Zest Cafe & Home Art

The food at Zest was excellent, however, there was a lack of ambiance. A little background chatter is nice,... more

Granted, I haven't eaten here in awhile, but when I did, it was a hit or miss, as far as service. Foodwise, I only had one bad experience. The waitstaff did not seem to want to be at work. I felt sometimes like I should apologize for being a customer. EVERY single time I visited this place (probably about 15 times), my table's drink orders were wrong. Every. single. time. My father-in-law asked if they served iced coffee and the waitress said ""what the??? who drinks iced coffee? Is there really such a thing""? Food has always been great except for one time when I think I went too close to closing as we were served cold, dried out food. I would have preferred they had told us the kitchen was already closed, or in hindsight, I should have sent the meals back and just paid for my drinks. The items for sale in the gift shop are very nice but the prices are absurd. I will definitely return here though, as the food is generally very good. more

I USED to love this place and loved to shop there. So much so that for a special treat from my husband, I received a $50 gift card. I was so excited to spend it but when I finally was able (4 kids/ 3jobs), I was told it had expired the week before. I thought if I had talked to the manager he would honor it (I was also planning to spend more than $50 in the store). He and the lady at the counter said no way, the money was already accounted for in their budget. I even explained it was for my birthday and my circumstance and it did not matter in the least for them. They have now lost my business and any recommendations more

I have always loved both the restaurant and store UNTIL now.... I bought a handful of expensive christmas ornaments which they took off the tree and wrapped for me while I ate in the cafe. My two small girls opened them up to be crushed when the huge ice cream cone 6"" ornament had an obvious gaping defective hole in the blown glass which they wrapped up and gave to me. I never would have bought the ornament if I had seen it. Now I am living out of state and I have to mail it back to bet store credit....really? On top of this I had to tell the store clerk four times I did not buy two other ornaments that she kept trying to put in my bag. So they would have given me free ones in the store but not when it is their fault? more

My husband and I enjoy eating at Zest. You can ALWAYS count on the food and we have found the wait staff and owner to be very cordial. The surroundings are nice with available shopping afterwards. Really, it's a favorite place for us. We highly recommend it! more

My family and I go to Zest as often as possible! I always have a great meal, the quality of the food and creativity of options are always top notch! I feel like it's a home away from home, as the staff is so out going and remembers your name, favorite item on the menu, it's rare to find that combination these days! The shop is adorable- I love browsing for any upcoming gift- when I go to a party people always get so excited to see a Zest gift package (they wrap them so cute)- and typically there are quite a few of them!! The selection of merchandise is fantastic- the buyer has quite the eye- as I can find something for myself (which I always do!!!), my girlfriends, husband, co-workers, etc!!! Pros: fresh, local ingredients, friendly staff, consistantly great Cons: wish there were more locations! more

The food is incredible! There is something on the menu for everybody. They have a sanitation score of 100.5 and the waitresses, though busy, give great service. The shop is really cute too and everyone in there is always eager to help. I would definitely recommend to anyone! Pros: friendly waitresses, great food, clean, nice shop more

I walked in last night and told the owner (he was the host) that I needed a table for two outside and that my friend was coming in just a minute. He mumbled something and proceeded to seat two other parties. Then I thought he must have misheard me because clearly there were tables available, so I asked politely, ""Can you tell me how long the wait is for two people outside""? He glared at me like I was an idiot and said abruptly, ""I will seat you when your other party gets here. You can go have a seat over there and wait."" I turned around and walked out the door. I won't ever go back there. Pros: Food is good Cons: Rude more

I not go back to this restaurant. And go to other restaurants. At this restaurant,employees- management and waitresses,salespeople are continually rude to me and people I eat with. There are alot of other restaurants in the Raleigh area. I get better service and cleaner. This restaurant not always clean. The employees not clean it up. And see the dirty place.And the food is better also. Cons: many more

I took my mom to what should have been a wonderful lunch outing yesterday. This restaurant had been recommend by a close friend. From the moment we walked into the cafe, the staff were rude and aloof. It was our first time there, so we weren't sure of how to be seated as there was no sign and no one was at the hostess stand. When the hostess appeared, she was rude. Our waitress was arrogant. The restaurant and store staff looked as if they were at a wake instead of there to provide customer service. They all looked tired and perhaps should retire. That being said, the food was very good. We each had a very nice salad. The store was very cute but the staff couldn't be bothered with providing any customer service. It's really a shame that such a lovely place is packed with bitter staff. Pros: good food, cute store Cons: rude staff more

some of the employees told me they are leaving.bad management. low wages and the owners are not a nice couple. not get many tips. the atmosphere is not nice.rather go somewhere else.not many benefits.and the merchandise is expensive. rather go to another place to work. more

I eat lunch at Zest quite often and I always have enjoyable experiences there! The waitresses are just about as nice as they could be and, for the price, I don't think you can beat the food. The brie sandwich is my favorite! Lunch can get pretty busy, but I never really have to wait more than about 15 mins or so (if I even end up having to wait- just get there early) and the store has such cute stuff that it's usually hard not to buy something while we wait. If I know that I'm not going to have much time to sit and eat I'll call in an order to go since I work in the office park right across the street. It is very convenient and I still feel like I'm eating healthy! Pros: being able to get food to go, friendly staff more

I love this little cafe! The quality of the food is above and beyond even most higher end restaurants in the area. The service is great and the wait staff is very friendly. I had a wonderful experience this holiday season when I decided to let Zest cater a small dinner party for me. The food was amazing and received great raves! The preparation was all done for me I just had to re-warm and serve. The owner helped me plan the meal and the chef did an outstanding job! It certainly took all the stress out of the evening for me. I highly recommend it! more

My husband and I are regulars at this wonderful cafe. The food is amazing and the chef comes up with the most tasty combinations! Dinner is special and you can dress casual. I love going at the end of the work day and having a glass of wine and terrific meal. Sunday brunch is great and we often go with our entire family as there is something for everyone on the menu. The wait staff is always friendly and courteous. If the cafe is busy, and it usually is, I never mind the wait because there is so much to see on the Home Art side of the establishment. There are wonderful gift items that you don't see anywhere else in Raleigh and the helpful staff giftwraps for you! Pros: food, service, shopping, parking Cons: sometimes you have to wait for a table more

I had not eaten at Zest Cafe until today (although I work nearby). I met a friend there for lunch, and we did not have a good experience. The food is okay (nothing spectacular) and the lunch menu is fairly expensive.\r My friend and I had not seen each other in a while, and so we spent a little over an hour there. However, at the hour mark different wait staff (and I think the owner) kept approaching our table individually and saying, ""is there anything else?"" and ""is there anything else we can get you?"" in a rude and impatient tone. They were obviously trying to get us to leave so they could make our table available to waiting diners. While I understand their motivation, the way they went about it was unfriendly and a clear-cut example of poor customer service. I will never eat there again, and I will warn other diners about the substandard customer service. The owner and employees clearly do not care enough about their customers, and I wish I had read the other customer reviews before I spent too much money for mediocre food and an atmosphere of impatience. Pros: Parking, vegetarian options Cons: Wait staff, ambience more

walked in with another person. the owner's wife /co owner only nice to people who buy. she rude to other guests.not buy.go elsewhere Pros: good parking Cons: employees more

This used to be my favorite place to take someone for a special occasion, until today. Today I took my mother there for her birthday. The owner asked how many in our party, which was 3 including my very well behaved daughter, we were told 15 min. We waited outside so my little one would not make anyone nervous as the cafe is next to the art shop which has lots of fragile items. After 15 min. we came back inside and noticed at least 2 new tables had been seated. We asked how long and were told, 15 minutes again. I said ""30 minutes total now?"", to which the owner responded loaded with sarcasm, "" What can I say, it is what it is"" and then abruptly walked away. Upon leaving to go to another more hospitable establishment, I checked with the cashiers to see if they take reservations, possibly explaining why others had been seated ahead of us. They do not take reservations. I'm guessing he didn't want to seat us because of my 3 yr. old, who is very well behaved, or maybe because we weren't all elderly women dripping in diamonds-no matter, we left. Although we were hoping for something a little more elegant, Milton's pizza is only a few steps away and there we were greeted with warm smiles and great food. It's seems crazy to think that the owner of a ""cafe"" would need to take customer service cues from a pizza place, but there it is. Our family seeks out and supports local business. We will not be supporting Zest Cafe. Our only consolation is that a packed Zest cafe means there are at least 50 fewer jerks where we are. Cons: horrible customer service more

some of the waitresses try to sell items to customers. like one sold cosmetics.and also tried to sell tickets to a chairity fund raiser to customers.and also one waitress continually complained about her in-laws to customers.they would not stop. and one waitress said they needed money tips for the son. one waitress said management was bad. and waitresses complained to customers they not leave a tip. and service was bad.some waitresses spend more time with their friends as customers. not much time at all to customers that are not social friends. Pros: some foods are good Cons: management and waitresses more

not recommended. i have seen the owner and his wife rude to customers. i haven seen them both yell at female customers. when there is a complaint. or ask for a certain waitress. they both yell and scream at the female customers that have a concern. the waitstaff see food on the floor. the restaurant is not busy.\r they will not pick it up. except i have seen one waitress pick food off the floor with her hands. and not wash it afterwards.the waitstaff will brush the food crumbs on the table and onto the floor. and not clean it up. the hostesses not friendly at all. only nice to male customers. and the white older female hostess i noticed always rude to females alone.not nice.only nice to customers when there is a male guest. the waitresses are rude to female customers. they just walk away from tables where there are only females. to gossip with another employees. and leave the females at a table. without explination and not come back. the female cashiers are rude. they often wait on two people at a time. only nice to male customers.management sees the rudeness not do anything. also some waitresses complain they not get enough tips from customers. and ask for money tips. tell customers they need more money. at lunch time more female customers. and the waitresses tend to wait on female customers dressed up.like they have alot of money impression.they only get good service Pros: not many at all Cons: people work there are continually rude to people,including management more

We used to be regular customers here. The food is priced high, but we thought we were getting good value. Then we started to see some inconsistency, and had to send back some food once because it was overcooked. Everything was ok with that (no apologies, though) however today we had lunch and had to send back a turkey burger that was burnt. The manager came back and told us that he would not re-make it - it was cooked the way it was supposed to be and in fact, we could order anything else on the menu but we were not allowed to get another turkey burger! He did not even apologize for the burnt food nor did he engage us in discussion or ask us what he could do to make things better. Bottom line, he is a tactless individual who should not be in a service industry. Buyer beware - if you have problems here, don't expect any of the kind of customer service you should expect from a high-priced bistro - you won't get it. We walked out and won't be back. Pros: Decent food Cons: Awful management more