Zen Garden Asian Grill & Sushi Bar

They have vegetarian sushi options but the sushi was not good quality. The avocado was turning brown and the Veggie Roll was way too overpacked with fillings that it just fell apart. The edamame seemed old too. We got it to-​go and threw the majority of it away sadly. They did have extremely friendly and attentive service.

Rude as hell and never going back!!! Old lady on the phone the whole time and the waitress smacked my 11 year old son on the head! Sushi is good but the waitress was odd and the creepy old lady was rude! They are lucky I didn’t freak out for her touching my son let alone smack him on the back of his head with her hand she is clearly handicap so… I will never go back !
If you decide to go in and try it… Tell them people to read Unilocal.Because calling there is a joke!

The food is good, but being treated badly and then having to pay for it is just not ok. Called to make a to go order and the women couldn’t have been ruder. Do not say you deliver if you won’t deliver. Plain and simple do what you say and say what you do! Won’t be back.

I’m torn on whether or not I’ll come back here. The waitress made me feel extremely uncomfortable (possibly because I knew what was coming ahead of time, since I looked at reviews first).
The food was good, but I’m not sure if it’s worth how uncomfortable the server makes me. It doesn’t sound like getting delivery is a good idea either.
She was very insistent on keeping our drinks filled to the brim. At one point, she whispered in my ear, «move your hand» and it was the creepiest thing ever.
I think I might shrug it all of because (I think) there is some mental illness that is going on in the family. Asian people are usually short and straight to the point during meals (I’m Asian, that’s how it is), but I think it goes deeper than that.

Well Im done with place the waitress is just a plain ass moron if you run a business customer service is number one she is rude just mean Im done sticking up for her I’ve never experienced anything like it I hope they fail. It’s to bad cause the food is great,

We really liked the food but when we ordered it to be delivered the person on the phone would not give me a total amount. When the driver came the order was much higher priced than I had assumed it would be but we paid it anyway. I feel like their driver cheated me and it makes me leery of ordering again. It is a bummer that they have such great sushi, and yet their service is so very poor and ethics questionable… :(

When we walked in we were greeted by the owner, a senile older man in a loud way as if we had just disrupted the peace in the empty establishment. Reminded me of an early 90’s Budweiser commercial. From there he and Lurch’s Asian sister took turns trying to take care of us. The place is super dirty with food splatter, bodily fluids, something all over the walls, who knows. Flys were everywhere and made it so the food was not even edible. The real high point though was when the soup came with a giant fly in it. So reasonably the manager and Lurch’s Asian sister should have at the very least apologized and not charged for the soup. Nope! Full price, but hopefully it was worth it. I’ll never spend another cent there. And by the way, watch out for the water, it sits out on the counter uncovered all day with swamp coolers running for debris to gather in it for you to drink. Yummy!!!

I actually really like the food but this time there was a fly in my soup. I don’t think they will see me back here anytime soon.

The food is great, but we have taken up referring to this place soley as «bad service.» You will never see your drink, so don’t bother ordering one. The waitess is crazy. She will either ignor you or yell at you. The food is the reason they are getting 2 stars.

Great Sushi. Personal favorite is the zen roll. The dinners are filling and are tasty. There is one waitress who can be a little pushy at times but she means well.

The sushi is great!!!
«Crazy lady drives me nuts!!»
We eat here all the time, as we feel they have some of the best sushi in town and it is priced so well. And every single time has been interesting.
To name a few instances:
~ Crazy lady was filling our water glasses, and her pitcher was almost empty, so she kept filling a glass till her pitcher was empty. The problem was she also watched the glass over flow and create a puddle on the table, which she never came back to clean.
~ we have experienced multiple instances of being yelled at, both in person, and over the phone
~she thinks it is ok to tickle my husband (this has happened on multiple trips)
~ she had told us about way too many personal problems while we are trying to eat. And I mean PERSONAL
Sadly we have come to expect this kind of treatment. Even with carry out we get awful treatment from her. And deliver takes FOREVER. The parents (owners) are fantastic though!

It is sad giving this one star because the food was actually pretty delicious. But the second we got into this place we were ready to leave because of this «bizarre waitress» that so many other people mentioned. She yelled at us and insulted us over and over. I asked for lemon in my water and she screamed at me. Asked if lo mein was similar to chow mein she screamed at us. My mom and I tried to leave and we told her we wanted to because of her attitude towards us and she started trying to be «nice» but that made things even worse. She literally pulled a chair up to our table and would not leave and just kept talking like a crazy person. She told me I was too young to have a son (who had to witness this weirdo) and that I looked like I worked at a bar. Then she would not stop touching me all over!
It was one of the most awkward experiences of my life. We were not sure if she has a mental problem or is just a very rude person. But regardless she should NOT be working in this restaurant. She is ruining business. The food was very good. But we will NEVER be back here again.

I had a hard time with the star rating on this place as the food was good, but the service was, well… eccentric at best, flat rude and uncomfortable at worst.
I took the time to read the reviews before I went there and thought I was prepared for the «different» waitress, but I guess I was wrong. I am, and have been, a professionally trained waitress that worked in fine dining restaurants for over 15 years. That said, I don’t always expect 5 start fine dining service, but I do expect professionalism and customer service. You get neither of those here.
When we entered, it just so happened that a kind gentleman was walking in at the same time and held the door open for me and my guest, so it would appear that we walked in together, but when the «different» waitress stated «three» and we told her that there were «two in our party» her response was «Well then who is HE with!?»… it just went downhill from there.
I ordered sushi from the paper menu and my guest wanted to order the lemon grass chicken. When I handed the sushi order to the waitress I tried to explain that I ordered the Spicy Tuna but would like to add avocado, her response? She literally threw the paper and pencil back at me and and rudely stated «You need to write that down, it’s not my job» and walked away. I took a moment to write «Avocado» next to the spicy tuna and upon her return, she took the paper and I went to tell her that my guest wanted the lemon grass chicken, but I was interrupted and she (again rudely) stated that she needed to go give the sushi order to the sushi chef and that she’d be back.
Trying to continue to be patient and find the humor in her, I waited for her to return again and when I said that my guest would like the lemon grass chicken LGC), she blurted out «we don’t have asparagus». I said we were ok with that and could we still get the LGC, she again, more loudly this time said «we DON’T have asparagus!» I told her I had heard her but asked if that meant it wasn’t available, she then just wrote it down and said «what else», I ordered Miso soup and she walked away.
When the food showed up, the LGC DID have asparagus on it and was delicious. The sushi was also fabulous. So, I guess in conclusion, if you can get past the eccentric /​rude /​strange behavior of the waitress (or pray you get someone else), the food is definitely good. If you’re looking for the whole dining experience and expect good customer service… skip it and go somewhere else!

If you want delivery, don’t call during peak hours. Staff was busy, frustrated, and rude when taking my order. There was also language difficulties communicating my order and with delivery. Food was alright: I tried the Pad Thai and General Tso’s chicken.

We had delivery from Zen Garden. Beef & broccoli, lemon grass chicken, sweet & sour chicken, and sesame chicken which came with either steamed rice or fried rice (got one of each). When ordering I was told the lemon grass chicken takes 20 – 30 mins and delivery time would be an hour. Only forty min. later and the order arrived. I highly recommend the lemon grass chicken! That dish alone will keep me ordering from Zen Garden again. The fried rice was just rice, soy sauce, and egg. Guess I was spoiled living in bigger Cities and got use to fried rice having veggies and pork in it.
I can’t speak to the staff or the odd waitress, but frankly I’m shocked by the comments about a special needs person, especially being the mother of a special needs child! (steps off soap box)

The sushi here is just okay. And I think that is being nice. I wouldn’t use fresh to describe the quality of fish. The crab meat in a lot of the rolls is not fresh and rolls are very small. The owners are very nice, BUT the daughter waitress that many reviews mention is ridiculous. Yes, if you have a sense of humor and aren’t in the mood to have a romantic or quality dinner experience, she probably won’t bother you. However, she is rude and likes to touch you. She left right in the middle of taking our order because she said «time for medicine.»
If I ever have to go back here, I would have to order one of their Chines dishes (which aren’t terrible) and be prepared for the «interesting» waitress.

This is a hard restaurant to review. When I am in Grand Junction, I always eat at Zen Garden. The sushi is delicious as are the other dishes I have tried. That’s why I always come back. Up until my last visit, service was always good too. However, on our last visit, we had the strangest waitress. At first she was exceptionally rude to us. About halfway through the meal, she «turned on the charm», but it was pushy, weird, and uncomfortable. At one point she actually pressed her forehead against mine and then walked over and put her arm around my husband and leaned on him. She ordered a roll for us because she wanted us to try it, but charged us for it, which I thought was odd. There were moments when I couldn’t get her to move away from our table so we could eat in peace, and other times I couldn’t get her attention. We were the only customers in the place at the time, so the strange swing from no service to over done service was bizarre.
I will continue to go to Zen Garden, unless this waitress continues to wait on us in such a strange manner. The food is good so I am wiling to give it a few more tries. Being strong and direct may be what is called for. I am not sure if this is some odd cultural difficulty or if the waitress just doesn’t have any people skills.
Definitely suggest trying Zen Garden. You can make up your own mind about the waitress.

I came here on Thursday 3÷21÷2013 with my mom and niece. Every thing you get is $ 1.25 per scoop love that! I got chowmein, orange chicken, and terriyaki chicken.
Chow mein– Has a very nice flavor to them
orange chicken– nice thick glaze good chicken
terriyaki chicken — sweet but not over powering at all.
come here if your in town!

This is the best asian restaurant I have ever been to.
I have tried many of the dishes and they are all very fresh and flavorful, additional words are unnecessary If your idea of good Chinese food is sweet and sour mall food you may not like this restaurant.
I have had limited experience with the sushi and found it quite good. As far as west coast sushi goes «aren’t you special»
We can all learn a valuable life lesson from «the waitress» it’s best not to make snap decisions about people, some times if you dig a little deeper you’ll find a refreshing change of pace under the surface.

I came here for sushi and will review the sushi, first. Then I will let you know how everything around the sushi felt. As far as my sushi alone was, I do give it 5 stars. Zen Garden’s sushi was the best I have had as far as quality in Grand Junction compared to No Coast Sushi and Suehiro Japanese Restaurant. It’s the service and atmosphere that I was not a fan of.
As I walked in, the hostess was making small talk with a regular customer. For a Monday, the restaurant was empty, I’m not sure if this is how it usually is or not. This was my first time here.
As I sat at the sushi bar, I overheard the chatter and talk of the kitchen. I noticed that Zen Garden’s customers were equal delivery as they were dining in. To me, that meant that something was working, I got a little excited inside. I also thought to myself, with all of those deliveries, maybe the food is better than the experience. Will see…
I ordered a diet coke, a seaweed salad, two hand rolls and two sushi rolls. Pretty much a standard order where ever I go for sushi. I like what I like, so it’s really easy to compare restaurants.
My seaweed salad portion was very generous. I could not believe the size of it and thought for sure there was a pile of cucumbers slices underneath as other restaurants do. No, it was all seaweed. Fresh, great flavored, well seasoned, crunchy seaweed.
As I was halfway through my green mountain of a salad, my hand rolls arrived and soon after my two sushi rolls were plated and set. Both my rolls and hand rolls were excellent. Their Philadelphia roll and Spicy Salmon rolls were very fresh. I’m into traditional sushi, not the fusion twists and additions. From what I ordered, it was the way it was suppose to be. My hand rolls were very large, way more sashimi per hand roll than my rolls as far as quantity went. I might not have ordered the second roll after my large salad and my additional dinner salad.
Now, to the feel of the business and my service (the meat and potatoes):
The loud lady that was having the small talk as I walked in, was my waitress. I was by myself after work and dressed in slacks and a button down dress shirt. She gave me the up and down and assumed I was sitting at the sushi bar. I agreed and took my seat. She really didn’t have anything to offer, she didn’t tell me about any specials and had an arrogance about her. She did refill my drink once, asked if I was okay and brought my check. Typical service.
While waiting for my salad, an older woman, probably the grandmother, shuffled around the dining room and would sit down at random empty tables and move to another table to keep herself occupied. She did not take orders, she did not clean anything, she did not have a purpose. Why was she there???
As I noticed the grandmother, I thought back to Brandon M.‘s simple Unilocal comment, «Annoying staff.» Yup, there it is…
I did have to ask my sushi chef for chop sticks and a napkin. My waitress spaced that very simple and regular detail after I patiently waited with my seaweed salad in front of me for a good 5 minutes.
As I was enjoying my seaweed salad, a younger woman, probably the granddaughter commented, «You must really like seaweed!» Then she took a seat two chairs away from me at the bar and continued to stare at me making very uncomfortable comments. «Ouch!» «Ouch!» as she pinched herself or bumped her arm on the bar on purpose. Very awkward and offputting.
What really killed me was when she said «Oh, you must really like wasabi?» I nodded with a smile.
WHAT!!! Really!!! Are you kidding me??? I wanted to actually reply to her, but I just nodded respectfully with my head, ignoring her, hoping she would leave. «No, I hate it. What do you think?» It’s like having spaghetti with marinara sauce, french fries and ketchup, a baked potato with sour cream. It’s another condiment, this is a sushi restaurant. I just could not believe it.
When the granddaughter eventually got up, she walked around a few of the other tables and talked nonsense. This alone made me very uncomfortable. What was her purpose? She didn’t do anything for the customers. It was as if she was at daycare as mommy worked.
The sushi area was not organized, it was cluttered, piles of odd shaped dishes and dusty decorations. Not clean. I then scanned the rest of the restaurant noticing items stacked up on the bar where someone might want to have a drink. Over all just a not clean restaurant.
These above actions have become very common in my observation of how Grand Junction and many other restaurants carry business. A sort of attitude and entitlement that people will pay for what they get, no matter what. Rarely an effort to offer a dining experience.
I get it, Grand Junction is small town, country, but please bring some class if you’re going to have me pay $ 40 for dinner. Customers may return more frequently if they were treated better, including myself. Just sayin.