House of Zen

Gorgeous surroundings and fab Asian food.
I’ve been coming here quite a lot and have always had a great meal.
The cocktail list is devine and it is always hard to hold back from trying the entire lot.
Love the area it is in. Central and just around the corner from some of the best bars in the city.
Staff are always friendly but I must say I really miss seeing Grainne the hostess. She was the main reason we would have chosen HOZ. Always polite and friendly and would do anything for anyone.
Overall a fab restaurant however Zen on Adelade Street seems to have that little bit of an edge on its sister restaurant.
Great early bird menu available here also.

Food was generally good but service was poor. Very clear that the staff wanted us to hurry up, hovering a few feet away waiting to lift plates. Created a bad atmosphere

Wow. This place was awesome.
Have been wanting to go a while and finally got here via a competition I won for their New Years party via Facebook.
Included 7 course meal.
Highlights was the Chinese turnip started and the smoked strips of beed main.
Nice to be fed stuff that I would never order for myself.
Food is fresh and authentic. Not concealed with loads of thick sauce.
Portions are good size.
Staff are very attentive.
The cocktails where possibly the best I have ever tasted. Not overpowering with alcohol but flavours are delicately blended. The cocktail list is also the most extensive I have ever seen.

What a great place to have lunch. Recently had some food in here with friends and it felt like we were in some sort of secret hideaway. Food was excellent and location is great also.

Cocktails to die for and the food was amazing. We got about 6 mains between 8 girls and plenty of prosecco. It was absolutely fantastic. The peppered fillet steak dish was my personal fave. The signature cocktail topped it all off.

I called House of Zen on Saturday morning on the off chance that they would have a table available and to my shock they said. ‘yeah we have one at 8:30pm’! I couldn’t quite believe it — Saturday night — the same evening as Belsonic’s opening night. There had to be a catch?!
When we turned up at House of Zen at 8:15pm and were told we didn’t have a booking and they never booked tables for 8:30pm — they were so certain that I began to think I imagined the whole phone call. Thank God for technology because I was able to get my phone records and show the hostess. As soon as she seen the call record a lightbulb seemed to go off and she realised it was their error.
This was just a minor blip as once we were seated (at 8:30pm) the evening went swimmingly. First up we ordered cocktails. I had a perfect Mai Tai — sharp and flavoursome. We started with the salted chili squid. It was impeccable, it was cooked in a batter along with red and green chilis. It gone all too quickly. For mains we ordered Salted Chili Chicken and Honey Chicken both with sides of fried rice. My only criticism of the salted chili is that it was really dry but I solved this problem by drizzling honey sauce over my meal.
The ambiance of House of Zen is what sets it apart from other Asian restaurants in the city — even on a packed Saturday night they manage to maintain a gentle calm that puts you at ease. All in all I had a really good meal in House of Zen, it’s a really great treat location and definitely a place you take someone to impress them, but make sure you confirm your booking.

House of Zen — really high-​quality pan-​asian food in one of Belfast’s only open late (i.e., past 10 on a weeknight) places.
They’ve got flavour and chilli all set in a black lacquered interior that’s a bit reminiscent of late 80s New York… but it works.
Staff are friendly and prices are reasonable — though it’s definitely a more upscale place.

A great Belfast eatery! Been here many times without dissapointment!
Its a clean fancy-​feeling, well decorated establishment with good service and high quality foods! It gets very busy most evenings so book a table ahead to avoid any problems!
The food here is really great, as always I will recommend the Satay chicken, but there are two options for Satay here, the skewers and one that is «diced» with kim chi sauce. The diced option is possibly the best satay I’ve had, as its got a slightly mild spice to it. Very satistying!
Can highly recommend the duck in teriyaki stirfry for main, completely delicious!
On Saturday nights they have a professional dinner who walks around singing along to a backing tracks with his wireless microphone (genre: imagine Michael Buble). He’s actually very good, so you can either relax and listen, or cringe at him winking at you, either way, its good craic and a bit different! :)

I never thought I’d find a restaurant as good as Zen… then they launched their second venue and it is everything it should be!
Totally delicious!
We decided to go for the Asian Tapas as there were 6 of us and that way we were able to get loads of everything! It was all great and they offered things such as Duck Samosas (Yum!), shanghai dumplings, soups, mushrooms, crispy prawn, angry crab (divine), ribs, pancakes, ribs… there is really too much to mention but it is all fantastic! If you’re lucky enough to get a good day here you can sit outside and enjoy their landscaped garden and beautiful waterfall feature, It really is a tranquil place that I intend to visit again, and again and again!

Zen two is the only one of the Zen’s I have visited and I appear to be missing out on the original! I’m not a huge fan of Japanese food but luckily it was more a medley of different Asian styles so there was something to suit my moaning gob! The service was a little abrupt. It reminded me of the Red Panda in that they seem to almost demand your order whether or not you’ve made up your mind. The food was just ok, but I didn’t really get a chance to enjoy it if I’m honest, the service was to pushy and it was almost an in and out job! A pity, I’d heard great things, but maybe I just caught it on a bad day.

I think I may need to visit Zen Two again, because my experience seems to differ greatly from that of other reviewers!
To be fair, I’ve only been once, and that was for lunch, but I found it to be vastly inferior to its sister restaurant in Adelaide Street. The service was abrupt and a little bit stressful (we were really rushed to make a decision) and the food was a bit disappointing.
Given how much I love the original Zen however, I think I will try it again — seems only fair!

Some say sequels are never as good. Zen Two is the little brother of the king Zen, and located on Lisburn Road, it immediately opens itself up to a whole range of custom that the city centre equivalent does not. It’s hard to criticise a perfect meal and as much as I would love to have something controversial to say which would be in keeping with the idea sequels are never as good, I cannot fathom anything. The menu, though not as varied as the Zen restuarant, has a dish or two for everyone, so perhaps that can be my only criticism. It is an Asian restuarant so if you don’t like Asian food then check the menu before you go. The restaurant is so well laid out, the staff are incredibly nice (they made sure me and my girlfriend had everything we wanted and even let us change our side order without a grumble in sight) and the food did not take as long as we were expecting in this classy establishment. As unromantic as it is, the Malaysian curry is the finest I have ever had, and I don’t even consider looking for it anywhere else.
Perhaps the finest compliment I can pay is once I had finished, we went home and I fell asleep on the couch. Beyond perfect!
A definate must for anyone of any age group.

Asian food is by far and away my favourite type of food, and I cannot go past it usually. Having eaten in the first establishment a few times, known obvioursly as «Zen», this branch is the Little Brother so to speak, and offers a slightly less comprehensive, and more alternative menu. It’s well situated, and has as lovely an atmosphere as it’s counterpart, with funky furnishings and lighting, and the staff are helpful and patient — and very attentive too. They offer Asian tapas — heaven in my world! Their vegetable spring roll with home-​made chilli sauce is definitely worth ordering. We had a gorgeous meal here, and there is something for everyone, not just daredevil Asian food lovers like me — my husband had Pan Fried Irish Fillet Steak. This place knows it’s audience and is striking the balance that you need to do in Belfast, if your restaurant is to survive.