Zest Restaurant

Very nice ambience ! Food is alright, I ordered a cordon pork and it was not to my liking very dry tasted like it was over cooked. Service is weak

This is by far one of Staten Islands best restaurants! The cocktails are made with the freshest ingredients and the food is amazing. The duck is by far the best I’ve ever had. The outside seating area is beautiful. The staff are very friendly and attentive. The owner Oxsana makes you feel at home and personally checks on you throughout your meal.

The food? mediocre. I would call this the Olive Garden of french dining. If the food is good I’m usually hesitant to give bad reviews, but in this case the customer service was so terrible, I would give it –1 star if that was an option. Staff is unpleasant and rude. Do not use any groupons/​yelp offers here because they will give you a hard time about it and will not honor it. The manager, the hostess, the waitress and the server is all one person. Unfortunately staten island doesn’t have many options for french food which is a bit sad, but take the trip to the city or Brooklyn for a real french experience.

Simply put this restaurant was amazing. My office staff was taken here tonight for a seminar for one of the medications we use for patients.
We ordered and LOVED all of the following appetizers… Escargot, fried calamari, cheese plate, Brie wrapped in puff pastry, beet salad, French onion soup which was not the best I’ve had but still delicious, spring rolls, and grilled shrimp skewers with pineapple. Each appetizer was perfect.
Then on to the entrees. I had braised short ribs which were divine. The other ladies ordered Salmon, Lamb, filet mignon and trout. Everyone raved about their dishes.
And finally dessert! I had the warm apple tart with vanilla ice cream, I loved it!
Other ladies ordered crème brûlée, chocolate soufflé and one other item which escapes my memory.
So overall this place is gorgeous, romantic in setting and the Chef knows what he’s doing! The staff was also friendly and on top of everything all night.
Well done Zest!

Zest was excellent! I came here with my wife for dinner and the food was great. I had the braised short ribs which were soft like butter and tasted phenomenal. My wife had the salmon which was very good also. The service was excellent. We were waited on by an English gentleman who was very professional and also personable. We sat in the garden, which is very nice and relaxing. The u also have a great beer list. All in all this was an excellent experience, between the great food and service. I’d highly recommend going to Zest.

Very expensive so all we had was the calamari. It was okay. Wait staff was very very patient and friendly.

Was recommended to this restaurant by a friend. Beautiful décor & outstanding menu of items. It’s a shame to rate this as a 1, but this was by far the worst service I’ve received in my life. We arrived around 9pm on a weekend and had to wait a few minutes to have the hostess come and find that we have arrived (we had reservations, as well). There was an engagement right before we arrived, so we weren’t upset about the few minute wait.
We sat down and ordered rose wine and escargot as an appetizer. Both were delicious. After getting the bread, the waiter was nowhere to be found. We never got a refill on our wine. Our order was taken about 30 minutes after we sat down (by a different waiter). The bread dishes, the escargot dishes, the bread absket and the dish that was used to serve the escargot were never removed. We had to request a re-​fill on wine and told the woman that approached us that we hadn’t seen our waiter in a while. After another 30 minutes after finishing our food, we were not approached and offered dessert, a re-​fill for wine, or the bill. I had to go in the restaurant to the hostess stand and request my bill. There was no concern in why I was upset.
Such a shame, both the escargot and the duck (entrée) were superb. Will never return.

The ambiance, décor, food and service was great. The outside area in the back is a must-​try. Our server was Phil, who made the experience that much better.

Went there last week with my wife. The atmosphere is pretty good, nice décor. This place has seating in the outside in the back and its pretty romantic. This looks to be a converted appt building with the second floor. The wine-​list exists however two selections I tried to order were not available.
The service was pretty good considering silverware was not clean but once the waiting staff was notified they replaced it promptly.
The food — appetizers were not great I ordered spring rolls and my wife fresh mozzarella. Mozzarella tasted like it it was bought from Costco and spring roll tasted awkward, had big chunks of peppers inside and was not to my liking. Moving on to main course, lamb shank and the liver we ordered were good. Desert, crème brûlée was very good not a lot of sugar and very light I do not recall what my fife ordered but it was not good.
In conclusion, this place charges NYC rates and considering the spend I expected better quality overall. I will not be a returning costumer.

I have to say– this place has the most beautifully decorated outdoor garden seating that I’ve ever seen. Compliments to the owner — impeccable taste! This place has that European charm to it. The picture is worth a thousand words, so I’m attaching a couple to my review. The food is good– nothing super crazy though– we, New Yorkers, are a bit spoiled when it comes to food. I definitely disagree with people who were trashing the food, although I wouldn’t come to Zest just for food– I would come for their outdoor yard dining experience.

Went for a Birthday gathering and the food was on point as I had the Foie Gras and the Short ribs for an entrée. Liked it so much I plan to take the wife there!

The place is cute and so is the staff and the food but it is overpriced. I will not come back. It is like 85 $ a person for a restaurant on staten island!

I recently brought my fiancé there on a date. Great food great service. Gorgeous décor. I actually had worked here as a waiter for 2 weeks about 5 years back right out of college and the food and quality is still great. The staff is friendly, the drinks are delicious. I recommend literally anything on the menu. It’s all good.

Beautiful décor. Great atmosphere. Our waitress was super nice. The food was delicious. I ordered the salmon… Yum! Great spot for a date night.

Great restaurant! The waiter and waitresses are very helpful. It has a cozy ambience. The food is delicious, and for the prices, everything is worth it. I will revisit

Went once, and will NEVER go back.
THE GOOD:
Whimsical and very elegantly decorated restaurant, there is something that catches your eye at every turn. Nice staff.
THE BAD AND UGLY:
1. Literally everything I ate, was horrible:
Half Dozen Blue Point Oysters — WERE SERVED WARM. SMELLED FOUL.
and the shells did not appear to have been cleaned. GROSS.
Rack of Lamb — Was dry and overcooked.
Apple Tart Dessert — Was a joke. I would have been better served buying a frozen
one from trader joes.

Beautiful space and lovely décor in this cozy French restaurant. French playlist also added to the ambiance. When we arrived we were greeted by the very friendly owner and attentive staff. The service was wonderful and our waiter was very knowledgeable about the dishes and helpful, often walking over to our table and inquiring if everything was to our liking.
We had escargot, which was excellent in pesto sauce.
Beet salad with goat cheese was fresh and tasty.
Lamb shank with mashed potatoes — great dish with falling-​off-​the-​bone and very juicy meat.
Steak served with french fries and spinach definitely satisfied our cravings. Perfect touch of butter on top of the sizzling steak brought out a lot of flavor.
For dessert we had profiteroles and soufflé cake, both equally delicious.
Martini with lime were very good as well.
We enjoyed our dinner and walked away very pleased with food and service. Will come back again to try new dishes.
PS The outdoor courtyard is absolutely lovely in the summer time and warmer weather.

Let me start by saying that Zest has a beautiful décor. The dining room is very pretty and romantic for a date night or for relaxing with friends. We had an early dinner reservation with our friends on a Saturday night. This might have been a 4 star review if not for the slow service. Except for asking if we wanted more beer, our server did not once ask us how our meal was or if we needed anything else. The apps were good, including French onion soup, spring rolls and mussels. For main courses our table had the lamb shank, veal cordon bleu, salmon and I had the scallops. Each came with a nicely done side of a trio of vegetables including cauliflower.
The low point of my diner was the seared scallops. They appeared to be pan fried on both sides producing a crust like a potato pancake, not seared. Not a good choice.
The desserts were excellent and I especially loved my choice, the chocolate soufflé, which was airy and light and served with fresh whipped cream.
I will have to come back here again and try another one of their menu choices as they have a good selection.

Celebrating my Bond Girl’s birthday, we went to Zest on Bay Street in Staten Island, on the recommendation of a friend. That friend just went up a couple rungs on the friendship ladder. :-)
The staff seated us promptly, on a nice Wednesday late afternoon, in the garden room. It’s a covered enclosure open at the translucent ceiling where the tree grows through. The skylight added a soft even light that made the center fountain stand out and reminded me of restaurants we’ve visited in Rome and Florence.
It’s listed as French style cooking, however. My meal began with a succulent onion soup with a chewy flavorful gruyère cheese. It was, like my date, a delish dish.
Naturally, clown that I am, I chose the Scottish salmon in a buttery mustard dill sauce. The salmon was grilled, hot on the outside and warm on the inside, it’s soft and delicate flavor competing with the dill quite nicely. Any more reduction in the sauce might have overwhelmed the salmon. The sauce was a smidgen too buttery but better than most coverings for a grilled salmon.
I should have shied from the Columbia Crest Chardonnay, an otherwise good wine, and opted for a Pinot Gris. Still, the dish was consumed heartily and enjoyably. Paired with sautéed escarole and potato au gratin, the meal was filling. Crime brûlée followed with a decent cappuccino. Unlike most brûlée, this one was not overpoweringly sweet, a pleasant variant.
They have an attentive staff, jovial as well as expert in their craft. Honestly, I’ll gladly go back and try more of their menu which included grilled scallops, roasted lamb and pan seared shrimp.

It’s been a while since we ate at Zest, and I’ve written about it before. We went tonight and I had to come back to share the wonderful dining experience we had. It’s all about the food — period!
We started by splitting an order of escargot and one of their house salads. They just know how to prepare and serve food here. The escargot was fresh and perfectly prepared. We soaked up the wonderful sauce with the warm bread we had.
My wife had the special bacon wrapped monk fish and I had the scallop special. WOW! Both plates were incredibly flavorful. The scallops were served with light and fluffy jasmine rice and a wonderful side of greens. My wife’s monk fish came with perfectly cooked fingerling potatoes and greens,
We capped this perfect meal by splitting a bowl of three individual sorbets with wonderful ginger cookies.
If I am going to go out, and spend money on a dinner — THIS is what I want. Wonderful flavors. Food prepared very well. And service to match the food. Zest is one of our favorite restaurants on this Island.