Restaurant Review: Café Zoe
Photo courtesy of Cafe Zoe.
Every once in a while, you need a restaurant that makes you feel like you’re anywhere but, well, here. That for that hour or two, there exists the tantalising and entirely implausible possibility that you’ll walk out the doors and somehow be in Paris or Rome or New York. Some establishments here accomplish that via the food (The Table) or the decor (Pali Village Cafe), and it’s often those that manage to do one or the other, or in a happy meeting, both, that tend to become regular haunts. Add to that list now Café Zoe, the cafe and brasserie that’s popped up around the corner from Blue Frog and Busaba in the Mathuradas Mills Compound. Café Zoe achieves its escapist fantasy through disarmingly simple decor and furnishings, the offer of an all-day dining spot, and an affordable menu that spans from breakfast to post-work munchies with a non-judgemental charm (breakfast is offered until 5pm).
The owners Tarini Mohindar, Jeremie Horowitz and Viraf Patel have wisely chosen to leave the space’s industrial rawness intact—there are exposed brick walls, a scattering of sturdy wooden tables, a rack displaying books and mismatched crockery, a large open bar, a pastry and deli counter, and patterned sofas that, along with the customers, add most of the colour to the decor. With high ceilings and large industrial-sized lights, it perpetuates the illusion of eating in daylight, when in fact you’re not. In short, it’s the sort of happy place that throws in free wi-fi for those who want to make an afternoon of it.
The menu, created by Patel (he formerly worked at The Table), is one of the better designed ones we’ve seen in the city, with neat little illustrations and a clean typeface that separates items into soups, legumes, poultry, meat, breakfast, salads, sandwiches and seafood (we’ll even forgive the typos; tiramisu is spelt tiramisou). Like most cafe fare, it’s a disparate mish-mash that draws from various countries, particularly those that relish a generous hand of butter and cream. The crab and celery salad, served in a capped glass container which allows you to toss in the lemon dressing and shake it yourself, was perhaps the only thing we had that erred on the low-calorie side of the fence. With onions and iridescent fish roe, it was a light palate cleanser, the kind that amply preps you for the fatty assault to follow. Of the pastas, the roast pork belly carbonara, with a sprinkling of chives and cuts of fatty, speckled pork belly skin, and the spaghetti bolognese, with carrots, peas, rosemary and chillies, were stand-out dishes. The cheddar cheese gnocchi, coated in a thick, nutty sauce, and the steamed rawas and its buttery bed (we had ours with mash potatoes though you can choose from a variety of sides), came a close second.
The peas and carrots were used as garnish for the tenderloin steak as well, which was passable and a tad chewy and brought up unwelcome associations of British Airways in-flight meals circa the 1980s. The pumpkin risotto, in a cadmium yellow sauce, was too soupy and stodgy (probably from being overcooked) for our liking; the taste of the promised vegetable was almost imperceptible. Of the dessert, the panna cotta, a quivering mass of vanilla-dotted pudding served in a glass ramekin, was outstanding; though the strawberry coulis topping, which tasted like it had come from a tin, was overwhelmingly sour. The tiramisu had far too much cream whipped into the mascarpone (ideally there should be none) and too few ladyfingers. Where Café Zoe needs the most work is surprisingly then its pastry section—the croissant was doughy, while the cupcakes were dry in parts, and undercooked in others. Strangely, they offered all basic coffees but a macchiato.
That said, for opening week, the service was Royal China-quick, and the fumbles few. Judging by the crowds, word has clearly already gotten around. If you work or live in the neighbourhood, congratulations, you may have just found your new favourite lunch and/or post-office watering and eating hole.
A meal for two costs approximately Rs1,800.
Tags: Cafe Zoe, Jeremie Horowitz, Lower Parel, restaurant reviews, Restaurants, Tarini MohindarCafé Zoe
LocationMathuradas Mills Compound
126 N. M. Joshi Marg
Lower Parel
Phone2490 2065
HoursMonday to Sunday, 7.30am to 1.30am
Websitewww.cafezoe.in
Comments (77)
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And to respond to your pointed barb about the chef, it seems that you too are one of the anti-Viraf bandwagoneers that Viraf’s peer Alex Sanchez has declaimed very strongly in this string of responses. I find it quite absurd that you think you have the authority to comment on the choice of this chef as a partner when (a) you don’t know him; (b) have never eaten from his table. It’s the equivalent of telling a doctor his diagnosis was wrong, because your friend’s friend’s aunty told you that it was.
Ivan – that is an unfair comment to make to someone who is sincerely trying to accept and respond to feedback. Just because a person with English as a second language may not make the right choice of vocabulary (e.g. “precious” vs. “valuable”) doesn’t mean they’re being condescending. While his attempts to respond may be a little overly lengthy, they appear to be quite sincere — and perhaps the people who haven’t had the best first experiences should take up that second chance the restaurant is asking for, to know if it is really sincere. I have, and enjoyed it – where the service may need a good dose of discipline, the ambience, warmth of the hosts, and quality of food more than make up for.
Jeremie,
I must admit that I’ve been following the commentary of this review simply for the drama that it’s seemed to illicit. Nevertheless, I find you utterly condescending and your commentary equally useless. I won’t waste my energy wishing harm unto you or your business, but it’s pretty obvious that you’ve made several errs in judgement… number one being your chosen chef/partner who everyone seems to hate. The petty comments may be irrelevant, but the fact that so many people dislike Viraf should be a warning sign to you. Anyhow, keep defending yourself and your restaurant, because I’m really enjoying the show. But you may want to ask yourself how much longer you will be willing to be on the defensive side. I definitely don’t envy you.
Hey,
Salil, Thanks for your informative and highly constructive feedback (yet again)! Your precious suggestions will all be taken into consideration.
Mary Jane: well, the great part of it is that we are still one of the most viewed/commented stories on the Mumbaiboss homepage and every day we have plently customers coming for the first time intrigued by some of these feedbacks… and they all leave content and satisfied!
Namita, Thanks for coming and dragging your boyfriend along!
and YES, the burger buns and everything else are home-baked and YES good service is a real challenge in Bombay but we are working on it. Hope to see you soon again!
to all: Today is Monday and we have amazing natural light welcoming you at Café Zoe would you be in the area!
Cheers,
Jérémie Horowitz
Founder & MD
Jeromie
Seems the way you guys have startedyr restuarant in a trial-and-errore method.Why shd we approach you for any problem.Whewn we come to a restaurant we expect value-for-money and top class service.The feedback from me and many above shows ther owners themselves are suffe3ring from poor leadership.Such problems never shd occur in any restuarant including a start-up.Dont know about others buit Im never coming back to yr restaurant.The Rs 2,000/- I spent was an utter waste in every which way.
Morning B,
Firstly, thank you for your feedback.
All reviews from the various blogs, magazines and newspapers have been absolutely overwhelmingly good, so I imagine something must have occurred to taint your experience at so many levels.
As mentioned to Deepti, Rajesh and others; would you decide to visit us again at Café Zoe please do make sure you bring any issue to our attention – we will be more than happy to correct them directly. Tarini, Chef Viraf and/or myself are myself are always at the restaurant and more than happy to help.
Not to mention that all feedbacks/critics are really valuable to us considering we are in full teething mode.
Food-wise, our veg burger (and all the other ones) has had outstanding reviews by hardcore vegetarians but I will definitely have it myself today (though I’m non-vegetarian myself) so as to test it out. I will double check why there was too little or no any pesto in your tomato mozzarella sandwich. The breadbasket normally get some foccaccia and a mini round baguette, but I will look into it. Note that the Toasted bread is homemade and people have asked us to add it in the basket at multiple occasions, hence, it is today part of it (but not only).
Regarding the waitstaff, well, this is one of the most challenging aspect of the business but we are doing the best we can… we tried to implement a flat horizontal corporate structure in the kitchen as well as on the floor instead of the deeply engrained hierarchical vertical structure but old habits are hard to change. But we will get through!
This is the exact reason why Tarini, Viraf and/or me are always present at the café-brasserie-bar.
Thanks for your kind words about our fab decor.
Rest-assured, we are hands on and trying to correct all possible problems at the earliest.
Would you do so, please do let me know when you visit us next, I’m always at the restaurant, just ask for me!
And thanks for your kind words about the feel of Café Zoe!
Cheers,
Jérémie Horowitz
Founder & MD
im not the one who usually leaves comments specially negative ones but this place definitely needs to stop for a few days/weeks, have some hardcore trial runs where they can improvize on almost everything and restart (hopefully with a bang)! the place itself has a great feel but service, drinks, food are quite a disaster! the veg burger falls splat on my 1st bit, the tomato mozzarella sandwich which supposedly was to be served with pesto, had no pesto, the bread basket had toasts though the bread sticks were fab!. the waiters need a lot more training and should practice yoga and meditation coz one of them came to our table and while talking to us was abusing another waiter!! there could be a great future for this place but in a place like mumbai noone gives u a second chance (something the owners need to realize)
Dear Salil,
That’s fair and good!
I’ll get my bartenders do get you a special non-alcoholic drink then!
They have some amazing concoctions in their sleeves.
Best,
Jérémie Horowitz
Founder & MD
Sir,I donot drink at all.
Hey Salil,
How are you?
No assumptions here. Apologies if you felt I was assuming so much. However, would you visit us again, please get in touch with Chef Viraf, Tarini or myself. There is always at least one of us present at Café Zoe. All three are happy to meet all customers and address any possible problem.
We make it a point to visit all tables and take direct feedback (good or not) from all customers.
The chances of you having such a striking experience and none of us, owners, being there to attend to it are slim, but it can happen I suppose. Hence, would you decide to visit us again, we would be happy to understand exactly what went wrong so we can correct it at the earliest.
Regarding our pricing and value-for-money, I would like to bring to notice that at 150 rupees a Kingfisher pint and 150 rupees a 30ml Smirnoff… we are amongst the most economical in town! So if you don’t come to eat, you can still come to drink!
Have a great week Salil,
Cheers,
Jérémie Horowitz
Founder & MD
Never knew the business could be so bitch. Well played by Alex. The haters have been found out.
Jeremie
I donot know why you think or suggest I wl come back.1 bad experience is enough.
Finally made a trip to the much talked about Cafe Zoe and I have to admit, I did have fairly high hopes. The decor/ interior was neat and fairly relaxed – nothing to pretentious – which was nice. However I wasn’t impressed with the food at all. I ordered an iced cappuccino which was dilute and room temperature with no ice in it at all! The prawns and calamari ajillo was also a bit under cooked and had to be sent back. At first I thought the bread basket was complimentary (from the way the waiter pitched it to us) so it did come as a surprise when it showed up in the bill! Nonetheless, the selection of breads could have been more than just the average white bread, ciabatta buns and 2 cheese straws. Have to say, the menu looked and sounded fantastic – for breakfast all the way to dessert.. but now I’m a bit skeptical.
In spite of the initial negative comments on this review, my boyfriend and i decided to check out cafe Zoe for ourselves. We’re so glad we did! The food is excellent and was promptly delivered – there’s a good selection of items on the menu for vegetarians, which my bf is, the fries are possibly the best I’ve had in Bombay so far, my tenderloin burger had just the right amount of done-ness, and I’m fairly sure that my burger bun was baked in-house. The attention to small details in the food is inspiring. In terms of ambience, the decor matches up well with the food; unpretentious and relaxed, plenty of breathing space, and the kind of atmosphere that makes you want to become a regular. The only feedback I’d have for improvement would be that there seemed to be plenty of waiters who were free but it took ages to get service for things like water or a dessert menu. Other than that, I look forward to coming back. Cheers!
Hey Salil,
How are you?
First, Thank you for visiting us at Café Zoe.
The entire team here really appreciates honest and informative feedback. Thanks for your constructive critic.
However, as most other reviews from the countless blogs, magazines and newspapers have been absolutely overwhelmingly good, something must have occurred to taint your experience at so many levels.
As mentioned to Deepti and Rajesh; would you decide to visit us again at Café Zoe please do make sure you bring any issue to our attention – we will be more than happy to correct them. Tarini, Chef Viraf and/or myself are myself are always at the restaurant and more than happy to help.
Not to mention that all feedbacks/critics are valuable to us considering we are in full teething mode.
Please do let me know when you visit us next, I’m always at the restaurant!
Have a very good weekend Salil!
Cheers,
Jérémie Horowitz
Founder & MD
Was there earlier this week.Yr prices are NOT calue-for-money.One doesnot mind paying what you guys charge but this is a case uf too much style and not much substance.Yr quality of food is just 5/10.Unless this improves ,yr restaurant maynot substain longterm.Not likely to come again.My trip from Juhu to Lower Parel just to visit this place was most disappointing.
K, thanks so much!!! Looking forward to seeing you at Café Zoe!
The comments section make me want to go to the restaurant more than the review now !!
Morning Aishwarya,
Thanks for driving all the way down and apologies about your so-so experience.
Most reviews from the various blogs, magazines and newspapers have been absolutely overwhelmingly good, so I imagine something must have occurred to taint your experience at so many levels.
As mentioned to Deepti, Rajesh and others; would you decide to visit us again at Café Zoe please do make sure you bring any issue to our attention – we will be more than happy to correct them directly. Tarini, Chef Viraf and/or myself are myself are always at the restaurant and more than happy to help.
Not to mention that all feedbacks/critics are valuable to us considering we are in full teething mode.
We aren’t advertising “teething problems”, we just saying that we are currently in teething and that we are just not perfect…
Staff training is always challenging but we are doing the best we can…
Thanks for your kind words about our fab decor.
Please do let me know when you visit us next, I’m always at the restaurant!
Cheers,
Jérémie Horowitz
Founder & MD
We drove to Cafe Zoe all the way from Santa Cruz with high hopes. But we found it odd that there was a written sign out front alerting us of “teething problems”. It was like an “enter at your own risk” kind of a sign. Everything pretty much fell apart after that. Rude service, bad food. The decor is fab, but I was disappointed by everything else. Not a horrible place, not a great one. It’s just sooo weird that they put up a sign advertising their issues. It’s one thing to be honest with your guests but it’s another thing to tell them your restaurant might not be so great before they even walk in the door.
FIVE STARS!!!!
Four of us went. We had the sweet potato/leek soup, crostini, fish and chips, sea bass and provincial. Everything was EXCELLENT. Highly recommended. Will keep going and next time for breakfast.
Ck: Thanks for your sweet words and your detailed review!
To answer some of your queries:
My reputation (and probably my Belgian citizenship too) are on the line.
- the fries, though not hand cut are of superior quality. Being myself from Belgium, I had to make sure we deliver BIG TIME on the fries!
- the red & yellow pepper crostini issue will certainly be looked into at the earliest
- Dessert, our best-sellers are the Cheesecake, the Tiramis(O)u and the creme brulee! Do try these out next time you visit!
- the menu indicators are currently in “R&D” as those might just end up cluttering the menu. While we are figuring this out please do feel free to ask Tarini, Chef Viraf or myself or any of our waiters for such indications.
Thanks again for your honest feedback Ck.
Hope to see you soon,
Cheers,
Jérémie Horowitz
Founder & MD
heard good reviews. Will be trying it out within this week.
Question for Nayantara:
1800/meal for 2 = = affordable?
I go to Cafe Zoe three times a week, and I live really far away from it. I find it to be the kind of place that just allows me to feel at home — a bit like a giant kitchen party (you know — the kind of house party where everyone eventually gravitates into the warmth of the kitchen around the food and drinks). There’s no rush to move diners from their tables, the bar staff are friendly and mix a mean watermelon martini, I’m not literally rubbing elbows with the diners next to me or conscious of my conversations being overheard, and I appreciate the occasional hello from Zoe’s hosts, who are friendly and considerate, but not intrusive. And the music — this is the kind of place for people who like to go to bars to drink and be able to hear each other speak, and still have a lively environment that welcomes the ‘I really want to dance to this song’ patrons.
My favourite foods there:
- Bar foods: The chicken liver pate and the fries. I tried the mixed peppers-pesto crostini, and while the flavour was good, the spread was served a little too cold and mushy – considering its peppers – for my taste — it felt a bit like out-of-fridge and onto the melba, the the oils in it coated my mouth. I’d have preferred it slightly warmed, and a little more crunchy. I’d like to know also, if the fries are processed or hand cut. They’re the perfect beer accompaniment, but I do sometimes wonder if it isn’t McCain’s.
- Menu: the crab risotto is stellar, the pork-brioche sliders are perfect; the savory cut by a slightly sweet brioche. I haven’t tried the burger yet, but I’ve heard so much about it, that I must. I love the pumpkin risotto as well.
- Desserts: don’t like the chocolate cake. To stodgy and not sure what that layer of white is in between — it’s think enough to be a glaze, but quite flavourless. I’d lighten it up a bit.
- Would be nice to have some indicators on the menu (Vegan, Low Cal/Healthy for example).
As for the Table/Cafe Zoe name-calling on here: I’m a fan of both places, and I think the food at both is fantastic. But we’re talking about 2 totally different ambiences here, and 2 equally superb chefs with very different ways of putting food together. They both make food for the soul, and they both make me a really happy diner. But I like to go to the Table on nights that need to be quiet or intimate. And I go to Zoe because it’s where you can schlep in and out and feel at home.
Thank you all for your feedbacks, support and kind words.
To all those who feel that Café Zoe has not delivered the hoped experience, please do make sure you bring any issue to our attention during your visit – we will be more than happy to correct them and make sure we turn you around. Tarini, Chef Viraf and/or myself are always at the restaurant and more than happy to help and listen.
All feedbacks/critics are valuable to us considering we are in full teething mode.
Wishing you all a lovely Sunday.
Cheers,
Jérémie Horowitz
Founder & MD
I checked out this place yesterday. It has a fantastic ambience. The food is not spectacular but it is certainly not bad. I had the ham and cheese sandwich with a cappuchino. Overall i think these guys have a winner on their hands. I guess that is what is pissing off all these people who are raving and ranting.
It’s sad to see that so few of these comments have anything to do with Cafe Zoe. I feel embarrassed on behalf of all the people who have to decided to bring their personal grudges into what could otherwise have been a reasonable and fair discussion.
@Puneet Malhotra
You’re terribly misinformed about Chef Viraf’s involvement with The Table. He was an integral component to our success and his contribution was invaluable.
What’s most disappointing about all the catty commentary is that it’s deliberately hurtful and misguiding to others… AND IT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH FOOD! I feel uncomfortable that both my name and The Table has been associated with it.
@Chef Viraf
I wish you nothing but the best and I’m sorry you have to put up with this shit.
just a question, is it wise for a jain to visit?
if comparisons are being drawn to indigo deli, they have fabulous options for jains and moshe’s menu for jains is superlative as well.
if there are no options then you should think about including that in your menu and if there are options then i would love to come and try cafe zoe out at the earliest.
eagerlyyy waiting a reply. i am a stones throw away.
Cafe Zoe,
I have read the Good, the Bad and the Ugly.
All of it could not be good, All of it could not be Bad.
Ugly are the comments submitted.
The food, the ambience and the price all play an important role to the eating out concept.
I will make sure that I go ingonito and rain bouquets or brickbats as required at Cafe Zoe itself instead of the slanging in mind space.
Minoo M. Patel
Wow, the simple truth is that there are too freakin many unhappy competitors and half assed Chefs and opss not to forget wannabe gastronomes leaving comments here.
Zoe, in itself works, and what makes that happen is the food. Affordable,comforting (Jewish soup for the Soul),more than just tasty, (Duck and the tenderloin),simple & wholesome (very rare burger).
Moi will be back again & again. Will also stretch myself and make it to a morning breakfast sitting. So I say to the rest of you go see & eat, let the FOOLS Be Fools. Great job Chef, far from a line cook, u be a Bishop in the Church of Gastronomy, may ur detractors linger in a culinary purgatory defined by Golden Arches and Specticled Smiling Southern Gents.
THAT SH*T CRAY!
Wow! Chef Viraf seems to have won the jealousy and contempt of many people( read other chefs, restaurateurs and their respective friends with lots of time at hand to display their incapacity to do anything else but sulk and write bad comments on mumbaimirror under fake names)… I say cafe Zoe should thank these guys for making this post so worthy of coming back to. After all who wants to miss out on this Spanish soap opera-esque drama.
Do these people even know that their identities can be clearly seen by the way they write?
Dont want to be taking sides in this epic battle of fake identities vs real people but then…
@ Puneet Malhotra- I would rather eat at a restaurant of a glorified line cook than a restaurant of a chef who is so busy chasing @** that he hasnt seen a pan in several days.
One more thing for team “fake names” get creative with the names atleast.
@Puneet Malhotra
All your name calling *he’s just a glorified line cook* and bitchiness suggests that you have a personal bone to pick with the chef. Its one thing to have an opinion but slandering someone’s name on a public forum makes you come across as petty and immature.
I have not been to Cafe Zoe yet, but your snarky comments have already whetted my appetite.
Also, in case you were not aware, ALL great chefs start off as line cooks.
Great ambience and loved my chicken burger and cheesecake (actually one of the best cheesecakes I have ever had). Seems better priced than Indigo and Saltwater while offering better space. A bit hard to find, but I suspect that maybe part of the charm. Only complaint is that music was a bit hit and miss- thankfully was not at a jarring volume. I’ll be back!
Went over on Day 5 with my mum and 4yr old. Loved the ambience and music – felt like i was in Soho, NY.
Greek Salad – was good, ingredients were fresh,
proportions good.
Chicken with peppercorn, grilled veggies – the sauce was delish, chicken was flavorful, veggie portion was a little small (but then, i always want more veggies wherever i go)
Shrimp with spaghetti – special order, not on the menu. My daughter wanted shrimp, and the only one on the menu was spicy, so Chef Viraf came over and offered to make a special non-spicy one for her, with spaghetti. It was delicious.
Ham & cheese sandwich – not outstanding, but solid – cant complain, and it satisfied a comfort food craving.
Chocolate orange cake – this was lovely. Had bits of orange in a layer in the middle, with a dark chocolate cake. Loved it.
We polished off ALL the food.
Both the chef and Tarini came by multiple times to check on our food, take feedback.
Will we go back ? most definitely yes. I think this place could end up being up there with Indigo Deli, KGC, Suzette, Chez vous, Moshe and yes, Table.
My $0.02 : I think the critics on this page are being overly harsh – this is the first week of the restaurant, and its NOT an easy business to be in because there are so many variables, and everything needs to come together to make a great experience. Chez vous is one example where they had significant teething problems for a while, but i’ve been about 4 times in the past 3 months, and the food has been outstanding each time.
@Chef Viraf
I really appreciate your response, but I think that if you r going to make things as common as carbonara and spaghetti bolognese, a chef of your experience should be able to make them really exceptional. In my case they were not. And your lamb burgers, one of my favorite things on the Table menu, were a shocking disappointment, dry and chewy. Maybe it would have been wiser to work out the kinks before putting your reputation on the line like this. I’m sorry but I’m not in a rush to go back. Your prices are definitely low, which is a plus, but I’d be happier at a place like Smokehouse Deli and even happier at a place like the Table.
Sharan
Table is my favourite restaurant too. I hate to burst your bubble, but Viraf was just a consultant for their kitchen layouts and recruitment of man power. The menu and food is Chef Joey Altman & Alex Sanchez’s creations and Viraf has nothing to do with it. This has been confirmed by Gauri the owner of The Table the last time I was there and asked for Viraf and in her words she said “Viraf is just a glorified line cook”.
This was proved when i had a horrible food experience at Cafe Zoe. The Table rocks and kudos to Chef Alex Sanchez. I wish Viraf and Cafe Zoe all the best. Cause with this kind of food Cafe Zoe has a limited shelf life
Dear Ritesh,
We all appreciate your honest and informative feedback. Thanks for your constructive critic.
However, as most other reviews from the various blogs, magazines and newspapers have been absolutely overwhelmingly good, something must have occurred to taint your experience at so many levels.
As mentioned to Deepti; would you decide to visit us again at Café Zoe please do make sure you bring any issue to our attention – we will be more than happy to correct them. Tarini, Chef Viraf and/or myself are myself are always at the restaurant and more than happy to help.
Not to mention that all feedbacks/critics are valuable to us considering we are in full teething mode.
And you are very right Ritesh all the three restaurants you mentioned have outstanding food!
And I do visit Woodside too as often as I can! Maybe we will meet there!
Cheers,
Jérémie Horowitz
Founder & MD
Hi Viraf, I will be coming back. The Table is by far my favourite restaurant in Bombay, and I will not give up on you so easily!!!
Looks like a great spot, I just hope they don’t suffer from the ‘too many chef’s’ syndrome: The likes of which has destroyed many high potential eating establishments (Che Vous comes to mind).
I personally think Cafe Zoe is a complete sham and making a mockery of its clients. I agree with Sharan & Deepti the food was like hospital food and very small helpings are definitely not value for money. I rather be eating at a Indigo deli, Smoke house deli or Woodside. I was amazed to find simple and basic food screwed up by the chef.
The menu is a copy of dishes found across the city and yet a very poor imitation. Mish Mash is the right word for it.
And i don’t agree with the writer, cause my food took for ever to be served. I think i will stick to Woodside better food, pricing and ambiance.
Hi ketan
The menu at Cafe Zoe was created to be simple and easy to order from, the creative stuff and and the magic is yet to come in, in the form of our daily specials… since we’ve just launched – ‘in teething mode” the specials are scheduled to be launched next week.
Cheers
Chef Viraf
It would be unreasonable to expect a new restaurant to be perfect from the start. As Jeremie pointed out, Cafe Zoe is indeed going through its teething stage. One thing that struck me most about Cafe Zoe, however, was the lack of creativity and excitement in the menu. When Chef Viraf opened The Table it was something few of us had ever experienced. It was something great and original, as it still is very much so. I was disappointed to see that Chef Viraf has taken d easy way out and given us barely passable replications of overdone recipes.
I beg to differ from the others as I had an amazing experience in terms of food and service all the 3 times I was there. The ambience is simply out of this “country”. And Chef Viraf was always around checking on his customers and ensuring that they had a great culinary experience. I am definitely going back more often. Way to go Zoe!!!!!!
(Adi & Stephanie)
Hey Deepti,
Sorry to hear your experience did not match up your expectation OR our level of experience delivery to all patrons.
Would you decide to visit us again at Café Zoe please do make sure you bring any issue to our attention – we will be more than happy to correct them. Tarini, Chef Viraf and/or myself are myself are always at the restaurant and more than happy to help.
Not to mention that all feedbacks/critics are valuable to us considering we are in full teething mode.
Also, regarding the comparison with Indigo Deli, I think you refer to an article from a competing blog (not sure i can mention the blog name here). The comparison was purely a price comparison from the writers. And you are totally right, the Indigo food is absolutely outstanding!
Best regards,
Jérémie Horowitz
Founder & MD
You’re one to talk about forgiving typos. Your first sentence has one! “Every once and a while, you need a restaurant that makes you feel like you’re anywhere but, well, here”
Looking forward to my first visit!
Hi Sharan
Sorry to know that you had a bad food experience at Cafe Zoe. I am not sure what went wrong at your table with regards to the food, and i wish you had brought it to my attention immediately. I am always happy to take feedback and improve our offering.
I’d would be my honor if you would consider coming back and giving me a chance to make it up to you.
Regards
Chef Viraf
I am completely surprised too for during my visit the food was below mediocre. I think in an earlier mention of Cafe Zoe, the writer mentioned a similarity to Indigo Deli, well let me tell u the two spaces are incomparable because the food at Indigo Deli is outstanding and so are their portions.
Im a little surprised to read such rav reviews on Cafe Zoe. Its a fabulous looking place place, but I found the food extremely lacking. We ordered the Greek Salad, Lamb burgers and Veg lasagna, and the only thing we fisnished was the salad. Perhaps I was expecting a lot from an ex chef of The Table, but the lasagna & burger tasted like hospital food!