Rezaz

This is a difficult commentary to write. Rezaz has been our «go to» restaurant for special occasions and recommendations to friends almost since it opened. It was our first «find» when we moved to the Asheville area in 2001. We have not managed to dine at Rezaz, however, since it was sold by its original Chef de Cuisine and owner a couple years ago. The return visit for our 50^th anniversary was, to say the least, a disappointment. The ambiance is still elegant and seemed somewhat quieter than we recalled. The service, Frank this time, was proper and had the edge that Rezaz servers normally exhibit, not a bad thing. Starting with the Fried Manchego and Crispy Calamari, all seemed right. The Manchego was had a lovely crispiness and an excellent jam accompaniment. The Calamari was nicely presented, but a bit more greens and a bit fewer calamari than might have been expected. The occasional shrimp was a nice touch. We accepted the offered bread «basket» which is no longer the wire basket of old but a plate with small pieces of nice ciabatta or foccacia. (This is the second commentary on a nice restaurant in which I feel compelled to comment on the bread. Has flour become so expensive that even nice restaurants have to skimp on the bread???)
My wife’s choice, the local trout, nicely pan-​seared but overloaded with the accompanying garnishments, was, in her opinion, very good but not up to the standards of the old Rezaz. My Tajine of Cornish Game Hen and Rabbit was close to a disaster. The couscous was cold and barely flavored. The rabbit leg was well done and moist, the rack was drier than the Sahara. Also, for the Cornish Hen, the leg was well done and moist, the breast was better than the rabbit but still on the dry and stringy side. On the positive side, the roasted root vegetables were properly hot and nicely seasoned. Incidentally, the tajine vessel itself was cold.
It is hard to make such negative comments about Rezaz. Perhaps it was just an off night, but it was a Saturday and one would have expected the A team to be in the kitchen. Having lived in the Mediterranean area for several years, we were so pleased to find good Mediterranean cuisine in Asheville. Alas

This place was one of the recommendations of the bed and breakfast where we were staying. We were excited about the offerings, but they didn’t live up to the hype. Had the octopus and olive appetizers. .olives were good olives, the octopus was unique but not incredible. The grilled romaine again was good, but nothing fantastic. Paella was plentiful, but not the best we’ve had. I liked the presentation and flavors of the brisket, but it sounded more exciting on the menu. .not a lot of horseradish flavor as expected. Each dish was a good value for the price and our waiter was great, so I wouldn’t rule out going back, but there is so much competition here, it would be a while!

Since my visit five years ago when I said I probably won’t return I must say it is slightly improved. It is still an absolutely beautiful interior. The host was very welcoming and professional. Our server was okay and could have definitely improved on customer service. The three dip trio was disappointing. I was craving BabaGanoush, thus the reason for returning here. It didn’t even resemble BabaGanoush, it looked liked and tasted like flavored mayo, hummus was bland and laking any personality. These 2 dips were also drowning in olive oil. Thankfully the Muhamarra was tasty and pita was good. Our 2 entrees were good but nothing that I’d crave to return to. So three stars doesn’t mean it was bad, it means it was just good, not great or exceptional.
The gal running the deli side was very engaging and a pleasure to encounter and we left with a piece of Lemon Curd Coconut cake per her rave review of it. It was delicious!
As far as satisfying my love for fabulous Middle Eastern food, it won’t be here.

Incredibly, ridiculously fresh food with superb service from Melissa. I’m from Atlanta and we’re staying at the Bohemian across the street. We came across this restaurant for my wedding weekend and didn’t know what to expect. Everything was fabulous, fresh and full of flavor! Such a pleasant surprise! Thank you!

Cute little place with a cute location. Service was okay and when we ordered more before deciding to leave, the server became kinder. The ravioli with ricotta was amazing (definitely pricey and only enough for one).

This used to be one of my favorite places to stop by after work for a glass of wine and apps/​dinner with family or colleagues. The bar side of the restaurant was very casual and had lighter menu choices in addition to the formal dining side menu. We went tonight and they told us they were not opening the bar side because they didn’t have enough servers– so even though we had teens and were looking for a casual dinner and drinks we had to sit on the formal side. Slow service, formal menu not ideal for the average teen, chewy shrimp and mushy rice paella though my husband said the duck was great (he also was not impressed with the paella) — just a disappointing meal for a place that I used to be able to count on. The family we ate with were even less impressed by the meal. Hopefully this is a one off.

Oh my word so tasty! If you enjoy Mediterranean food and are open to a flare then come here! We had the kale salad to start and it was perfect as well as the calamari appetizer which tasted like Asian fusion. For the main course I recommend the lamb shank which was phenomenal and such excellent flavor or the paella if you’re a sea food lover. Make sure you save room for dessert-​the chocolate ganache cake is the way to satisfy any chocolate lovers desire

It’s kind of hard to describe what kind of restaurant this is because it covers so many different areas. We ordered almost all of their vegetarian dishes and enjoyed all of them. The wait was kind of long for the amount of people there but it wasn’t terrible. Kinda hard to find parking but what isn’t in that area.

The atmosphere of this local gem is great and the mediterranean dishes it serves are innovative and delightful. The interior design has a refreshing modern flair and the dishes, though seemingly small, leave you quite full and satisfied.

Only great things to say about this place. Our server Jonathan recommended awesome food and wine for us. We ate tapas style, starting with the crisp manchengo which paired well with the pinot blanc that our server recommended. We continued with the seared octopus and calamari. Both delicious and generous portions for the money. For our third round we had a bass special that had a lot going on but somehow all the flavors worked very well together. We also had an olive medley and potato beignets. We enjoyed these with the Frog’s Leap Zin. Will definitely go back. Love the ambience and the fact that they have great food and libations but don’t require fancy attire.

My boyfriend and I were in Biltmore Village and on the prowl for an early dinner. We walked into Rezaz right as they were opening for dinner and were greeted by an extremely friendly staff. Frank was our server and was very knowledgable about the menu. We enjoyed a lovely olive medley plate, their pommes frits came with the most devine tomato jam both my boyfriend and I had ever had. With strong notes of North African spices, that jam will have a spot in my heart forever. The NC clam and scallop paella was great, coming served in a piping hot skillet and with its traditional saffron rice, it is something I’d definitely recommend!
To note, as my boyfriend and I both work in the service industry, one of the biggest things that stood out to us was the service. The passion and love for working where they did was evident. Because of this, we will back!

My husband and I were given a gift certificate to eat here for Christmas, and after reading the reviews, we were both excited to try this place. It was pretty good. I wouldn’t say anything stood out as spectacular, but the atmosphere was nice, and the waitress was also very sweet.
The disappointment came when I found chorizo in the seafood paella I ordered. I do not eat pork. For some reason it makes me sick. There was no indication of pork in the menu, and it certainly did not list chorizo or sausage as an ingredient, otherwise I would have asked it be left out. Who puts sausage in a seafood dish, anyway? I was a quarter way through my entrée when I found the chorizo bits, and I asked the waitress about it. The restaurant was about to close, and she apologized for the mistake, and asked if I wanted them to remake it for me (would have taken another 20 — 25 minutes, which seemed a ridiculous time to wait). I declined the offer, as I was not hungry any longer.
Instead of removing the entrée from our bill, which any decent restaurant who appreciates their patrons’ business would, they offered a free dessert (which was about a third of the paella price). Instead of demanding a refund, which in hindsight, I realize I should have, I chose a dessert. When we got our check, we were not only charged for the misrepresented entrée I couldn’t eat, we were also billed for the «free» dessert. We asked the dessert be removed, and our waitress graciously did,
I think this place is extremely overrated, and I do not return to establishments who hide ingredients, or don’t compensate properly for their mess ups. Bummer. I hoped to have had a good experience here, but I left feeling sad that I couldn’t enjoy my meal, and I felt insulted that I was charged for it anyway.

Discovered this place on Unilocal and had a fabulous meal and evening. The décor is beautiful, service fabulous and the food excellent. They brought out a complementary assortment of house made breads, we started with the chicken appetizer (divine), hubby had the brisket which was excellent and I had the paella — rice was a touch too al dente but it was tasty with a generous amount of seafood. A huge serving so I took leftovers home and a bargain at $ 19. Dessert was chocolate pumpkin tart which was also very nice. Couple of glasses of Malbec to wash it down along with plenty of water, always promptly refilled. Our server Frank was outstanding — attentive, informative, warm and friendly, a true gem.

My wife and I ate here on our most recent trip to Asheville. I’d say we’re likely to return. The food was good and cooked just right. The recipes are good and the décor and service were all solid as well. I have to say that we love Asheville. It’s a special town but the food scene has always been lacking. Lots of cool looking places with good service but the actual food product hasn’t been on pace. Each time someone swears by a dinner place we try it and it’s just «OK». That said I do think that the quality is heading in the right direction these days AND that Rezaz is clearly an indicator of that. We had the pear salad and the fried cheese to start and both were pretty good. The mussels in broth were very good. A very tasty broth! The scallops (on special) were excellent. Cooked just right. Cocktails were well mixed but I felt could use some more creativity/​fun.

I can’t say how thankful I am right now. I left the purse there and left Asheville. Frank hosted us and promised me to go to post office to ship it to me. He was super nice and responsive with the service. I regret so much that we didn’t tip more.
By the way the food was very authentic.

Rezaz is hands-​down one of my favorite restaurants in Asheville. I have lived in Asheville for almost 7 years, and I’ve seen quite a few restaurants come and go, but Rezaz has remained one of the premier dining spots in Asheville because of the quality of the food, the attentiveness/​knowledge of the servers and the lively atmosphere.
I just celebrated my 30^th birthday here with 4 other people, and we had the most incredible experience. We were seated as soon as we arrived, and our server paid us full attention… never an empty water or wine glass! The food itself was delicious of course. I highly recommend the fried Manchego appetizer as well as the calamari and the Rezaz Meze. The tortellini and rackfish for the entrée was wonderful. Thank you Rezaz for making my 30^th birthday night absolutely perfect!

Food was very good, overall it was a nice experience. A couple of annoying small things that made this a bit of a pain. First booking a chefs table and being placed in the kitchen where you can see nothing is not a chefs table. Nor is it a chefs table with no interaction from the chefs. That being said when we mentioned this they very politely offered to move us to the dining room without issue. The wine list was ok though we ordered a 2010 Brunello which is a 98 point wine and were brought an 2008 which is a 91 point wine. When we asked about the 2010 we were told they didn’t have it… Hmmm.
Two different lamb dishes both exceptionally well prepared, a hanger steak dish that was delicious as was a snapper dish. The desert was a sorry of build your own bread pudding which was only adequate. Bar service was exemplary as was our fantastic wait service team. A very nice dinner as a whole.

Rezaz is a Mediterranean Restaurant in Biltmore Village making creative and delicious dishes pretty consistently. My hubby and I have been coming here over the past 6 years every time we’re in Asheville. So, needless to say… my review of Rezaz is way overdue!
The décor is industrial chic (or something to that effect LOL) it’s cool though. Service has been nice and we always have a good overall experience. On this occasion, we started our meal with the Calamari appetizer, which also comes with fried Octopus and Shrimp. The preparation is made with a slightly sweet sauce and tossed with cabbage… it was interesting and quite tasty. For my entrée I ordered the Seafood Paella without the Chorizo (although the chef sent out the dish with the Chorizo and had to re-​do). It was a solid dish, but definitely not my best Paella. My mom ordered the Trout entrée, which she really enjoyed.
Of all my Rezaz visits, this was my least favorite, but primarily because my food was outstanding during the other visits and today was solid. For the entire body of work, however, Rezaz is one of Asheville’s best restaurants in my opinion. It’s very hard to go wrong with this choice, honestly. Happy Eating!!!

Service was amazing. Food was fresh and excellent. Great ambiance. Spend the money, it’s worth it.
Appetizers: we ordered falafel and moorish ribs. Both very tasty and presentation was beautiful. Only two pieces of falafel for $ 6 though.
Entrees: I ordered the Chicken tawook. Very good. The boyfriend ordered paella and cleaned his plate.
No room for dessert but their bakery smelled amazing. They also have a wine bar.

Great food and atmosphere! Unfortunately we were quite full from earlier that afternoon so we just stuck
With appetizers. Our favorite was the fried manchego cheese (as if you need to fry cheese to make it better) but somehow it was perfection. The ribs with the homemade BBQ sauce were fall off the bone Delish. We really enjoyed the goat cheese cheesecake. Our server Warned us that it was too much for some people because of the goat cheese flavor but little did he know he had some goat cheese lovers in the house. I would definitely return here to try the entrees another time.