Zar Cafe

Is this place still open?
Ive been here a handful of times but the last 4 times I’ve called, nobody has answered. I thought the food was very good each time I was there.

You must pick a wed afternoon, get there around 2pm and sit out back on the patio, The music and trees and peace and quiet is sooo nice. The food is also a winner here. Big portions and tasty drinks. The wife is Persian and she approved of the eggplant spread of course :), Cornish hen Barg, the rice. My only wish they severed Tadeek, the crispy goodness on the bottom of the pot of rice…

So this was my third trip to Zar Café. First two were pretty good.
Third time NOT a charm.
Ordered a dish on the menu, and I quote
Flame Kissed Fresh Tuna
over micro greens, chopped tomatoes and avocado with mustard wassabi sauce or mango salsa and blood orange reduction
What I got was a small piece of seared tuna on a bare plate with a bunch of chopped mango on top.
When I asked the waitress where my tomatoes, avocado and mixed greens were, she replied that they had «changed» the item on the menu. So, being reasonable I asked her to at least bring out some mixed greens at which point she informed me she could do that but would have to charge me extra for a side salad.
When I asked to speak to the owner/​manager, who I recognized as being perched on a chair near the door as she had been the previous times I ate there, I was told the manager was not in.
So in short, don’t expect what you order to resemble what is described on the menu, and don’t expect any customer service at all.
I won’t be returning. There are lots of great restaurants in the area actually who serve what’s represented on their menu.

I was really excited about discovering a new Mediterranean restaurant close to home, but… meh. Pricey, so-​so service, uninspired menu. I ordered a fish special for $ 32 and I could tell the fish was frozen. No falafel or basic Greek dishes. On the positive side, the Tanoori Root appetizer was delicious.

Probably my favorite local Mediterranean food. The greek salad with gyro meat is my favorite, despite it being cliché, they really have quality rarely seen. The atmosphere inside/​outside is also very nice. I usually go for the take out, but I give them credit for their overall appearance, it’s somewhere I would definitely consider eating out at.

Love this little place! Shorter drive for me to get good Persian food for sure. Was here for lunch with my mom, who also enjoyed the Koobideh sooo good! Can’t wait to bring my hubby for date nite!

very, very, very good food. Décor is innovative, young, and overall extremely refreshing for this area, which has a lot of good restaurants but many are kind of on the stodgy side. The owner is an architect and has lent an urban sophistication to it that brings it up a level from surrounding places. I go there often and always excellent.

Tried Zar tonight for the first time. Loved it! Food was fresh and delicious and the portions were big. We had the gyros, chicken souvlaki, and sirloin skewers. Pita bread was excellent and the humus was delicious. New go to for take out.

Persian /​Mediterranean
I had been wanting to get in here for a while now — so we took a mutual birthday celebration to meet up here and see what Zar had to offer.
Located in the center of tiny St. James, Zar is on the small in size, but not cramped to the point where you cannot enjoy your dinner. I liked the intimate setting and there is a fireplace as well. The kitchen is in the corner and is an open style, so you can see what’s going on in there, if you choose to do so.
Our waiter was outstanding. He knew the menu inside out and was ultra attentive. We started off with some wine by the glass and he popped by now and again to see how we were doing. We had a lot of chatting to do to catch up and he was very cool with that — there was no pressure to rush or anything like that. Perfecto.
We eventually started with the sample of Humus, Eggplant and Spinach Dip, which came out with some pita. We blew through the first load of pita and they happily brought us more. She was loving the eggplant, I liked the hummus best. A second glass of wine and we were ready to order up the mains.
The menu is fairly extensive — plenty of choices from pastas to meats and seafood. I went with the Saffron chicken, she went with a Chilean sea bass special. We sat back and enjoyed our discussion as the place filled out.
They do a brisk business here and in the summer there is some outdoor seating available, but not so much in December. I would have liked to see the fireplace lit but not sure if it was functional or not. The outdoor seating they seem to have both in front (small area) and in the rear (much larger). I’d like to hit it when it warms up as i love dining al fresco.
There is also a small service bar in the main dining area — but there are no seats there to sit and have a glass of wine. Understandable due to the size of the room.
Dinner came and everything was good. I sort of expected more of a Persian flare to the spices but to be honest, the food was sort of what I would get in any other decent restaurant. I guess the menu choices are along the lines of Persian /​Mediterranean but merely in terms of style of the meal itself. I think there is a lot of room to improve there. There was nothing wrong with it, I just expected a more lively spicing…
Portions were large and although we wanted dessert, we could not manage to find room to eat any more so we skipped. The desserts did look appealing– so next time.
Overall a nice place to take a date — intimate setting, great service and good food. Prices were average for the area.
Parking on the street.

On of my favorite restaurants in St. James. Mt dining companion had started with the ceases salad and I started with the Greek salad, both were perfectly dressed and the lettuce was fresh and crispy. I had the saffron chicken special which was served with the special rice. The entrée was delish. My dinner companion ordered the pasta dish which was also very good. Chocolate mouse for dessert… a must have. The service was attentive without being overbearing. Highly recommend Zara.

The décor and ambiance is very chic, and warm.

I came to Zar for a work lunch and I can’t wait to go back!
Zar Café is a small, intimate space, but didn’t feel cramped. They were able to accomodate 12 of us for lunch, but definitely make a reservation if you are planning on going at night as I can see it filling up quickly.
For an appetizer we shared two orders of dip sampler, which had eggplant dip, hummus and spinach dip. It all came with pita bread and we were given free refills of it. They were all really delicious. The spinach dip was more like just sauteed spinach that you could heap onto a slice of pita. Still good, but just not what I was expecting.
For my entrée I really wanted to try a Persian dish as I have never tried any before. I asked for the Jooje Kebob, but they said they didn’t have any left. I’m not really much of a beef eater, but I decided to go with the Barg, which is filet mignon grilled on a skewer. It also comes with a ton of basmati rice and something called Sumac sauce. I LOVED the Sumac sauce. The flavor is hard to describe. I haven’t really had anything with that flavor before, but I encourage you to try it if it comes with your meal. I don’t usually like eating beef because it can be chewy, but the Barg was so tender and I ate practically every bite.
For dessert I had the tiramisu, which is the only dessert on the menu that isn’t homemade. It was good, but the other desserts that my coworkers had were great too.
Also, they seem to have a full bar and plenty of wine and beer selections to choose from as well. And the glasses of wine are large! :)
The only downside to this place that I can see if the parking situation. Since I don’t normally frequent this area, I don;t know if there is some large parking lot that I’m not aware of, but I parked in the doctors office lot next door. There is some street parking too though!

We loved our dinner! The Mediterranean fish with spinach was delicious and the filet mignon kebab was melt in your mouth. We have been to zar several times and have never been disappointed. The food, décor and service is first rate. We look forward to going back. It is a jewel right in our own backyard. We try something different every time we go, because the menu is so diverse. Clean open kitchen is a plus! Love seeing the owners there making sure everything is just right.
Dan & Michele

One of the best meals I have ever eaten in my entire life. Appetizers, entrees, side dishes, and desserts were all AMAZING!

Zar is one of the thousands of places on my list to visit, and it somehow made its way to the top of my list this past Tuesday night, for a to-​go order enjoyed with some of Tap & Barrel’s finest beers on tap. It came recommended by fellow Unilocaler Doug G’s family and here’s how it went down:
Location:
+ It’s located right on Lake Ave in St. James, NY so it’s easily accessible from anywhere. It almost stands on its own and isn’t located in a strip mall. It’s easily locate-​able from the white Christmas lights that illuminate it.
Ambiance:
+ The restaurant from the inside is beautiful, the kitchen is exorbitantly clean (you see it immediately as you walk in and you’re standing at the hostess stand waited to be seated by the wonderful hostess Regina who’s extremely friendly and welcoming). It seemed as though the owners were sitting at the front table as they kept offering for me to take a seat as my food was getting prepared
Intro on the food — the menu is very extensive ranging from Greek to Turkish to Persian and «General Mediterranean» dishes. Frankly, I loathe the term Mediterranean as it’s become overly bastardized throughout the years and doesn’t really denote anything.
Food:
— Wild Salmon Kabob with Basmati Rice and Ceasar Salad. $ 19. You have the option to either have Basmati Rice or Potatoes (If I remember correctly) and a Greek or Ceasar salad. The dish was listed as a kabob if I’m not mistaken and there was no kabob to be found. It instead was a slab of wild salmon which I had asked to be cooked as RARE as possible and it came out medium/​medium-​well as you’d normally cook salmon if you hadn’t asked for a particular temperature preparation. The salmon was also a tad bland — it’s a meaty fish that can handle a lot of flavors and it was a salt/​pepper rub with garlic and some other spice that we couldn’t figure out. It needs to be a bit more seasoned and perhaps with some more Persian-​y style or Eastern Turkish style seasonings to bump up the flavor. Their version of Basmati rice (I consider Basmati rice to be the #1 rice in the world, in general) was cooked well and was moist though it was laden with a ton of butter on the bottom which was quite disappointing. This is a common issue that I find in a lot of Indian restaurants and/​or other places serving Basmati rice — wayyyy too much butter. In fact, your plate/​container looks like a melted pat of butter/​oily mess under the rice. The Ceasar salad was good — but that’s not hard to screw up, dressing, fresh greens and grated Parmesan.
Service:
+ Regina the hostess is extremely friendly, always smiling and ensured that I was happy with the experience while waiting. I will hand it to them that the order came out very quickly after walking in and ordering… within 8 – 10 minutes. Thumbs up for that.
SO — here’s my take, it’s much better than your typical tasteless Americanized Greek fare that you’ll find at many places and it’s quite classier from the inside without making too much of a dent in your wallet. Improve the salmon from a temperature preparation standpoint as per request of how you’d like it cooked, season it better and perhaps we can bump you to 3.5−4 stars. This place does have a lot of potential…
*It’s rumored that it’s BYOW though they may have stopped that and/​or a $ 5 corkage fee? Call and find out prior to arriving — YMMV.
**Some of the other reviews mention that there aren’t any Persian /​Iranian dishes on the menu and I completely disagree with this. Their menu definitely features things like Sultani Entrée/​Kabob (Sultaneh) which can be found from Turkey to Iran to Afghanistan. They definitely do feature a handful of Persian items…
THIS has been a review by Gaurav

Only came here for take out. I was craving for some Mediterranean food. My coworker told me to check out Zars. Now, I was a bit skeptical because my coworker likes anything he sees. But when I saw the place, I loved it! so cozy but sheek. I ordered take out because I had no time to relax and go back to work. My order came out fast. I ordered a gyro wrap with a Greek salad. It was to die for! They did not cheap out on the gyro. You get what you ordered. I will come back for more!

What a bright spot in Saint James. Lake Avenue is so lucky to have this amazing eatery. We eat here typically once a week for take-​out and about once a month we treat ourselves to dine in. It really doesn’t matter though, because it is delicious and fresh whether we eat it at home or in the restaurant. The modern sleek décor is so appealing. It feels like you are stepping into an unknown NYC hot spot. The waitstaff is always pleasant and the owners are always around making sure everything about your experience is perfect. I have NEVER had a bad meal from Zar. The salads are refreshing and so tasty, the grilled shrimp entrée is my personal favorite, with it’s sesame roasted parsnip potatoes and pepperoncini dipping sauce, delish. The «eggplant dip» which is what I call it, since I can’t pronounce it’s proper name, is phenomenal. A must order for appetizer.
Last night, my husband and I got take out from Zar. Chicken gyro wraps and eggplant dip. Tonight 6 girlfriends and I treated ourselves to a «Mommies night out» at Zar. I got filet mignon with their signature potatoes and of course their side greek salad. SO amazing. Finished the meal off with their homemade baklava. Thanks Zar, for two great nights of food. See you next week.

My wife, 15-​year old son and I ate here for the first time last Saturday night and we were pleasantly surprised. The food was excellent and the atmosphere was cozy and elegant. My son and I both had the Filet Mignon kabobs with sesame potatoes and my wife had the Moussaka. The filets melted in our mouths and my wife absolutely *loved* the Moussaka. My mixed greens salad with dried cranberries and pomegranate vinaigrette was soft, fresh, light and sweet. I am definitely not a salad eater as a rule but I truly loved this salad! The deserts were wonderful, and the waiter was pleasant, respectful and available. I highly recommend this little jewel of a restaurant hidden in out-​of-​the-​way St. James.

I came here last week with my mom for a quiet dinner. I had the Persian chicken with saffron and jeweled rice, and it was the best thing I have eaten in a while.
My mom’s chicken and pasta dish paled in comparison.

I had expected a lot more, but Zar left me with much to desire. The food was mealy. Of all the greek restaurant on long island why would I go back here? The beautiful city chic atmosphere won’t bring me back.
I was kind of hoping there’d be more persian options on the menu. The article in newsday said it was persian/​greek but the menu had nothing of a persian meal. The menu for even greek cuisine was limited. The spanikopita was bite size. The hummus was really good, but aside from that, the food was comparable to the «greek to go» fast food in stony brook — just arranged on a plate all nice.
When I want persian food I’ll have to go all he way to Rawagh in mineola (but it’s amazing). And when I want greek, the best around here is greek village in commack. I’m a smithtowner, and I love a local restaurant! But not unless it’s good.