**June 2022 Visit: Sunday Dinner** First night in Durham and me and a group of colleagues were invited to dine at this local establishment, which was footsteps away from our hotel. Ambiance Absolutely stunning. Upon entering it's as if you were transported to an oasis. It has major trendy fusion vibes and is a poppin' place to enjoy happy hour with friends. Food/Drinks Soft Shell Crab (£10.50): The restaurant is very generous with the amount of pieces served in this appetizer portion; however, it it was as crisp as I'd like it to be and it was overly breaded. Tom Yum Soup (£7.50) This was very tasty and a very generous portion. There were many large size shrimp and the soup flavor was very fragrant. I would get this again. Lychee Lemonade (£5) If you want a beautiful, exotic mocktail this drink will impress this is your showstopper. The purple/pink syrup on top paired with fresh mint and lemonade made such a refreshing beverage. Recommended! Pad See Ew (£18.50) I'm not sure if I got the wrong order, but I think my dish was suppose to have both beef and shrimp, but I only got beef which was overcooked and the noodles had way too much soy sauce infused in the seasoning - it was extremely salty. I would not get this again.d Service It was good. Our orders were taken quickly and arrived shortly after. Summary Overall, some food are hit of miss, but if you want a lively spot to hang out this could a good option in Durham. Given its current 3 star average I would agree with this overall assessment. read more

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Food was good and definitely the place to get asian food if you are in durham. The music lists just dope shazam a lot of music and put it on my liked playlists damnn though. The vibe is so good too and dont forget to ask for 10% student discount!! Cheers! I hope this helps! read more

Extremely greasy pad thai, slow service and a strangely bossy waiter who demanded that we either all order starters or nobody could have one. The soup was overwhelmingly salty, but was otherwise okay. However, they do have one of the coolest ladies rooms in Durham, so I guess that's a good thing, right? You're definitely paying for the decor here, and probably the proximity to the court house. You definitely aren't paying for the attention to detail (yes, that girl is wearing a head-scarf. How about letting her know that the dish she's ordering has pork in it, since it doesn't say so anywhere on the menu). read more

Disappointed by the visit to Zen after seeing good ratings. Appetizers of salt and pepper calamari, and duck Rollie's were average. The main courses were worse. My wife's weeping tiger came on a skewer hung from a frame, but the gimmick did not disguise the fact there was absolutely no seasoning or flavor on the meat. Reminded me of a Gordon Ramsay episode. As a big fan of crying tiger this was worthy of a few tears in of itself. My eldest son had chicken satay curry, which was OK. Suspecting that all the food is served on the bland side I asked that my Beef Rendang be extra spicy, but to no avail. It was more like a peanut dipping sauce and no presence of any heat. Service was not great and altogether too brusque. When we asked that a child's portion of tempura chicken could be ordered as a starter for my youngest son, this was a big problem needing management consent as though it had broken some rule. Zen markets itself as Asia fusion cuisine, but all it fuses is rather poor bland food under a generic label to disguise its lack of substance and authenticity. read more

Overall delicious food. Particularly good value at lunchtimes. Recent price increases at dinner mean that I can only really recommend for lunch. The service leaves something to be desired, which is the great drawback. Staff are sometimes rude, but the surroundings are pleasant and the atmosphere good. read more

Very awful service. A sever was very bad attitude. I forgot the name of dish I ordered before. I describe it to the sever, and she responded super rude and impatient. She told me I must remember the name and she force me to leave. She is very rude every time. No manager take care of this issue. You have no place to complain!!!!!!Customer in this restaurant has no right. The awful service and sever are famous in Durham!!!! Never go here if you don't want to be forced leave!!!! read more

Do not eat here, worst customer service ever, waitress didn't speak or look at us when shown to table, rude. Food tastes weird and totally below parr. read more

Went back to Zen yet again when forced to for a group party. Ordered a huge selection of things and none of it was good. It just seems like mediocre microwave Asian food. Nothing has a strong flavor, it all tastes about the same - bland, boring. read more

I love this restaurant. As you approach it there's a beautiful view of Durham Cathedral between Zen and the Court Inn. Went in for lunch today and had a huge bowl of Sukhothai soup and we ordered the mixed Dim Sum. Presentation, flavours and service were all excellent, absolutely gorgeous food and the place was really busy. I'm normally driving so I have the ginger beer which is not for the faint hearted, it's hotter than the chilli oil, I have it every time! read more

Although difficult to find Zen is well worth the effort. Hidden away next to the law courts, Zen offers what they describe as Fusion Cuisine a melting pot of far eastern influence and true western glamour. There are two menus on offer, one for the daytime and an evening menu. I can only really comment on the daytime menu as I have yet to visit on an evening. The daytime menu focuses more on lighter food such as wraps and noodles and is nice for a quick bite to eat with prices around $6.50. read more

This has to be the best Asian restaurant in Durham. The setting and decor are top class and the food does not disappoint. As a regular visitor to the Far East I feel that this is the most authentic cuisine on offer locally. I have friends who travel from York and Newcastle for the Dim Sum alone. Also serves the best Mohito it town. read more

WATCH OUT, this restaurant does not meet safety standards when serving food! While the food is good, the customer service is terrible, and the waiting staff does not respect basic safety standards. We came to the restaurant with our 9 month-old baby. When bringing the main course to our table, the waiter passed a very hot bowl with soup directly, just a few centimetres over our baby's head (the baby was sat in a high chair).. The soup could have easily spilled, or the baby could have moved and I fear to even imagine the consequences of the heavy dish or the boiling hot content landing on his head. Moreover, the customer service is ALWAYS unpleasant in the restaurant, with waiting staff basically making you feel like you are a nuisance and acting like they want to escape as soon as possible when taking the order. The staff is curt and does not smile. ON the top of that the staff always gets our orders wrong (on each visit - 3times now - they mixed up orders or drinks or the final bill). This was absolutely the last time we came to the restaurant. I have a dreadful fright whenever I imagine what could have happened to our son if he move suddenly or if the waiter lost his balance. I am writing this review not out of spite, but to warn all the people to be very careful with this restaurant especially if you come with small children. read more

Zen is difficult to find near the court House but if you can get a table it is lovely food. Well worth a visit at least ones. It attracts a lot of posh students here as its pretty trendy in town but thats the way Durham is going these days. Uphill. read more

Food was amazing, fresh and delicious. Service was perfect, bit expensive but worth it for a treat

Really lovely, fresh and fragrant food. Popular place with the locals

HI, We have gone to Zen about 10 times and to date we have not been dissapointed, the food and service is always very good, we even recommended Zen to our parents who don't do foreign food and they thought it was very good also and have been back more than once. read more

I did not want to try it again after 3 not so good meals but popped in for lunch one Saturday at the sugestion of a friend and it was actually not bad, priced well, service fine, and i would go back based on that visit...... if i had not been pushed in to going I would have written the place off after my previous visits but I do think that it seems to have improved and the amount of people eating there seemed to confirm this. read more