House of Zen in Sunderland

The manager was really miserable we had a 21st cake first word as we arrived you can't eat it here.The food unbelievably poor my husband can eat anything but not here 2 bags crisps when he got home .This is over priced poor food and management need to understand their purpose. DONT WASTE YOUR MONEY

Absolute garbage… went here this evening and ordered 2x curry’s. Chicken tasted very strange and had a rubbery/watery texture. Think they are using some sort of prefrozen/microwaved/boiled chicken but honestly would say this is one of the worst meals we’ve ever had. The waitress asked us how our meals were and we told her straight how bad it was and the poor waitress said I’ll see what I can do and get it taken off the bill, but then came back and said I’ve spoke to the boss and he won’t take anything off the bill. Great customer service, nice touch! I recommend if you see this place on the coast… keep driving… it’s shocking like!

We came to Bar88 as it was dog friendly and had a really interesting menu. We both had the salt and spicy mixed with chips. It arrived within 5 mins of ordering and was dry as sticks with frozen chips. Beige and salty.

Great place on the beach. Staff very attentive and smiley. Overall the food was good, however the chicken skewers were over cooked and tough.. the pork belly was like old leather. For a bowl of prawn crackers you’ll pay £3.60. Again nice place but very expensive. I understand high costs due to staff and location but food should be excellent too

Poor, over priced, tasteless food. Steer clear, too many good restaurants around to waste your money here. Asian fusion food shouldn’t be that hard to get wrong but they did - even the rice was poor.

I genuinely can't understand all the negative reviews of the House of Zen here. This was our first visit to the restaurant and we had a very enjoyable meal. There's a huge menu to choose from. Our meals were nicely presented and tasty. The waitresses were friendly and cheerful. The place is really smartly decorated in an Asian / Chinese sort of style. It's not huge so was relatively quiet, making for a relaxing meal. And we thought the price was pretty reasonable for what we had. As I say, I can only think that the submitters of the negative reviews are deliberately trying to put people off going to House of Zen for some reason, or are picking on little unimportant things that happened not to go right when they visited. Please ignore them and try it for yourself. I really don't think you'll be disappointed. Sadly we leave Sunderland tomorrow, otherwise I would definitely want to go back to House of Zen again.

Used to work here and the place is horrible cutlery was never washed properly the people would never take hygiene seriously and used to just drop cutlery ect on the floor and pick it back up and serve to customers manager treats staff like a peice of 💩on there shoe and like there so much better than you when there not and also if some of your food falls of ur plate when being served or anything the girls who worked there would just pick the food from the floor and put it back on the plate to be served

Was greeted by the manager Rae who I thought was very rude I only asked if there was a table by the window so we. could view the sea and was abruptly told no . Anyway there was a lot of young waitresses constantly playing with there hair one was biting her nails and another one was chewing gum . The sharing platter was very expensive £14 and very small but what was there we could not fault,, the main dish came hot and at the end also carried a 10% service charge

Been a while since eating here. Got takeaway, £39.40 for 2 starters, 1 main 1 boiled rice and 1 fried rice. Ribs dry as sticks and tough ( overcooked). Duck pancakes ok, honey chilli chicken, terrible, chicken tough but outside soggy and bit chewy, NOT MUCH TASTE.. if i had not of ordered it i would never of guessed what it was.. . Food not worth £10 let alone £39.40. Not be back. I relise why some of our friends have stopped going here.

Family members visiting from Worcester, which is far from the sea, wished to dine somewhere with a sea view. Never having dined there before, but impressed by its location, I suggested visiting the house of Zen. This turned out to be an excellent choice. On booking I asked for a table on the eastern seaward side and this is what we were given. The restaurant itself is roomy and attractive. The menu is interesting and comprehensive. My two guests who are more knowledgeable than I about Asian cuisine were most impressed.. My niece said that her starter of ribs was the best she remembered having. The whole party enjoyed the food, the drink and the service. All in all, it was an enjoyable experience, and certainly one I would recommend

Last minute surprise first time visit. Lunchtime menu was amazing. Staters -King prawns huge and very tasty. As was my husbands satay chicken. Both main courses were very tasty ( black bean chilli chicken with mushrooms and Thai green chicken for me - served with boiled and fried rice).with the meal we had 1x pint of Stella and 2x half pint of same. Surprisingly the 1/2 pints were just about half the cost of the pint which is very surprising as you are normally charged a premium for ordering 1/2 pints. In total inc of service charge was £46 + change. I think this is exceptional for such a good experience with lovely polite staff. Will definitely return

We popped in on spec after walking from Roker - what a pleasant surprise food was delicious Would highly recommend and we will defo be back ! Nasi Goreng so tasty Thank you

Decided to visit while down the sea front for a walk. Excellent 2 course lunch time menu. The restaurant wasn’t busy we were seated straight away. Drinks orders were taken. I went for the soup & my partner the salt & pepper ribs. I went for the Thai red curry with egg fried rice & my partner the salt & pepper chips with salt & pepper chicken. It was all lovely. Enough for us to share. The staff are always helpful & cheerful

Absolutely fabulous service. Freshly cooked food well worth the wait. Amazing wine selection. Staff were so friendly and attentive. Extremely satisfied.

Visited with party of friends, went in bar 88 for drinks. Man at bar making offensive comments to all ladies at bar. Went into meal, food average, frozen chips! In a restaurant with these prices I would expect proper cooked chips. Went back into bar, man still being offensive, one couple left because of him having left their drinks at the table. Man then told to leave but a bit of a confrontation in the bar. Not made for an enjoyable experience. Staff slow to respond to customers who were being offensive. All in all not a very good experience.

I have attempted to contact the restaurant on 3 occasions prior to posting this for a response but, unfortunately they did not respond. We ordered a takeaway from the House of Zen on 29th October 2023. It was a special occasion and ordered a takeaway from here as a treat. When the food was collected initially, it looked good but, on tasting the meal it was bland, lacked flavour and not what we were expecting from an Asian restaurant. The deep-fried vegetable dumpling didn't seem to have been cooked fresh and was rubbery as if it had been reheated. The vegetable chilli black bean and mushroom was absolutely nothing like what I expected it to be. It was a watery sauce, had about 4 mushrooms in which seemed to have no flavouring, seasoning, definitely no chillies and a consistency/taste of a gravy that you would have with a Sunday lunch, including how the vegetables were presented in the dish. Also, the traditional beef and black Peppers we ordered was like a paste consistency, and thought it would be like a saucy base with vegetables as well as the beef? Again, not a lot of taste other than an overload of pepper? To say we were disappointed was an understatement and its wasn't as if we selected a cheap meal from a cheap takeaway! I really feel disappointed with the overall experience and feel that in order to avoid disappointed customers in the future that a detailed explanation of what the dish entails or a picture of what to expect would be very useful. If we knew our main dishes were going to look and taste like that, we would never have ordered them. We expected an Asian food experience in the comfort of our home but instead, we were left hungry and disappointed.

Really good food. Some old favourites and new innovative dishes. Would definitely return. Also good to know Bar88 next door is dog friendly xx

Birthday meal for my wife. The restaurant was clean and comfortable. Service was good. Food was lovely. A little expensive though.

We went in for lunch time speacial, food was nice , but think it's a bit cheeky to put a service charge on a lunch time menu without informing you, I would usually tip half that amount on a lunch time , I seen a...

We enjoyed our food though it was a tad pricy for the amount you got. Had a table overlooking the beach. Service was hit and miss. Staff not trained properly in the deliver food and clear away tasks. Be advised they add a SERVICE CHARGE....

Don’t know why we didn’t read the reviews before we went !! We went for our granddaughter’s birthday we had to wait ages between courses the young staff were very nice though doing their best ..food was nice the reason I give two stars is...

Check your bill! Charged for 3 bottles Budweisers only ordered two was corrected when pointed out but hadn’t realised I’d been charged £4.60 per bottle (outrageous price) then got home to discover a £7 service charge no one mentioned been voluntarily or compulsory. May not...

I nearly didn't come here due to some of the terrible reviews, however the restaurant was recommended by a family member so we came for lunch. I'm so glad we did, 4 of us had a delicious lunch. We couldn't fault it at all. Food...

Me & my friend came here for food & drinks before the pink concert. Food was amazing & staff were lovely. The views are lovely if your near the windows.

What a fantastic meal we had. The setting was amazing, looking out over the beach. The food was some of the best Chinese I’ve ever had. Lots of gluten free options too for my partner. It was that good we went back the next night....

Always enjoy calling in Bar 88 for a drink as it's a great location. Lovely views overlooking the sea and pleasant outdoor seating area at the front. On this occasion we decided to try a bite to eat as feeling peckish but unfortunately we were...

What can I say? For a place with such an envious setting, it is by far the worst eating experience I have ever had. Dirty table for a start. Horrible old dirty menus. The food arrived literally 5 minutes from ordering which is always suspect....

We asked for a table around 8:30PM, aware that it was late and the restaurant may not be accepting at this point. We were told a firm, blunt “yes” and were swiftly sat down. After ordering some drinks we were told that we could only...

We called around 5 ish yesterday for tea, but didn’t stay. The menu was a bit disappointing, not much in the way of imagination, it was fairly empty, and the music (ELO and Elton John) wasn’t great, I felt it was dated and that it...

Family birthday treat..menu looks excellent..thought we would try something different...unfortunately the Asian spice didn't come through ..meals were edible but quite bland...and had to add extras to meal..ie rice /veg/potatoes which were very small portions ...for the price you pay not worth it...maybe because of...

Ordered from the lunch menu, it was very reasonably priced. Food was gorgeous and staff were lovely.

The food, service & restaurant were all amazing.Couldn't fault a single thing. Ignore the haters, if you're only going out to moan then do the world a favour and stay at home, the world doesn't need any more negativity. Will definitely be returning. Special mention...

Came here for a friends birthday with a group of us. The food was excellent staff were friendly and polite would definitely be back well worth it. Also great value for money.

Went here for a work trip while up in the north east. We had a customer with us, so thought it would be good to treat them. Unfortunately the evening was ruined when a staff member spilt spilt an espresso martini over me, the jumper...

Where do I start? We called in on the off chance and had the lunch time 2 course me nu. The only thing I can say was nice was the chicken and sweet corn soup. The rest awful. Thai red curry with chicken- tasted nothing...

Please eat else where! Haven for bid you don’t like their food. My wife and I walked in for lunch and ordered thai red curry which was horrid, it had a thick gravy like consistency with pieces of chicken in it which was the cheep...

Great atmosphere and music, attentive staff. Food was lovely, if a little bit pricey. But we all enjoyed it. Extensive menu.

Been coming here for a number of years now. Food was exceptional when first opened but now not so sure. Had to put salt on food 3 times as it was tasteless, also food portions were slightly smaller for the price now but everywhere is...

My Mum is 92, disabled and can only eat soft Food. I explained this, requested soft veg in her meals, and was told No Problem by very pleasant waitress. Veg were crunchy. I sent them back twice before she could eat them. The Manager was...

Excellent location. Very nice and attentive waiting staff and great food. Kudos to the nice waiting staff… highly recommended

Good food. Excellent service but not sure if it was genuine or intimidation by the supervisor pacing the floor. Did not like addition of service charge which does not go to staff, we asked and were informed they get a share of cash tips only,...

Amazing food and great service. Haven’t been here in a year or so as thought it was just okay before that but went last night and the food was incredible, really really nice. Service was great nothing was a bother. Will definitely be back soon.

Great place nice and cozy. We ordered couple of starters from their menu what was well presented tasteful and just great! The mains were also tasty and the portion size was huge. Overall we had a good time. Definitely will be back!

This place is my absolute favourite in the world! The food is AMAZING, and great value for money. The views are stunning! Staff are fantastic! I’ll always return here.

Came here to celebrate a special birthday. It says something when the dessert (cheesecake) is better than the main food. Absolutely awful crispy won ton, hardly any filling, sesame toast was okay. Soup was horrid, green Thai chicken was okay , had better from other...

We booked for restaurant week. The post on their website does say excluding Saturdays (16.00-18.00) so looks very misleading, we had a table booked for 7.30pm and we're refused, management said it was Sunderlands Council fault (voucher said excluding sundays) for wrong advertising and was...

If you’re looking for a nice meal, I would steer clear of here. The food was ridiculously overpriced for the quality; I shared the salt and chilli king prawns and a Thai red chicken curry with a friend. The prawns were stringy and hard due...