Zely & Ritz

It is a sad day, as my favorite Raleigh restaurant has announced they are closing after 19 years.

Being from a restaurant background we know things can get weeded. We waited to be seated we waited to be talked too. (There was only 5 tables sat mind you)
The hummus was amazing!!! We watched bread be served to everyone around us as our olive oil went undipped. I had the sweet potato gnocchi which had no flavor and a bowl full of water, I’m guessing from the broccolini not being drained properly. My hubby had the steak which also had a watered down chimichurri sauce and no flavor. The rabbit risotto was the best flavored dish despite the bones we bit into… After that we decided to cut our losses and skip dessert. I really wanted to support a business that utilizes local and organic, it just won’t be this one. :(

Meh. That’s my take on Zely & Ritz. I went for the first time a few days ago. If I happen to end up back there fine. If not, more than fine. I would not choose to come here again on my own accord.
First, I went with a friend who had made a reservation. We were greeted and seated promptly. Our server appeared immediately and took drink orders. For dinner, I splut a strawberry salad with my friend and had a side order of risotto.
The salad was good. It wasn’t fantastic. It’s not something I’m going to suggest you make an effort to get. But if you happen to end up here, I would recommend it. It’s nothing special. Lettuce and strawberries. If there were other ingredients in the salad, I did not notice them.
The risotto was not very good. This was an asparagus risotto with asaigo cheese. Although I ordered a side dish, it was plenty for a meal. There was plenty of asparagus in the dish, and it was chopped up well. If there was cheese in it, I never saw or tasted any. In addition, there were a good amount of carrots in the dish. I am not a fan of cooked carrots. This is a personal thing, I know, but if they had said on the menu that there were carrots in the dish I would not have ordered it. Finally, the pepper in the dish was so overpowering I actually choked on it. There was way to much pepper in the dish, and it ruined it.
Although our server was prompt at the beginning, this died out once we got our meals. Drinks were never refilled, and she never came back once the food had been delivered. We wanted dessert, but we ran out of time and had to leave. We had to track our server down to get the bill, and even then it took awhile for it to show up and then get taken care of.

Great place on Glenwood South, in fact one of my favorite. My wife and I have been there a few times and we’re always happy with the food, service could always be a bit better. The best time to go is on «First Friday Weekend» where there is a three course tasting menu for $ 25. IMO, a great price for the variety and quality of food. The restaurant teams up with local farms so the food is fresh, and changes with the seasons, so the menu is always something new.
The meal was delicious, and portion sizes were a great size. It’s a rarity when you eat a three course meal and don’t feel like a brick is in your stomach. I was happy to enjoy, and NOT stuff myself with all three courses.
Some of the courses we had were:
Bay Scallops Ceviche
Arugula, Beet and Goat Cheese Salad — I don’t care for beets, but this one made me want to eat more of them.
Beef & Pork Meatball, with white beans and roasted root veggies. — The meatballs were handmade fresh and you could taste the individual spices.
Shrimp & Grits –This was a unique take on a southern classic. The grits were a bit soupy, but it was a delicious broth and the shrimp was cooked to perfection and you could taste the freshness with every bite. I haven’t had shrimp that good since I was in New Orleans.
Crembrule (sp?) — It was good, and was made with a green lemony-​thingy that I can’t remember the name of (not lemon-​grass).
Some type of Cake with fresh whipped cream and strawberries — This was my wife’s dessert and I kinda wish I would’ve ordered this one too. The cake was still so warm and moist, absolutely heavenly.
The other time my wife and I dined here we did the Chef’s Tasting for $ 33 (ish) a person. AMAZING! The Chef comes out to talk to you to find out what you like, and if there are any food allergies. Then he just makes some some unique dishes and serves them. I can’t remember if it was three or four courses.
In Summary: Great food in Glenwood South. The portions are moderate, and the food is the freshest around. Be prepared to wait a bit, service not the fastest. Take your time to enjoy the meal, your drinks (cocktails are good too), and the people watching if you’re outside.

We chose to dine with Zely & Ritz for a recent birthday celebration. I was happy that they were able to accomodate a large party and the folks on the phone were great to talk with and were quite helpful. After all of the hype, I was very very excited to try one of the [surprisingly] few farm-​to-​table spots in the Triangle. I let the folks on the phone know that it was a birthday celebration and they indicated they’d be happy to accomodate.
When I got there, I was informed that there would be a $ 3.00 per person charge to serve the cake that my girlfriend had baked the birthday boy. I TOTALLY understand a serving fee (just like a corking fee), but honestly, $ 3/​person? It’s not even a lot of money, it was just not a classy move. I ended up taking the hit for the entire party because frankly, I was embarrassed that I chose the place.
Service:
Our server was nice, but I think that she was overwhelmed with the size of the party. She was quite slow in taking orders and eventually bringing out food. This isn’t the servers fault, but the kitchen ended up messing up an order. They caught it before the food came out, but the person recieved their meal after we’d all finished ours. No offer of an app to munch on, no adjustment given in the check.
So, on to the food. It’s pricey for the portions, but, they use a lot of local and really fresh ingredients, so I’m OK with that. The pickled veggies were the star, highly recommend if you do end up going. The risotto was quite good as well.
All in all, decent (but not spectacular) food. Waitstaff was OK, but a big knock to management for nickel and dime-​ing their customers. Don’t think I’ll be back to this one, unfortunately.

As a part of Downtown Raleigh Restaurant Week a few weeks back, my lovely lady friend and I tried Zely & Ritz, a gem on Glenwood next to Sushi Blues.
Chef Sarig Agasi fuses Mediterranean influence with fresh, seasonal NC produce, cheeses, breads and meats, often sourced locally and from the restaurant’s Coon Rock Farm.
I have to say, I was really impressed with the food. Reasonably sized, fresh portions with spice and Mediterranean flare are the name of the game at Z&R. They also have a phenomenal staff, including the owner of Crumb, who we met as she was bartending?!
Overall, great, but probably a bit expensive for the amount of food you actually get. We benefitted in this respect from it being restaurant week.
It was great discovering a new favorite place run by great and talented folks. Give them a try soon!

3.5 stars. Good ambience, good service, but a bit pricy for the amount of food you get.
My friend and I were here during triangle restaurant week but opt out of the 3 course meal since we weren’t too hungry and did not want to be stuffed. We ended up ordering two appetizer, an entrée, and a side to share.
At first we were only going to order one appetizer and one entrée to share, but our server informed us that portion size here is not meant for sharing so we decided to add another appetizer and a side.
We got the pigs in blanket and hummus plate which were both pretty good. I really like the hummus especially with the hot sauce that came with it. It gave a nice extra kick to it. Though the pita that came with the hummus was nothing spectacular.
My friend really like the pigs in blanket, but I found the combination of sausage and puff pastry a bit too greasy.
We decided to get pan seared mahi mahi with pomegranate sauce. It had a really nice crust, but its a little on the bland side. Not to mention it was the smallest piece of fish I have ever seen in a restaurant. Also the pomegranate sauce was so watery, it did not add any extra flavoring to the dish. It only made the fillet seemed to be in a puddle of blood. It was a bit disturbing.
We got roasted vegetables as our sides. It was much better than the mahi mahi. It was really well seasoned and the potatoes were really creamy. To nitpick, the sweet potatoes were not cooked as thoroughly since it was cut in bigger slices.
For dessert, we got apple strudel with fresh cream. It was good but it got too sweet towards the end.
The total came out to be around $ 56 if I remember correctly, which I think is a bit overprice for the quality and quantity.

Great meal, great experience, we will definitely go back! I love supporting local, and not only was the food really fresh but it was very well prepared as well.
We started with the assorted pickled local veggies and focaccia with spreads, delicious and fresh. For entrees, sweet potato gnocchi and the meatloaf special were both amazing.
Service was great, meal was awesome, and it was a great birthday event for the GF!
Definitely on the top of our list for special occasions.

I love this place. Every time I come, my experience here is fantastic. The food is always delicious and perfectly portioned.
My waiter Tim was amazing, knowledgable, friendly, etc. I eat out a lot, and this is the first time in a while that I’ve actually received great service.
Love love love Zely & Ritz. Can’t wait until next year when I can order wine with my meal!

I was so excited to have dinner here last Friday night. But I’ll admit, I walked away disappointed.
I’ve read that several others have had a disappointment with the wait staff, so really, what is it with the wait staff?
The economy is soft (let’s face it, its terrible), and people go out on a Friday night to spend their hard earned dollars on high quality organic food, but then the wait staff doesn’t greet you when you are sat? Our waiter requested we put in our dinner order with our drink order because the «kitchen was backed up.» Except they didn’t seem that busy, all the tables inside seemed mostly empty. And then I had to flag someone down so I could ask why a glass of wine took so long to get.
Bottom line, management needs to address the staff issue, or patrons are going to take their wallets to friendlier restaurants with better service.

Zely & Ritz is a great Farm to Table local Restaurant. Recently attended their annual Tomato Dinner which featured different types of tomatos in each course. We started the wonderful meal with Tomato water… and it didn’t end there! The best course was the Heirloom Tomato stuffed with ground Lamb & Eggplant served on a creamy tomato risotto. We ended the tasty dinner with Sun Gold Tomato Panna Cotta. The menu changes as the season changes and it never disappoints. They’ve opened up a patio this year making moonlight dining possible.

Ugh, did not enjoy this dining experience at all.
While the flavors were «ok», they were repeated throughout the menu in the same way. Chilled peas were found throughout the dishes — which I suppose they are trying to take advantage of local sourcing and availability, but at least try to have it taste different and prepared creatively. My brother-​in-​law ordered the rib eye served with a blueberry compote, which completely dominated the meal to the point even scraping it off did not improve the flavor of the beef.
The service was poor and our waitress seemed a bit spacey. We didn’t get our drink orders timely and they brought our bread out at strange times during the meal.
We didn’t bother with dessert here but walked down the street to a cupcake shop.
Sorry Zely & Ritz, we really wanted to like you, but we just were left unimpressed.

Wow. I’m…well, I’m shocked, honestly.
I’ve heard this place used to be really great — unfortunately that is no longer the case.
My partner and I made reservations to dine here on a Friday night at 6:30. In restaurant world, I’d like to think of this as a prime time, where if you don’t have your shit together, you probably never will.
Sooo.I guess they never will?
We walked in — the hostess had to ask all the servers how many people they had right now before assigning us our server, who had ‘1’.
(I’ll note that we overheard our server talking to his other table about how its his last weekend)
It took forever for us to get out drinks, or order our appetizer and so forth. Everything was painstakingly slow — there was a couple behind us that got up and walked out.
I ordered a glass of wine, he ordered a cocktail. At some point the server came over and asked us to give the wine list back because they were short on them and printing more — ok. no big deal. Kinda weird to be short on wine lists when the place is only half full on a Friday evening. but whatever.
A long while later, the server came back, sans wine and apologized saying the bartender had just walked out and they couldn’t make cocktails.
Ummm.ok…well, boyfriend will have a glass of the wine I’m having too then, no big deal, except that oh, that was the last bottle and here’s a little half glass of what was left, no charge. Server asks if we’d like to order another glass of wine too, I say ok, I’ll need to see the wine list. He pauses, and tries to suggest that I could tell him what I like and he’ll bring me something. Ah. no, but thanks, I just need the wine list. (I mean, really!)
The hummus and pickle we ordered were the highlight of the meal, and the wine I had was good. but it kind of continued to go downhill from there. We asked the server about the replacement bartender he mentioned and he said she was going to try to come in, even though she was a single mom… um… thanks?
We ordered a braised pork shoulder and a chicken with some kind of ‘strawberry gastrique’, and also the sweet corn risotto and local braised greens. I’ll say that I really wanted to like this place, promoting locally sourced and seasonal ingredients. but the food was ‘meh’ at best. The pork was alright, the braised greens very bitter and the chicken was. a complete fail, the breast overcooked and the dark meat rubbery and undercooked in a strange, sweet sauce.
Somewhere along the line our server our server let us know he just saw the bartender come in with her kids. …Great?
We never did order a cocktail. After two hours of painfully slow service and sad food we just wanted to get the heck out of there.
Poor Zely and Ritz — unless something changes soon I can’t imagine them sticking around much longer.

Huge fan of this restaurant! I have been here several times — can’t believe I have not reviewed it yet!
This place hosts amazing wine, beer and liquor dinners — always fun to see what the chef comes up with to pair with the selected alcohols!
Pigs in Pajamas are a wonderful start! Pork is Local from Cook Rock Farm up in Hillsborough. Sweet Potato Gnocchi is also amazing (and local).
And my favorite thing… I don’t remember the bartender’s name — he makes some delicious original cocktails!

I picked this place for my birthday dinner because it was a little fancier/​more expensive than places we normal go but because they use only local and organic ingredients in their dishes.
They also had a pretty affordable «Chef’s Choice» meal of $ 65 for three courses, for two people.
Our starters were a Carrot Ginger Soup with Cauliflower Florets and Beet Salad with Feta and Pear (also, Organic Greens); I really liked the soup, which didn’t have hot spice but had flavor and texture — husband’s favorite was the salad — but they were also both REALLY good.
The mains were a Braised Lamb Shank with Risotto (it had Broccoli in it), which was, HANDS-​DOWN, our favorite. It was flavorful, had a nice combination of ingredients and just blew us both away. Our other main was a Crusted Halibut with Carrots, Bok Choy and Borscht (very beet themed meal, but they’re in season!) — it was also very good, but not blow our socks off good.
Desserts were a split decision. There was a Mini Pine Nut and Buttered Honey tart thing with Honey Ice Cream which was AMAZING, and a Pomegranate Chocolate (I think chocolate) Mini Cake with Ginger Ice Cream that was… meh. The ginger ice cream was AMAZING, but the cake less so.
I also had one glass of white and one glass of red, though I think everything we had lent itself better to whites; maybe when we go back for another tasting menu we will order full portions.

I was very happy with our dinner, even without any heirloom tomatoes which I’m sure would have been the bomb! I imagine in the Summer there would be more options for locally grown produce.
We went on a Monday Night (after Christmas) which is ½ price Wine Bottle night, and there is something for everyone on the wine menu. We started with the Spinach and Feta in Puffed Pastry and Pigs in a Blanket appetizer. Tasty and just the right size for 2 of us, along with my really nice ½ size bottle of Chardonnay and my honey’s 2 Angry Angel beers (okay, he doesn’t drink wine so I was on my own there). He had the Mahi Mahi in a Pomegranate sauce which was seared crisp on the outside and moist on the inside. I had the Ribeye which was excellent. For our sides, I ordered Polenta and he ordered the Sauteed Greens, both of course locally grown/​made. Our Waitress was excited with our choices because of how nice they mix together. We took her suggestion and they really were wonderful together, in the same fork-​load.
I’ve read some reviewers not happy about the prices, but it really is good food and we had no problem with the service. Maybe going on a Monday Night would be a good suggestion to avoid long waits and to get a good deal on the wine.
The total for our meal and nice evening at the restaurant was just under $ 100 for the appetizers, drinks, main courses and sides. Not bad, for a special night out! Also I had a Living Social deal for $ 60 (purchased at $ 30 earlier in the year), so we felt we did really well with everything. I would definitely like to go back again!

I, seriously, love this place. The food is always delicious, fresh, seasonal and bursting with flavor. I took friends visiting from out-​of-​state there on Saturday for dinner. We arrived early at 5:45 PM and, within an hour, there wasn’t an empty table! Service was not at all impacted by the busy flow of diners. We ordered many small plates to share and our visiting friends quickly fell in love with our favorite restaurant.
On Monday, we were back for more with a different group of friends. Again, we ordered many small plates for the table. The pigs in pajamas are a definite crowd pleaser. We also ordered the sweet potato gnocchi. It came with a sauce so seasonal and bursting with brown-​sugary goodness that we had to order another round for the table. This time we tried the risotto with octopus. Everyone enjoyed it even though half of the group hadn’t had octopus before. Of course, the libations are always a hit as they are expertly crafted by Jay, the bartender. Mondays are a great night to visit the restaurant as they offer bottles of wine at half-​price. It was another busy evening at Zely & Ritz!

I’m one of those weird, annoying list makers: to do lists (long term and short), to buy lists, lists telling me to look at other lists. At work, I oppose the corporate status quo, the omnipresent notebook, instead opting to carry one single sheet of plain white paper and take notes in, of course, list format. So naturally I have a bucket list and was dead set on crossing off dining solo. Zely and Ritz was on my «To Eat in Raleigh» list, so why not make it a double?
Armed with a book, I overcame my initial solo dining phobia intent on «doing it big.» I ordered the iconic Pimm’s Cup (on my «cocktails to drink» list) — wonderfully indescribable, like a spicy, fruity (muddled), bitter mojito. It’s Pimm’s o’clock! I also ordered a glass of wine (yes, lush, I know, but I’m doing it big!) — Elyse Nero Misto (a red blend of black grapes). I’d never heard of it before but it’s from the Napa Valley (also known as my homeland) and it was rich (full) and bold, just like my fellow Californians.
«Here is some risotto while you wait.» courtesy of the chef. Oh dear me, creamy risotto with asiago cheese sweet corn and heirloom tomatoes — so rich, so creamy, SO good! For my main dish, I ordered the NC Amberjack en papillote with garlic confit and shitake mushrooms. I love amberjack and I loved this one — mild flavor offset by the garlic and rosemary flavors steamed into the fish perfectly. In keeping with my «I’m doing it big dining solo» theme, I finished with chocolate mousse with almond cake — it was extremely rich, not my favorite, but still good nonetheless.
Overall, Zely and Ritz was quite good. It was a bit pricy ($ 50 bill total) — but most of the ingredients are locally grown/​caught and organic so you pay a little extra for non-​engineered food, which I am ok with. I dislike having to order sides separately further complicating and exacerbating my food decision anxiety.
Surprisingly, I almost preferred eating alone. No one to tell me «you don’t want to order the amberjack» or ask me a million uncomfortable questions about myself, or tell me how they’ve invented post it notes or the airplane or something asinine like that. Honestly, I thoroughly enjoyed myself and my food. And unfortunately from reading the other reviews, maybe I’m flying solo on this one.

I would have really loved to like this place. any locavore restaurant gets a one-​up in my book, so we decided to try this place during restaurant week.
Our table was tucked in the back corner, and even the most anorexic model couldn’t squeeze between the tables. Was it really necessary to put these tables so close together? To nitpick even more, our drink order wasn’t taken for at least a few minutes after another 2-​top that came after us.
The restaurant week menu seemed interesting enough for us to order the whole menu. The result was partially disappointing. The first courses of Cheese and Peaches was heavy, but tasted really good. The gazpacho was just too plain for me. good at first, but boring half-​way through. It could’ve really used some chunks of cucumbers, peppers, avocado, etc.
Second courses of ham and catfish were okay. The ham supposedly came with a fig sauce, but it was very hard to taste. The catfish was a little salty alone, but with the tomato sauce and risotto tasted very good.
The dessert courses were perhaps the worst of it all. The peach and blueberry pudding cake was a little dry, and could’ve used a little extra helping of ice cream. I looked forward to the panna cotta, but I think it was poorly conceived (or spoiled). As we tasted it, we kept trying to convince ourselves that it wasn’t bad, but it really tasted bad.
Drink menu is fresh and interesting, and well-​proportioned.
2 and ½ stars for the local food and some good dishes. 2 and ½ off for the panna cotta and missing components. I think we’ll be back to try the rest of the menu and maybe even the Chef’s Tasting. Here’s for hoping.

Zely & Ritz has been on my todo list for a while but what a disappointment. I stopped in Friday night with my cousin, the place is decorated nicely, good date spot. The host asked us if we minded being seated at the bar in back and we said ok. Sort of odd, the restaurant was only half full. So we plopped ourselves down and it was a mistake. Nothing much to look at, the kitchen was set off to the side and the bartender was busy making five cocktails.
It took about 10 — 15 minutes before he even asked if we wanted a drink. We waited another 10 minutes and weren’t even asked about a food order. A quick review of the menu showed some decent items, all quite pricey. Z&R calls itself a tapas restaurant but it’s really not. Nothing Spanish about the menu at all, just very small plates of over-​priced food. Mostly $ 20+/entrée with the sides a la carte, but nothing that blew us away.
So we waited but it became obvious that the bartender was focused on his cocktails and we were a side-​thought. We decided it wasn’t worth the effort, paid for our drinks (glass of wine, gin tonic for $ 18) and took off. I’ve been to hundreds of restaurants in my life and only walked out of a handful. Very unprofessional service for a higher-​end place. Zely & Ritz may have good food and ambiance but you better be doing better on service if you’re going to charge those prices!