Cafe Zum Zum

Love the friendly staff, informal environment & amazing chicken spinach curry!
It is filling & one lunch lasts me two days is such a large portion!

The food at this place is not bad and it’s definitely a bargain, but I’ve been there twice now and the man at the counter has been argumentative, harsh and impolite. I decided to give it one more try after my first visit, but I got the exact same experience. There are plenty of places to eat downtown where people are nice, so I don’t think I’ll go back.

One thing you usually don’t find in Seattle is an inexpensive place to purchase a lunch. If you like tasty and cheap, Zum Zum Café is your place. Everyday a vegetarian lunch item is offered for five bucks. And on Friday any vegetarian item is available. Spiced right and more than enough food for even us with big appetites, Zum Zum is your only choice in central Seattle.

I had lamb curry combination. It’s good and moderately spiced. You can get the indian/​Pakistani style pickle as well.

Some of the best tasting food you can find in this price range.
The chicken garbanzo curry is a wonderful mix of meat, rice, spice, and beans. Though the food is usually a little more on the oily side than I’d like, the taste keeps me coming back.

If you have $ 6, it’s Thursday, and you want food, you should order the Black-​Eyed-​Peas lunch special. Their other food isn’t bad either, but the BEPs might as well come with their own chorus of angels and light from above.
The music is usually pretty awesome too.

Considering the price, good food. Good quantity. Oily and combo has no salad. If you’re hungry and on a budget would def try this!

One of my favorite downtown lunch places. I eat Zum Zum lunch at least once a week and usually 2 – 3 times per week, typically ordering to go but sometimes I eat at the restaurant or the large outdoor courtyard adjacent to the restaurant. The curries are fresh and delicious. Good portions and reasonable prices. Either order from the menu or custom order. Instead of rice, I like to substitute in all salad with the curries. You can even order split curries. My favorites are chicken garbanzo and all of the veggie options. Sometimes I order lentil soup and rice and pour the soup over the rice. Café Zum Zum is one of a kind, I’m not aware of anything else like it in Seattle.

Best curry lunch stop in financial district hands down. This place takes me back to my trip to India everytime. So authentic SO AMazing! Vegetarian friendly. They are only open for lunch Monday –Friday but has the exact vibe and taste of fast food in India. The Garlic Nan is well worth the extra. Unfortunately the serve tortillas for bread. Also LIVE DANGEROUSLY and grab some Mango Chutney as a condiment.

I ordered the Spinach and Garbanzo bean veggie dish with rice and bread. Everyone was wonderfully nice, made sure I knew where all the amenities were to accompany my meal and wanted to make certain it was packaged well to get where I needed to go.
The only drawback was I wish they had naan instead of a tortilla with the meal, however, I tend to go crazy on the breads, so it’s probably better for me with the tortilla.
Delicious. Enough extra condiments to flavor the dish as spicy as I wanted it. Kind people. I will be back.

Despite providing both good portion sizes & good prices, Zum Zum is nothing more than an overly-​greasy/​salty knockoff of Indian cuisine. Other than the greasy & salty flavor, there’s not very much else to the flavor in the beef curry. I’ve eaten here a few times and am never impressed. Even the rice is disappointing. Also, an order of curry doesn’t come with naan, but rather a tortilla (or maybe it’s a poor man’s Chapatis?). Don’t be fooled by the long lines, this is definitely not the best option for Indian cuisine in downtown Seattle.

I don’t eat out lunch much, but when I do, I usually go here. The food is tasty, reasonably priced, and the owner is very nice. The naan that comes with the daily special is a tortilla, but for the price, I’m not complaining.

Canned spinach and a tortilla — two things that I do not expect to get when I go for Indian food. I ordered the Lamb Spinach Curry. The spinach tasted exactly like canned spinach. I know that India is a very marge, multi-​cultural place, but I am fairly certain that India and Mexico are different countries, so I am unclear as to why they are giving out tortillas instead of roti or naan. Of all of the Indian places that I have eaten at in the Seattle area (and in India), I would rate this the worst. Edible, but that’s it. Why not walk right past this place to one of the many other restaurants in the same building, or across the street? The prices are all comparable and literally everyone else’s food is better. Of course, I think the same thing about Olive Garden and they are still in business, so what do I know?

I grab the vegetarian curry special of the day about once a week. I don’t know what it is, but it’s like I’m addicted to it.
+ Great price for lunch with a fountain drink.
+ Large portion of rice and curry that fills you up.
+ Rice is delicious by itself.
+ Even if the line goes outside, it goes quick.
— Seating inside gets crammed during lunch and is sometimes hard to not bump into people; but hey it’s a popular place!
— Roti (it’s a tortilla) is a bit odd but it works as a cheaper substitute to keep the lunch costs low.

Definitely a fan… I think we eat here at least once a week.
The vegetarian special is QUITE a deal too!!!
I don’t like the tortilla naan — so I always ask him to not give it to me.
Their RICE is DELICIOUS.
And the vegetarian dish with peas and stuff is spicy!

My review is based on the lamb curry I had today for lunch only. I never even stepped foot inside the restaurant so I can’t rate anything about the décor, ambience, or service. I just dropped off my coworker to go in and order our take out. The line was long and out the door. I circled the block and parked and waited for his return. Less than 5 minutes later he came back out. The moment he stepped foot back inside the car, I got a whiff of delicious smelling food. I couldn’t wait to get back to the office to try my lamb curry and when I did, I was quite impressed. It was a generous portion, the lamb meat was tender, and the curry sauce was flavorful with a nice kick to it. I stuffed my face and was so full.
Great place for lunch if you work downtown. I will definitely come back again if I am in the area, but it will be a while since it is not very convenient for me.

They have really great lunch options for very inexpensive and thy have a lot of vegetarian options. Their specials are always a deal and the staff is really nice. The courtyard is always a great alternative to sit because they can get full fast.

Looking for a $ 4.99 vegetarian lunch special with a chance to score outdoor seating in a courtyard? This place is an option.
Plenty of beans and rice, plus a grill warmed tortilla and a small soda.

Come before 12 or after 12:45 or there will be a long line! There are daily vegetarian curry specials that come with basmati rice and a naan (it’s a tortilla). The daily specials come with a fountain drink as well. All dishes are oily but very flavorful. Most people that I take here for lunch have not been able to finish the whole order as the dishes are very filling.
For those looking for a CHEAP MEAL, the daily vegetarian special is the cheapest/​most filling/​semi-​healthy lunch I know of in the downtown area.
For those looking for a GREASE FIX, I suggest the lamb curry. The meat is usually really tender after the lunch rush as the meat has been sitting and simmering in the display. The meat is a little firmer before the lunch rush as it has not had as much time to simmer in the display. Both are good, I usually prefer to come after the lunch rush if I know I am getting the lamb.

I’ve been going to Zum Zum for many years now and have gone less over time. While the location is very convenient for me, things have changed. In general, everyone working there is friendly and I’ve actually noticed, some of them even seem friendlier.
My ‘go to’ dish here is lamb curry. I’ve also tried a number of spinach dishes and vegetarian dishes over the years. Lamb curry is still my favorite dish — soft lamb, well cooked rice, and a tortilla. There are three reasons I am changing my review from 4 stars to 2 stars. First, the portions have gotten smaller over time. Second, the prices have gone up over time (and not relative to portions). Third, the food is greasier.
Don’t get me wrong, I still consider the food good but not great. I have to be honest and say that the last few times I’ve been there, it’s been because someone has invited me. It hasn’t been my choice.
TIP: If you go there, consider paying $ 1.25 for the garlic naan. Unlike the tortilla in your box of food, it’s heartier, warmed on the grill, and hey, it has garlic!