Zydaco Downtown

Terrible, terrible, terrible! Don't go here unless you want to be treated poorly. We went here on a Friday night and were 15 in total. First, it took 30 minutes for the waitress to bring our drinks, without any explanation or apology. We finally got waters after already being there for over an hour. Second, we waited 2 1/2 hours for our food. Not once did the manager come by to apologize, to offer complimentary apps or salads, and no apology in the end. The food was good, but not worth the wait. My husband, who ordered the same seafood pasta I did, received his pasta dish, which only takes 2 minutes to make, 20 minutes after everyone else in our group received their food. On top of that, it was horrible. My pasta dish was great, but side by side compared to mine, his tasted completely different and just terrible. After waiting 2.5 hours, he took 5 bites. The waitress never asked how it was, why he didn't eat, etc. Terrible service. We felt as though we were not important. We should have left long ago, but we stayed because it was a special occasion and we were drinking and talking, which held us over. Most people would have left or thrown a fit, but we were very polite. In the end, I finally asked the waitress if her manager was aware of the time our food took and she said he did, but that he was going around the restaurant. Normally, any GM that has food taking 2 hours would have come by long ago to apologize or offer some kind of complimentary food or to pick up the tab. Nothing. I have never felt so unappreciated in my life. It was like they didn't want our business. I would never treat any customer the way I was treated and I will NEVER go back. My recommendation is to go somewhere else that appreciates your business. McDonalds and AppleBees offer better customer service. Pros: live jazz music Cons: terrible extremely slow service more

Visited Saturday night for ""A NIGHT ON THE TOWN"". FOOD WAS EXCEPTIONAL. I recommend Shrimp and grits also Chicken Diane. Wait for food was a little long, but I was told all dishes are made to order. Don't mind waiting for good, freshly prepared food. Had a ""fruity drink"" that the bar tender made especially for me. I highly recommend ZYDECO as a place to visit, eat and relax after a long day. Pros: Good food Cons: No Parking close by more

The woman and man who are usually at the door are so rude. My first time there, I had a male friend with me, and he happened to have on sneakers and a baseball cap. We had both never been there and was just stopping in to get some drinks. We were not aware of a dress code, yet the man made a comment about my friend in hearing distance of us. He said, ""these young boys don't know how to dress"". I could not believe someone would be so unprofessional considering we told them we had never been there before. The owner of the club is no better and is also rude, unprofessional, and does not know how to run a restaurant. The food is also horrible. I went back to Zydeco a few times, because it did have a nice social atmosphere. The final straw came when one night I went, and they were charging $20 at the door!! It's a shame, because Zydeco had the potential to be a very nice hotspot in Raleigh, but now I'm just surprised they have stayed in business this long. Pros: Atmosphere, bands are pretty good Cons: Service, food, staff horrible, too small more

I've been to zydecos three times, overall i enjoyed myself. the only disappointment i had is the door. the lady there wasn't really friendly and a $10 cover i felt was ridiculous. i enjoyed the adult atmoshpere, but i was advised by the folks sitting next to me not to order food because they had waited for over thirty minutes for WINGS! i took their advice and did not. we ordered drinks from a particular waitress and never received our drinks, but we did flag down another one and she was prompt in getting our drinks. i feel if zydecos changed the cover and fire a few staff members and keep the same concept of an adult laidback feel that this establishment will last. i plan on patronizing this spot in the future. Pros: atmosphere Cons: the door more

This past Friday night , I had a friend fly in from Las Vegas. We really wanted to go somewhere nice and just have drinks. I decided to go to Zydecos because i had never been and i heard it was more mature crowd. The worst mistake of my entire life!!!! I could not believe that the owner of this club would actually have staff to represent this club that were extremely rude!!! There was no humor, no smiles, no may i help you, we were waiting to order a drink and after about 30 minutes of being there, a waitor 1 (male) just came and stood in front of us not asking what he could get us just lookin. I asked him was he ready to take my order and he just responded by saying what can i do for you.I have never been so disgusted after spending 10 bucks at the door with a dry *** hostess!!!! I am very angry that I wasted money on the club and the $9 drink which I think is too high!! It is really ashame that you get a nice place but you have garbage working there. I don't see this club being open in the next year!!! If they keep gettin reviews like this it may be in 6 months!! Some people don't really think about treating people like something especially if it isn't their business. Hopefully the owner will read these and tighten up his ship!!! The most horrible experience I have ever had at a bar. Will never, ever go back and will spread the word that Zydeco's is not the place to be!!!!!! Pros: The band was the only thing worth while Cons: Horrible service and horrible employees!!! more

Nice club, however, I cannot imagine having to pay to get into a restaurant! While there we had a great time and our bartender was very nice. One thing that i noticed is the lack of professionalism from certain staff member. The woman at the door actually sat there with her lock box collecting money and eating too!! more

I invited some friends to Zydeco Downtown this past weekend and they loved the atmosphere, the food and the customer service was great! The wait staff, the bartender and management all came over and showed great customer service. I am having more out of town guest this weekend and I plan to take them down this weekend to enjoy this great lounge. Pros: staff was very nice and showed excellent customer service more

This was my first time going to the club. Loved the atmosphere. Loved the live band. Drinks were outstanding. My only problem is there is no security. People should be check at the door. My reason for saying this. A gentleman had a hand weapon with him. It fell on the floor and his Friend gave it back. That is bad business. I would recommend this spot but just advise owners to get a bouncer to protect their better interest. more

If you want poor service & nasty servers this is the place that you need to go. The food was good but the service was intollerable. We were greeted with an unprofessional manner and this didn't end until we left. The wait staff seemed like they didn't want to be bothered by; people, questions, requests and overall good customer service... I won't recommend this establishment to anyone... and I will tell everyone I know, that until the service is better, please spend you money somewhere else... somewhere they actually appreciate your coming in a spending your hard-earned money... Pros: Food Cons: SERVICE more

4 prime spaces in a very small public lot in front of the restaraunt are reserved FOR STAFF. Tell me another restaurant anywhere that does that! I was yelled at by some old man who is apparently somehow connected to the restaurant, who said ""you can't park there!' (Even though I was having lunch there). No one seems to have any prior experience running a restaurant. Abyssmal service. Ok food. Prediction: It will be gone in a year. Pros: Good location, pretty interior Cons: No management expertise, apparently no training. Just "family" more

For such a long time Raleigh has not provided a night spot for the older Africian Americans to hang out. It's always been these hole-in-the-wall spots, but Zydeco's has answered Raleigh's questions, on where to go....My husband and I went there for the first time a few weeks ago, and we were really impressed...The decor was very nice, and wood work on the bar was also nice, and the Southern-Style food was great. We ordered the Pasta Seafood Salad, and the Pork Chops, with collards and mac-n-cheese for sides. The food was very hot, the waitress was prompt and polite...We had no problems with the establishment or the service. We also was bale to sit outside in their patio area, which was relaxing. I think Zydeco's will be around for quite a while..We will be returning in the very near future....Hat's off to the Chef... Pros: Atmosphere, Service, food Cons: Male waiters could be dressed more professional and their hair groomed.... more

My boyfriend eat lunch everyday there, and everytime we go we get the best service and are always treated like family. when i don't get to eat in i make sure i call in my order. Pros: great place overall Cons: not enough parking spaces more

I went for the first time on Open Mic night Wednesday. Great music, great performances. The atmosphere and dim lighting were nice, the couches were a great touch. We had drinks as we perused the menu. We both ordered the featured meal. About ten minutes after taking our order, the waitress returned to say they were all out of it. It was just a little before 9pm, so I was really shocked that they had run out of their special on the first night of the week that they are open. And the place was not even half full at the time. So we ordered another cajun seafood specialty, only to be told 5 minutes later they were all out of shrimp. As we don't eat meat, seafood is all we could have ate and there was none. The waitress offered no apologies, her attitude was ""take it or leave it"". She seemed very upset that we didn't continue to order more drinks. She came back every few minutes to see if we wanted more. We were not able to drink anymore as we had empty stomachs! Very disappointing. If you are looking for a nice place to go for an evening out drinking, this is great. But eat before you get there, or call ahead to see if they still have food. Pros: Atmosphere, Open Mic Performers Cons: Lack of items on the menu, waitresses are not friendly or caring and seem to only want to push drinks on you more

We went on a Saturday evening for dinner and they wanted us to pay to come in to eat! When I told the door guy I was not going to pay to buy dinner, he let us in. After about 2 seconds of sitting, our waitress comes up to us and ask for our drink orders, no greeting just ""What do you want to drink?"". When she came back 10 mins later with the drinks she demanded our food orders. About 25 mins later our food comes up in the window. During our waiting time the door guys sends a woman over to our table to make sure we ordered food. Our waitress had not checked on us ONCE to refill drinks or anything in that time. So we sat, waited and watched our waitress talk to her coworkers while our food just sat there another 15 mins!!! She finally brought us our food. And still did not offer to refill our drinks. We had to flag her down to get our check! Pros: Food Cons: Music, Service more

We *tried* to eat there a few weekends ago with guests from out of town, and had the single worst restaurant experience in my life. The waitress was totally clueless, and after waiting over an hour for the food, we had to just get up and leave. I can't comment on the food, it never came! Very, very bad form. more