Zin Restaurant & Wine Bar: Reviews [CLOSED]

Zin Restaurant & Wine Bar: Reviews | restaurant info + video | full episode video

Pauline Stavaris
Name: Pauline
Occupation: Executive Assistant
Location: San Francisco
Favorite Restaurant: Zin Restaurant & Wine Bar
Reviewed Zin Restaurant & Wine Bar: Saturday, May 11, 2013

Jeff Mall of Zin brings all of California with flair from other American fare to your plate. Castroville, Liberty Farm, Shannon Ranch and Zin’s own Eastside Farm are present on this best of Northern California menu. With its warm atmosphere, classic American farm dishes, and table comfort food, Zin is a great place for a nice post-wine tasting dinner, date night or even a nice family dinner.

Start off slow with the hot and cheesy Castroville artichoke dip with crisp parmesan flat bread. The artichokes are roughly chopped and the cheese just dots the top so you can taste the artichoke when dipping the lightly crusted Parmesan flat bread. All the flavors in great harmony really shined with the Rose of Pinot Noir we started with; it’s warm and inviting. I’m most certain his warm Delta asparagus salad with Zin’s own Eastside Farm frisee and egg converted me to being a “poached egg on my salad” person. Runny egg yolks are not my thing oddly enough; I’m someone who has no problem eating offal or any other strange meat. After all, everything is also better with bacon and the crispy cheese. Next came the Crispy Duck Leg. This duck is crispy on the outside and moist in the center; couple that with the dirty duck rice and the creamed cabbage with their delicious house cured bacon and I could’ve been in New Orleans. The Candy Bar (a shortbread cookie with milk chocolate nougat, chocolate, salted caramel and peanuts on top) was split amongst my Seinfeldian friends and I (this girl does have to watch her waistline) and it’s the perfect choice for those who like sweet stuff and those who prefer a salty treat. You had to eat it with a knife and fork just like Mr. Pitt. Stick a fork in me I’m done. Until we meet again Zin…

Raphael Loperena
Name: Raphael
Occupation: Retired Sales Manager
Location: Cupertino
Favorite Restaurant: Copita Tequileria y Comida
Reviewed Zin Restaurant & Wine Bar: Monday, April 29, 2013

I visited Zin with three other friends on a Monday evening. We were very pleased from the moment we walked in. We were greeted very courteously and seated to our table immediately. Homemade bread and water came right away. Our server was very eager to explain all of the dishes on the menu, which she knew very well. The appetizers and salads were served within minutes; however, the main dishes took almost twenty minutes to arrive. I was delighted with my choice of salad which came with a crispy poached egg on top and it dressed the whole dish beautifully. The beer-battered green beans were very tasty and the mango salsa was a great complement. The New Orleans BBQ Shrimp was probably the best shrimp I have had with an incredible Creole sauce that was over-the-top good! My lamb shank was perfectly cooked, moist and tender, falling off the bone and the Red-Eye Gravy was absolutely delicious. The stone- ground grits were a great base for the meat and gravy and the chow-chow relish was also very good. I had the Candy Bar for dessert; the salted caramel sauce made my mouth water; it was so scrumptious!

Overall, the quality of the food at Zin was quite good and the portions generous. For the most part service at the table was excellent, considering that the whole restaurant was quite full by the time we had finished our salads.

The atmosphere was calm and pleasant, even though they have an open kitchen. I felt the quality of the food at Zin is of good value for the money and will certainly recommend the restaurant and go back to eat there again if I am in the area.

Omar Mamoon
Name: Omar
Occupation: Technology Consultant & Cookie Dough Entrepreneur
Location: San Francisco
Favorite Restaurant: Turtle Tower Restaurant
Reviewed Zin Restaurant & Wine Bar: Sunday, May 12, 2013

Zin does not win. In fact, it fails. Miserably. It’s boring and poorly executed.

We started with the Hot and Cheesy Artichoke Dip (incidentally a good descriptor of the restaurant). I find it hard to believe that one could mess up an artichoke dip, yet Zin somehow achieves to do so with the use of poor-quality brie.

We ordered two mains-- the first was a fried chicken special. It was very dry and poorly seasoned. I asked for a Crystal Hot Sauce in hopes of fixing this problem; my server arrived ten minutes later only to inform me they were out of Crystal Hot Sauce, but had “house-made” hot sauce which she promised was better. It tasted like burned leather. The chicken was served with a biscuit which was just fine and a bed of mashed potatoes that tasted like the stuff out of the box or from KFC (I imagine they’re the same).

The other main we ordered was a grilled hanger steak, which was actually cooked quite well. Unfortunately it was doused entirely in their house-made Z1-sauce, cute but unnecessary and overpowering.

The best part of my meal was the ice-cold Boont Amber Ale on tap. I would not return nor recommend this restaurant to anyone else.