House of Zen

Featured reviews

• L

  Lauren Wade

  ·1 month ago

  “Me and my family booked a table to celebrate my Mam’s 70th birthday. We arrived with a balloon for the table and a cake to be brought out after our meal. We were quickly informed that although they are happy to present the cake, we will not be able to eat the cake in the restaurant due to policy. After we enjoyed our meals, which were tasty, hot and large portions (we even took some home), I decided to speak to the general manager about why we couldn’t eat the cake we brought, as the concept just didn’t make sense to us. This is something we have always done at various restaurants. I was faced with a very rude man who kept saying it was policy to not eat the cake in the restaurant. When I asked him to explain why because I didn’t understand, he said (whilst holding his fingers up to count) “One… you’re not allowed to bring in your own food to eat in the restaurant and Two… he didn’t know the ingredients and therefore it was not safe”. I could understand if we brought in a McDonald’s to eat but it was a shop bought cake! I told him that he can read the box for the ingredients and that I wasn’t asking him to eat a slice, that he didn’t need to know the ingredients. He just continued to say no and repeating himself. I explained that we were planning on getting coffees to go with our cake and up until this point had already spent nearly £200 in the restaurant. He kept telling me no abruptly. I finished the conversation by saying I’ve never known anywhere like this and explained I’d be leaving a bad review, he just said “Okay” and walked away from me. Another member of staff came over afterwards and apologised saying she agreed with me, that they used to be able to but not since the new general manager started. She gave me a knife and some napkins so we could at least cut the cake and each take some home. Lovely food - shocking service from the general manager! I can see from reading other reviews, he seems to consistently be this way! We asked for the service charge that they automatically put on the bill to be removed and we sadly won’t be back.”

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• T

  Tristan Mupedziswa

  ·1 month ago

  “Amazing great quality food, wonderful kind and happy staff aswell as a amazing view of the sea and sky”

• A

  Alvin Mhembere

  ·1 month ago

  “The food is so excellent for a good amount of money and a great view”

• C

  Chloe Cliff

  ·2 months ago

  “Unfortunately, we had a very disappointing experience. The food was extremely dry and, despite ordering several dishes, we barely touched any of it. The service was also very slow. Our plates were left sitting in front of us for ages, and we eventually had to call the waiter over ourselves to have them cleared. No one asked how the meal was, although it was fairly obvious from the untouched food that we hadn’t enjoyed it. Overall, the food and service were both well below what we expected from a Pan-Asian restaurant. Sadly, we left feeling disappointed and wouldn’t be in a rush to return.”

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• A

  Aaron Mehtab

  ·2 months ago

  “ZEN Sunderland – Very Disappointing Experience Unfortunately, our experience at Zen in Sunderland was really disappointing. The food tasted and felt like it had been cooked from frozen, which was especially disappointing for an Asian restaurant at this price point. The quality just wasn’t what we expected, and overall the food was a real let-down. The service was also very slow, and what made the experience worse was the lack of care from management. There didn’t seem to be much urgency or concern about the issues we were experiencing. Despite not clearing a single pate, We didn’t ask for a discount or expect anything for free, we paid the full bill. However, considering the quality of the food and the slow service, I would have expected at least some acknowledgement or a simple gesture of apology from the management. Unfortunately, the lack of customer care left just as much of an impression as the disappointing food. Hopefully this was just a bad night, but based on our experience, we wouldn’t be rushing back. Unfortunately food was very below par,”

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• S

  Steve Shooter

  ·2 months ago

  “Lunch time meal, lovely, friendly service. Great views of the sea!”