream but lacking distinguishable flavor. Skip the bread basket as well - a few slices from a loaf of Mrs. Baird's would have been better.

NAME: Downtown Diner
SUBMITTED: 3/22/2006   LAST VISIT WAS: March 16, 2006
FREQUENCY: Visited once

MY REVIEW: Great value for lunch, many entrees under $10. I had their crab-stuffed salmon with a spinach egg drop soup. The salmon was delicately stuffed with actual crabmeat and not the canned crabmeat variety, served on top of a bed of creamy mashed potatoes. The ambiance is your typical downtown business lunch crowd and the service is excellent. My friend ordered a salad but is allergic to spinach (salad of the day) and the waiter accommodated her by preparing a special romaine lettuce salad just for her. For the $10, I was also surprised that dessert was also provided for the meal... chocolate mousse. The only negative points for the restaurant is the restroom and its location. My experience is similar to walking down a dark alley since the restroom is located towards the back of the restaurant in a dingy area. Overall, I would rate this restaurant an 8 on a scale of 10.

NAME: Chinese Food Critic
SUBMITTED: 3/20/2006   LAST VISIT WAS: 03/2006
FREQUENCY: Visited once

MY REVIEW: 2 couples had a pre-theatre dinner this past weekend. My drink order of a diet coke was served in glass that was mostly water--you could read a newspaper thru it. The waiter cheerfully replaced it upon request. My entree, salmon, was well prepared and tasty but it was only warm and served on a bed of only warm mashed potatoes. My wife's trout was also only warm--the restaurant was not busy with only 3 other table occupied. The pre-theatre menu was fairly priced and the service was up to expectation. Our next Hobby Center outing is slated for next month but Zin will not be in our plans.

NAME: Dean
SUBMITTED: 10/31/2005   LAST VISIT WAS: 10/2005
FREQUENCY: Visited once

MY REVIEW: We did a pre-theater dinner with a table of 12. No one was downstairs, and there were 3 other tables of about 6 people each in the whole restaurant. We had to ask 3 times for a wine list, and it was well over 1/2 hr from when I sat down to when I ordered my drink. It was a while after that when I got to order the food. The food was delivered fairly promptly. But salad was flat, and the main course was quite good, but only slightly warm, and the desert was about the size of 1/3 of a twinkie. I NEVER got a refill on my water. While the atmosphere was often spoken of as nice, the upstairs was TERRIBLE. There was exposed drain pipes and electrical conduits. While sometimes this can be 'cool', this was not meant to be one of those places. They did not seat anyone downstairs at all while we were there. There was no music at all - live or otherwise. At $20+ just to start, I would have liked some kind of ambience. We will never go back.

NAME: jason
SUBMITTED: 10/29/2005   LAST VISIT WAS: 10/05
FREQUENCY: Visited once

MY REVIEW: NEGATIVE POINTS! DISCRIMINATION! I am an unattended (my husband works away from downtown) female. I enjoy lunch alone and am unafraid to spend on what i want. So I decided to try Zin's downtown after reading some positive reviews. I walk in steps ahead of a large group of businessmen. We are seated at the same time. They immediatey get menus. ok, Fine, no big deal, they wanted to get menues out right away. I wait 5 minutes. NO ONE even looks at me, muchless gets me a menu or water. Another couple of diners come in. they are immediately seated right in front of me!! Given menus and water right away! me, I wait another five minutes with nothingtrying to catch someones attention. I am realy being ignored! So I make eye contact with the man who seated me, get my purse and leave. I would definately not reccomend this place to anyone! Even if I am dining alone, my money is just as good as anyone else's. Shame on Zin!

NAME: lissakv
SUBMITTED: 10/7/2005   LAST VISIT WAS: 10-04-2005
FREQUENCY: Visited once

MY REVIEW: Strong Points: Nice ambiance, live music (piano player/singer which was really nice), the wait staff was very nice and attentive.

Weak Points: High Prices (for dinner), we (my husband and I) became aware of the restaurant because we have the entertainment card. The prices in the entertainment book are not at all reflective of the actual prices. My husband had the Steak Diane ($29.95), he liked his dish for the most part so that was good. I had the Linguine ($16.95), sorry but the linguine was WAY overcooked with no flavor. The pasta was almost mush; it was swimming in the sauce. The seafood it contained (shrimp, calamari, clams and crawfish - very little of each) was also overcooked. On the menu, it said it was linguine with basil pesto, but it was some kind of cream sauce instead. I didn't even eat half of it, I took the rest home but ended up just throwing it away (My husband couldn't eat it either). Just a note to Entertainment Book holders: The coupon is buy one, get one up to $13.00 (but they actually only take off $12.00) but I believe the least expensive meal on the menu is $13.95 (chicken breast) so just be prepared to spend more on the lines of $21.95-29.95 (that is the majority price range).

Overall, it's a nice place to relax and eat... just don't order the Linguine. From the other reviews, I'd say you'd probably have a much better experience going for lunch (which seems to be much more reasonably priced). Don't go for dinner, it's just too overpriced in my opinion. There are too many other restaurants in Houston who just have better food in the same price range or even cheaper (usually cheaper).

NAME: Better Lunch than Dinner?
SUBMITTED: 9/19/2005   LAST VISIT WAS: 09/05
FREQUENCY: Visited once

MY REVIEW: I reviewed Zin's after a dinner and just went back for lunch with two friends. Lunch was just as great as dinner. I had the crab-stuffed salmon and it was DELICIOUS!!! They have lots of excellent lunch choices and none were over $9.95. My salmon was $9.95 and it included soup or salad. I had the soup which was a seafood soup and pretty good, but I wouldn't say great. But like I said, the salmon was AWESOME! Service was excellent and the waiter even brought us free cheesecake for dessert which was also very good! I love this place and will be back several times!!

NAME: Michelle
SUBMITTED: 6/10/2005   LAST VISIT WAS: 06/05
FREQUENCY: Visited 2-3 times

MY REVIEW: I tried Zin's for dinner and was extremely pleased. The food was superb and service was impeccable. The ambiance and decor is elegant but subtle, and the location couldn't be better. I went with my husband and a friend. All three of us got something different and all three of us loved our food. I had the Five Spices Pork Tenderloin which was perfectly cooked, juicy, flavorful, and just plain delicious! I will definitely be back and I highly recommend this place.

NAME: Michelle
SUBMITTED: 6/2/2005   LAST VISIT WAS: 05/05
FREQUENCY: Visited once

MY REVIEW: The nice ambiance offers a good location to have lunch at with co-workers or vendors. They offer a very good lunch deal for $9.95 The quality of the food is excellent and staff friendly and helpfull.

NAME: Barbara
SUBMITTED: 5/10/2005   LAST VISIT WAS: 05/10
FREQUENCY: Visited 4-6 times

MY REVIEW: I love going to this relaxing, laid back place! The Wilcrest location is tucked back in a quiet corner which feels less chaotic at lunchtime. The lunch specials are Highly competitive and better than you'll find at most places (good to take a client). Last time I went, I was on a tight schedule and the waitstaff catered to my time constraints (thanks!). Good bar, great cheesecake, awesome entrees and appetizers (get the lobster bisque!). What more can I say? Owners are super friendly and professional. I recommend that everyone should check this place out.

NAME: Rachel
SUBMITTED: 5/10/2005   LAST VISIT WAS: 5/2005
FREQUENCY: Visited 2-3 times

MY REVIEW: Went first time for lunch and had very good meal

Service excellent.Fish is very good.Lunch best value $9.99 including entre and salad.Will definitely go back for lunch and we will try diner

Try the cheesecake to die for.

NAME: ADR
SUBMITTED: 3/12/2005   LAST VISIT WAS: 03/05
FREQUENCY: Visited 2-3 times

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