Zen in Belfast

Delicious Dinner visit- all delicious and fresh and a lovely atmosphere. Our server was also fantastic, so attentive. Noticed when I dropped a fork and great keeping us topped up with drinks and anything we needed. Zen is always a great option as quality hard to beat!!

Exceptional food tonight for our large party service was excellent. The range of flavours and attention to detail in presentation was impressive. The cocktails were very sumptuous and it was great to see a selection of non alcoholic options. All in all a great dining experience!. Can't wait to go back !

For sure one of the best sushi restaurants outside of Japan.🌸

Can't speak highly enough about Zen. Definitely the best Asian food we have ever had

Booked for Saturday evening table for 2 . Restaurant was so busy. The food was ok but we were just rushed through the whole experience, so they could get 2 more people at our table. We got a gin each and a bottle of wine, starters, main, all the time they were coming to the table trying to rush us. After the main course we were asked if we wanted a coffee, not a sweet or to look at the menu for that, soon after we were asked if we would leave so that they could clear the table. There were no major service issues, they were polite enough but just so rushed. There are many good restaurants in Belfast, so there’s no reason to ever go back to zen, so we won’t, it’s too busy and too rushed.

Brilliant experience, food, music, service, cocktails all to the highest standard 👏👏👏

Visited on a very busy Saturday night and had to wait on table for 30 minutes despite booking in advance and paying a deposit (group of 10). Everyone enjoyed the food and the experience.

The restaurant is over hyped, the food was bland, we were forced to pay service charge even if the staff was rude to us for the whole time.

The vegetarian coconscious curry quite frankly blew my mind. One of the most delicious dishes I’ve ever encountered. Perfect taste, perfect texture, perfectly spicy. I love this place!

We were able to sort a reservation easily for 5 people on a very busy day, and thankfully Zen was perfect. Not only was the food just amazing, but the service may be the best I’ve experienced in Belfast. Our server was happy to answer questions, make honest recommendations (describing textures and flavours), and was incredibly attentive. Will definitely be back!

Beautiful place however was very disappointed with the food. We ordered the king prawn curry which was ok but a little tasteless and also the chicken teriyaki which was extremely dry, tough and very bland, this meal was not eaten and only given half its cost refund. Very disappointed and over priced especially when the restaurant was highly recommended

Like a lot of restaurants in Belfast the food leaves a lot to be desired. We had a platter which looked as if it came out of the freezer section of Iceland was tough and tasteless. None of us could eat our main courses the food it was covered in batter then some indiscriminate congealed sauce. I left feeling that my throat was swelling and lips burning…just horrible The decor was cheap and the waitress wiped the knives and forks with the clothes she’d given us to clean our hands. Mainly poor quality food

It is a very busy spot with a lively atmosphere. We shared the tempura basket which was, to my taste, bland. For mains the Monkfish in wasabi sauce and sizziling duck. While both were OK they were nothing to rave about and both were drowned in sauce. Looking around the other tables all the dishes seemed similar. So bottom line is it looks great and the menu reads better than it is and not worth the price tag. Plus they add a 10% service charge even for tables for 2 so that brought our bill for to to over £90 (incl wine) which for basic asian food is expensive (in my book)

Was recommended this restaurant, and it lived up to the recommendation. Lovely atmosphere, upstairs seemed nicer than down. Very impressed with staff attention, quality of food excellent, and loved the Japanese warm toilet seats. Definitely up for another visit.

Top tier restaurant. Service great, food great, atmosphere great. Very reasonable prices. Will definitely be back

Stunning food and exceptionally good service.

Visité aquí por primera vez en 2006 con mi marido y nos entusiasmó volver en nuestro reciente viaje a Belfast el fin de semana pasado con nuestras hijas adolescentes... encantador restaurante con personal amable, delicioso menú y deliciosos cócteles. Me encanta que este lugar todavía va fuerte

Todo estaba delicioso buen servicio y estaba contento con la comida y el servicio postre me hace feliz el personal me miró bien y el servicio era amable.

excellent food and service. bonus there’s a cute guy working on his laptop at the back

Tuvimos una gran comida en el Zen. Tuvimos uno de los menús establecidos para dos y nos quedamos impresionados por la calidad de la comida - delicioso sushi! El personal era atento sin estar encima - portando. Deliciosos cócteles también. Fue una noche muy concurrida en el restaurante, especialmente para un lunes por la noche! Sin duda reservar con antelación.

Fantastic food, fantastic service, fantastic bar staff who are happy to make custom drinks and recommendations - always a great night.

This place is amazing. I can't wait to go back

Delicious food and very attentive, friendly and efficient service. Had one of the best mains and desserts I’ve had in a long time. Thank you to Zen!

I feel this is an excellent place to eat. Food is always great, well priced and the service is very good.

This is a fantastic restaurant. The staff are absolutely amazing and cannot do enough for you. The hostess is lovely. If you haven't been before make sure you go

Delicious food and great cocktails. Service is very good. 10% gratuity added to bill automatically

Food was appalling and the manager was so rude and was yelling at me, when I I told Michelle (The Manager) the food wasn’t good she said “your people always love my food”service was horrible DONT GO THERE!!!!!

The food was very unpleasant and the service was appalling. The manager, Michelle was extremely rude and discourteous. Would not recommend

Very poor lunch variety for vegetarians, 1 vegetarian main. Very unimaginative. Teriyaki sauce was far too sweet. Waitress was very abrupt. Wouldn't return.

Forced 10% service charge is a disgrace. Why not just charge 10% extra on the menu and give customers the choice?? Especially for frozen food! This place used to be 5 stars a few years ago but has went downhill severely! Overpriced for ordinary food

Food, atmosphere and staff were absolutely amazing would def come back

Very impressed by this place, incredibly unique and delicious Asian food, tried the chilli squid and the wasabi monkfish tails, highly recommended this restaurant.

Fantastic food, lovely atmosphere. I'd definitely go again.

Friendly staff, the Irish fillet steak and pepper sauce is really tender, they do a range of food, very tasty. Also an early bird menu, but get there early as it can be busy, due to popularity. Update, as of 16th December 24, Booked for teatime meal, and was not disappointed, Got the dumplings for starters, really tasty, pan fried The wife got the crispy duck pancakes, also really tasty. The dumplings were cooked to perfection, and filled with chicken. The duck was succulent and had shredded salad. Mains were the combo for me, scallops, prawns, and fillet steak, with fried pepper and crochet, of which I had egg fried rice. The wife opted for the chicken in honey chilli, and egg fried rice. A really delicious meal, really enjoyable and filling. £ 60+ for both meals and drinks, coke, as it was from the teatime menu. Place was really busy, as open at 5pm and soon filled up. Parking can be awkward, as being December, quite busy with shoppers parking.

In one word, Faultless! Great atmosphere and amazing choice of delicious Asian food!

We were recommended this restaurant and it was fantastic. It is very busy but that is because the food and atmosphere is so good. There was also entertainment from two dancers who were brilliant and unexpected!! The price of food was really reasonable and we could have chosen loads from the menu. So tasty. We now also highly recommend this place. The only improvement would be a bigger bar as it was too small and the staff were a bit overwhelmed with the constant service.

A long wait I guess could be perceived as a good thing, however we visited for a 2nd time following a frustrating visit back in April of this year where it took 45 minutes to get seated from time of booked table. The same happened, albeit an improvement of ten minutes. I don’t understand the reason you need to book a table to then be sat in the bar area for over half an hour with many people. The food is faultless, the booking system is obviously flawed. Our booking was at 9pm for four people, we received our starters at quarter past ten due to the delay in getting seated. We left the restaurant past 11pm… Frustrating because we all enjoyed our meals.

The main course was excellent. The fish was delicious and the sauce excellent. Unfortunately the starter wasn’t to the same high standards. The platter for two was small and not the best quality. I also tried a sushi it was very good.

Me my mam and sister booked this place for a christmas meal out. We were really excited as i had been here before and highly recommend which i clearly should not have ! When we arrived we were told to wait in cramped bar area we didnt mind and order cocktails which were nice and the two bar men staff were nice. We then were seated a while after and order. We had to ask a waitress three times for our drinks as she forgot we didnt mind as placed seemed busy. My main came out with my side chips. My mam and sisters main came out at the same time with no sides? just meat and sauce.After about ten minutes we said it to a waiter she said it would be another ten minutes meaning they has mains lieing for 20 minutes we explained this and she didnt seem bothered. After 15 minutes still no side dishes so we told her to cancel them as there was no point the mains were cold. Still seemd unbothered. The frustrating thing was it was rice and chips we were waiting on and food was constantly being served to surrounding tables with this. When we got the bill it was all wrong which we told to what i can only discribe as rudess waitress i have ever met. she was clearly having a bad day or needs a career change! she rolled her eyes and made a face we then said we werent happy to pay the service charged and she rolled her eyes again and said we had to she was very intimidating and made us feel embarrassed! It was a horrible experience and i would not like anyone else to experience this so AVOID, AVOID!!!

The High Tea here is great value! The food was delicious, and the cocktails were excellent! The service was really friendly and attentive. Highly recommend it! 10/10!

Good food, excellent service. I attended as a member of a party of thirteen, and we were all served our meals at the same time, each getting the correctly ordered dish with no mixups.

My favourite food, and I can say that the sushi it was fresh, amazing quality. Nice presentation. Good service, polite and attentive staff. The atmosphere it was nice.

10s 10s 10s across the board!!!! We went for my husbands birthday 26/10/24 Service is outstanding! Food is lush! We got to take home the food we didn't finish too, absolutely incredible restaurant! No wonder they were soo busy and full of life ❤️ thank you for a lovely night xx

Very busy place. Great atmosphere and food was delicious

Just love this place!..Food excellent!

Outstanding as always the food is amazing

The food and drinks are incredible, I am in love with waiters and staff - you are really cool! Zen Signature main course was delicious as well as duck and irish steak in teriyaki. Sashimi was super fresh and presentation 100/100. Even Thursday night is busy so make sure you have reserved your table before come in. Highly recommend!

The food at Zen is delicious! I have never had a dinner there that I haven't enjoyed. They have a great selection of cocktails!

Visited twice during a three day holiday so you can tell we liked it! Cocktails are great value and well made with the food being of a very high standard and not too expensive for a city restaurant. It is a very busy place and can be noisy so don't go if you want a subdued romantic venue - we didn't and enjoyed it enormously. The sizzling chicken is served with a bit of theatre but I'll leave it for you to experience.

We had the set menu B. The starter was a boat of sushi, sushimi and maki, the wasabi was very good. The 2nd course was a variety of chicken skewers, duck samosa, prawn toast and spring roll. The prawn toast was excellent! I had lobster tail and beef for main. The beef was so tender and the lobster tail was half a lobster cooked to perfection!

Alex helped us with good vegetarian curry and rice. Great starters. Overall delicious food and awesome service.

Good food and good service - high side of cost though Sushi / sashimi is great Main courses less great Cocktail tasty but dont really feel any alcohol 10% service charge.... Very busy place and we had the bad luck of a bachelorette party happening there.. and the whole of Adele playlist playing xD Advice probably not to go when its busy and stick just to ordering sushi and be aware of service charge

Good Japanese food... Try the king prawn

Good Japanese food and fantastic service. Dragon rib, sashimi and bbq eel maki particularly enjoyable

My husband and I went there as a wedding gift. Staff were incredible and the food was phenomenal. The loveliest sushi I have ever had! 🤍 Manager was on hand and lovely. Honesty 10/10 we will definitely be back regularly.

Absolutly packed on a Tuesday evening in Belfast - This established restaurant was buzzing . We were very lucky to get a table- The manager has great personally and explained the menu in detail adding that if there was anything at all we preferred it was no problem - excellent food, great staff who joined in the celebrations of some birthdays that were there- Price wise excellent value but is unfortunate that top branded Coca Cola is not 4 should be on a restaurant of this calibre - I feel, however, that the decor is currently just a little tired and needs refreshed while still maintaining the warm and oriental surroundings that add to the overall dining experience - For good food , good service, and amazing atmosphere the. Give Zen a try-

If you need a change of pace your need to eat at Zen. So glad we did. Food was so good. Loved this place.

Went back here after a couple of years and was quite disappointed. Despite the fancy atmosphere inside, the quality of the food was at the standard of takeaway Chinese food - The food was bland and greasy. Staff were friendly yet not very attentive as it took a while to be seated as well as a while to get the bill (despite there being only 3 to 4 other tables there).

Amazing hospitality and restaurant in the heart of Belfast - Zen has to be one of the best places to eat in the country. Alex was amazing host and the meal was exceptional value 👍

I've been here numerous times, never had a bad experience. Meticulous attention to detail from staff gives an authentic feel to the experience. Of course will be back again! Book in advance

Not quite 5 stars, but my partner and I enjoyed our meal here. The first cocktails we had were incredible! We fot their set meal with for 2 people so got sushi, a selection of different starters, and one main each. Everything tasted good, but I can't say it blew our minds. The prawn toast stood out the most. I must say, the interior was beautiful! Overall, we enjoyed our visit and would recommend this restaurant if you like your Asian cuisine.

I must say, Zen is one of the most impressive restaurants I have ever seen decor-wise. The reaction you have when you walk in for the first time is "Wow." The cocktails are also really good, and the food is really tasty. We decided to go for the 3 courses meal, which comes around £40pp. As part of the meal, you get a sushi boat, the Zen deluxe platter (the Prawn toasts were absolutely incredible!), and a choice of main course (I went for the orange duck). For the price, you get quite a lot of food so make sure that if you go for the 3 course meal you don't have a big lunch! However, it's totally worth it!

Hands down, worst food I’ve had in Belfast. The chicken and the chips would break your teeth and the water is nice and warm, straight from the tap. For the prices this place charges, along with a mandatory service charge no matter what size of party you have, the food should be of higher quality. When asked how everything was, we told them that the cocktails are good but the food (of which we sent over 50% of back) is very poor. They just laughed.. Would not recommend this place at all.

Fantastic restaurant and the staff very attentive.

Went for anniversary dinner with my husband. Welcomed by the friendly desk staff and seated within minutes. Drink and food orders promptly served with high level of professionalism many places in Belfast lack. Food served hot and enough to fill average person- remember restaurants are here to feed you not fatten you. Drinks served cold. Customer services was beyond admirable. A first time customer with high recommendations for old and new customers to continue gracing this place with your presence.

Nice restaurant, lovely staff and good value food!

Food was nice but the chicken could have been better quality. When booking there was no mention of needing the table back, but after 90 minutes we were told to leave as they wanted the table back. That’s fine but let us know in advance when booking?

We visited Zen restaurant in Belfast last night for the first time and it was amazing. I had family home from Canada and they loved this Japenese restaurant. From the moment we arrived the service was 10/10. When we sat down we were given a warm cloth to clean our hands, the restaurant was full however the service was very quick. Our waiter was Alex, he was so friendly and gave us his reccomendations on the menu. We shared the chicken skewers and dumplins for starter. For mains I had the tofu, my aunt had a chicken dish and cousins all had sushi. All the food was delicious, we also had white and red wine and they were very nice also. If you're looking for a Japenese restaurant with a cool vibe in Belfast I highly reccomend Zen. We will definitely be back. The decor is also very cool.

100% 5 star review - if I could give more I would Table of 8, including a child, offered a hot towel as soon as we were seated, prompt food and drink service, a few high demands from the young one but not a bother at all for the restaurant staff to which I could not thank enough. Went above and beyond to cater to everyone’s needs. Food was amazing!! Served hot and to everyone’s likings. Unfortunately we were seated next to a table where a wine bottle was cracked and the tiniest shard of glass cut the leg of the punter. Obvious misfortune to happen in any place, but potential greedy pleasures seized by the said couple, To which they took the utmost pleasure in milking the situation. Being front row witness to the incident… the restaurant staff were on the ball in cleaning up and sorting the situation. Couldn’t do enough with level of professionalism, bearing in mind there were several young children in the restaurant and needed to be made a safe environment, but never enough for the couple whose partners “leg was hanging off” and in need of “dire medical attention and an antiseptic wipe” - (I’ve had worse cuts shaving). They’ll be the lesser few to leave a 1 star review, if not the only one, but don’t let that fool you. Two arses looking a free meal - hope her leg gets stitched back on - if not she’ll be known as sally. Picked her Bick razor cut. Genuine review left by a 100% first and definite returning customer, with recommendations to all that I know. It’s not ten out of ten It’s Zen out of Zen

Great place for Dinner, excellent Chinese Food 👍🤢 The decor is very plush and comfortable, and the Service is good. The food can cost a little bit on the high side, but it's worth it 👍

First time here, had to book week in advance, so worth it! Food was excellent as was service and staff! Special treat for my wife's birthday at short notice! Back soon.

Wonderful experience Delicious food Excellent service Great choice on menu for all the family Lovely atmosphere Would definitely go back

Wow this is a delight to the taste buds nice staff and so good food . In a food coma

Beautiful restaurant in the linen quarter of Belfast. We celebrated our daughters 1st class honours graduation. We have been before and ate on the ground floor, and this time we were seated upstairs and the decor is fantastic. The food is amazing and the staff are friendly and fun and provide a brilliant service. I cannot praise you highly enough. We had a wonderful time visiting you from Liverpool and we would certainly travel back just to eat there again. Thank you, beautiful Zen staff.

Food was decent but a little overpriced for what was on the plate, the place was beautiful inside and had a great atmosphere. Major issue was the service, felt somewhat ignored as we were only a party of two then they put service charge on and wouldn’t let us remove it despite pretty poor service. Don’t tend to leave bad reviews but this kind of thing can really sour your experience of a place.

Here we took some very tasty rolls with us I can recommend it. The service was also pleasant and the order was taken and delivered fairly quickly.

I LOVE this restaurant, such a buzz inside but the food in just incredible! I’m not the most adventurous but the Duck on Crispy Pancakes and Honey Chilli Chicken are just SO SO good!!

Had sushi all over the world and the sushi here was some of the nicest I have ever had. Yummy, fresh and presented really nicely

Food in general was OK however, I got wasabi monk fish tails, in my option it was very poor, monk fish was nice and well cooked yet there was no wasabi flavours or expected heat.

Wow is all I can say! Was the perfect dining experience. The food was amazing, the atmosphere, the service. Will be back

The most beautiful, authentic and tasty Japanese food I've had in the UK with excellent customer service. Amazing atmosphere. I'd definitely come back when visiting Belfast next time.

Our whole experience was very rushed. We felt under pressure to order quickly. Didn't get time to just enjoy our drinks, 3 times we had to tell staff we were not ready to order our main course. We were there for my partners birthday, first time there. I don't think we'd come back. The food was lovely, nothing special. Disappointed to be honest.

Really enjoyable experience, good food and service. We had a blast

The Must Fantastic food we have ever eat ....Staff lovely..Ambience amazing...Nd don't pass a Funky Buddha Cocktail 😁😁😁

Amazing food, drinks & service! Will come again☺️❤️

Delicious cocktails and food. Recommended by our Airbnb host and it was really delicious. Sushi, and other eastern specialties

We visited in May for my friend's birthday as a group of ten. This was my second time visiting with a large group, and again, we were squeezed around a table meant for six, despite booking weeks in advance. The staff couldn't offer a better option. We ordered cocktails, which arrived two at a time, about 10 minutes apart. One person didn't get their drink despite asking three times. Eventually, they brought three of the same cocktail, which we didn't order. After correcting them, they took two back. Another friend ordered a Diet Coke and received a Pepsi instead. When he mentioned it, the staff said they don't stock Diet Coke. The main courses were disappointing. My chicken was tough and rubbery, so I sent it back and didn't request a replacement due to the slow service. When the bill arrived, my friend's three cocktails, my returned dish, and a "Diet Coke" were all included (despite being told no "Diet Coke" was stocked). After requesting the removal of these items, only my food was taken off. I had to ask again for the other corrections. I also wanted to remove the service charge due to the poor service, but the waiter rudely refused. The only positive aspect was the quality of the cocktails, but I will surely not be returning.

Food was absolutely unreal and the service was exceptional. Would recommend to friends

Really nice vibe, great fresh sushi

This was, unfortunately, not great. Firstly, we were a group of eight but, upon arrival, we were left to wait, standing downstairs, well beyond our reservation time. Then the table simply wasn’t big enough to accommodate eight. Seven squeezed around while one more had to sit on a stool. Unfortunately, the meal wasn’t terrific either. Notably one order, for a basic sweet and sour chicken, was really poor - it is almost inconceivable that such a simple dish could go wrong. The place itself is very pleasant (if you go with a smaller group) and one server did try hard to manage a big group. But, to be frank, we will not be rushing back.

No idea why this place is recommended by Time Out. You could eat in a place like this in any big city (and dislike it there too). Average food, okay drinks, waiters seemed confused (walking around trying to figure out who ordered what drinks). Not authentic Chinese food in any way. On the plus side, it was fast and the upstairs part was very pretty.

Restaurant is beautiful and atmosphere very nice. A bit expensive, the portion of the food a bit small as well. I got the chicken teriyaki with vegs but just came 2 slices of mushrooms, 1 piece of asparagus, 2 slices of green peppers and that was all the vegs on my meal, I was expecting a bit more. The portion of noodles quite small as well for the price paid.

Very expensive sushi . Same sushi other place I can get it half price but here becoz of seating it’s most expensive . Not coming .

If you love an authentic Japanese food then you must experience Zen! The food was really amazing and it gave you the feeling of being in Japan but with an Irish twist! The food prices I would say is a bit pricey but if you are celebrating or just wanting to treat yourself then this place is worth every penny! In terms of food, there is plenty to choose from and they have also thought about vegetarian options! The staff are really friendly though I had to wait a bit upon clearing up the bill however overall I would definitely recommend this place where you will not regret coming here!

Food was disappointing,very bland.

Love the food taste and quality! Brilliant cocktails. Easily my fav Asian red in Belfast!!! Highly recommend

I could fly from Geneva just to come and eat here. The setting is superb, the service is more than 5 stars! Our server is so adorable! He took care of us like no one else. The dishes are absolutely delicious! Everything is so good! You absolutely have to come here! We took menu B and no disappointment! Special mention for the fresh fish 👌🏻👌🏻👌🏻❤️ the cocktails are fabulous! one of the best restaurants of my life!

Absolutely delicious food. Great ambience also ✨🤩

The food,service,the staff,are all great,the lunchtime menu is great value,give it a try you won't be disappointed

Great place, food was fabulous. The decor is modern and the staff very friendly. Highly Recommend