Hope you guys open up again, best japanese curry spot in town!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Chicken Katsu Curry
Jackson Yoon
Great
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Maria C
Popped in here for the 1st time and very pleased I did! We were greeted warmly and seated right away at one of many 1/2 booth tables, the waitress was great from the time we were seated until we headed out -continously refilling drinks, getting our order and making recommendations and giving us details on the menu items. A great place to sit and chat over lunch.I had the Steamed Chicken Curry at a level 5 with white rice and cheesy Naan bread and let me tell you it was amazing!!! The sauce was so flavorful with a slow burn...could damn near drink it like a soup!
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
J D
Wow. I don’t eat curry based foods often, but decided to give it a go. Start off with attentive service. The waitress patiently answered all my questions and made some good suggestions. The plate was exceptionally good. Beef patty over rice, with veggies, fried egg drizzled with brown vegetable based curry. Great comfort food.
Erica Z.
Y'all, come get some before they close indefinitely. I happened across that news on their social media late at night and came the next day for lunch. I highly recommend looking on yelp for their most current hours as there are some shifts to them. Fried oysters is my go to for appetizer, always freshly fried piping hot and juicy. Any of their fried katsu stuff is top notch, oil is always fresh, coating is crunchy and even - the spam, potato croquette, sausage (which is not coated) are my favorite add ons. 5-6 is mypreferred spicy level, a good medium that builds and don't forget to ask for pickled radish on the side. Service here is always lovely. I hope they can come back after taking a long and well deserved break!
Jessica T.
This is curry! Wow, just absolutely amazing. I went with the Ono Special with a level 4 heat. Heat level was just right, spicy enough for a slight kick. The Ono Combo consists of pork katsu curry, spam katsu and fried egg. The curry shined! I literally could just eat the curry with rice all day. Did I end up wanting more curry and rice ? Yes! The pork & spam katsu were also fried just right. And with the curry, it paired so well. Other things on our table:-Unagi bowl: if your a fan of eel, this is the perfect bowl for you. I was surprised about how big the eel was, especially for that price. It was also glazed very well, which helped carry the flavor -Pork belly bowl: this one is good if you're a fan of pork belly but don't want curry. This one didn't stand out to me as much but I mean we are a a curry place, so you should opt for the curry - Chicken Karaage: this was a great appetizer/starter for the table. You can't for wrong with it. In terms of location, there is plenty of parking but the space is kinda small.
Jean-Charles N.
Great Japanese Curry spot on Clairemont Mesa boulevard.I got their Wednesday deal when I went, which was Chicken Katsu CurryLevel 4 was good for me which was about a Thai level 3The chicken was juicy and the breading very crispy
Tracie M.
I've been wanting to go here for awhile and finally got the chance a few weeks ago. Smaller than I thought but lots of parking, which is a nice change from that other popular curry place down the street. Food came out really quick and lots of servers checking up on you. We had the fried oysters appetizer and that was real yummy. I had the Beef Moco with Mushroom curry and it was delicious! It had a fried egg over the beef patty, on top of white rice and smothered in curry sauce with mushrooms. I love mushrooms so this was right up my alley. They also have bowls on the menu, like unagi, karaage, katsu, or pork belly, if you don't want to any curry. I'll definitely be back to try their other items.
Michael Pescador
I wanted curry and Cocos ichibanya messed up on the waiting list and I decided yo come to Zen. Located in a big but little shop center, I wanted to find Curry spot and better than Cocos(it's not the same compare to Japan/Hawaii).A simple decor, zen wasn't busy(2pm). I ordered the beef stew curry, garlic Nan, and takoyaki(still can't find an authentic takoyaki spot in SD). I'm not big on spicy food and I got a level 3 and that was good enough for me. Good flavor and tender meat. Maybe I didn't see the menu more, I think I had to add the potato and carrots. Nan bread went well with the curry and the tokoyaki was fried but top with bonito(not alot of other spots do this).After looking at the menu, there wasn't additional toppings of potatoes or carrots. In all, it's okay curry. Wish they had that options or maybe I didn't ask. I'd go back only cause Cocos isn't the spot. It's just well known. After curry, you can get some milk tea next door. On to the next.
If you're craving Japanese curry in San Diego, this is the place to go! The chicken katsu was perfectly crispy and juicy, the korokke was a side added that was also perfectly crispy plus fluffy on the inside. The pickles tasted super fresh. The rice was on point. This was just awesome. And the curry came out so quickly! Prompt service and kind staff.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Chicken Katsu Curry
Bryant F.
I'd give this place 4.5 stars if I could but that's not an option so I'll give them 5 to support small businesses. The food is really good here but a bit pricey after all the inflation increases considering its a fried cutlet over rice. If you can come on the right days for their daily specials, that's the move and the curry is delicious here. Other than the price, which isn't purely on the business, the only other reason I'd give 4.5 stars is because they don't sell just the curry by itself or even a curry and rice option. A curry place that doesn't sell just the curry just isn't right... Coco does this and it's a great option to bring home and add to home made meals, but that's my only negative here.
Jessica W.
Food: chicken katsu curry and croquette curry, spice level zero, with white rice. Delicious, authentic, Japanese curry and always consistent. This is a chain that was started in Las Vegas and that we go to regularly. Imagine my surprise when I searched for Japanese curry during our visit to San Diego and this came up! Score!
Javier Perez
The curry was really good. It was my first time eating Japanese curry and I was impressed. The spicyness level can get really hot at low levels of spicyness so don't underestimate it. Service was a little slow withsome of our request but overall it was decent.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 4
Hahudy B.
I usually am not fond of curry, but this time it was amazing! The gyoza was so crispy, it made a loud noise whenever I bit into it. The chicken inside was so tender and surprisingly juicy. The pork katsu was crunchy and succulent, complimenting the Umami curry. I didn't come here for the eel, but the Unagi bowl was the best dish by far! The eel was fall-apart tender and had the most delicious teriyaki sauce ever. The service was also above average. Our food came out fast and hot. The waiter was very interactive and made sure our experience at Zen Curry was good, which it was! Definitely recommend this spot.
Please reopen soon!!!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Hope you guys open up again, best japanese curry spot in town!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Chicken Katsu Curry
Great
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Popped in here for the 1st time and very pleased I did! We were greeted warmly and seated right away at one of many 1/2 booth tables, the waitress was great from the time we were seated until we headed out -continously refilling drinks, getting our order and making recommendations and giving us details on the menu items. A great place to sit and chat over lunch.I had the Steamed Chicken Curry at a level 5 with white rice and cheesy Naan bread and let me tell you it was amazing!!! The sauce was so flavorful with a slow burn...could damn near drink it like a soup!
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Wow. I don’t eat curry based foods often, but decided to give it a go. Start off with attentive service. The waitress patiently answered all my questions and made some good suggestions. The plate was exceptionally good. Beef patty over rice, with veggies, fried egg drizzled with brown vegetable based curry. Great comfort food.
Y'all, come get some before they close indefinitely. I happened across that news on their social media late at night and came the next day for lunch. I highly recommend looking on yelp for their most current hours as there are some shifts to them. Fried oysters is my go to for appetizer, always freshly fried piping hot and juicy. Any of their fried katsu stuff is top notch, oil is always fresh, coating is crunchy and even - the spam, potato croquette, sausage (which is not coated) are my favorite add ons. 5-6 is mypreferred spicy level, a good medium that builds and don't forget to ask for pickled radish on the side. Service here is always lovely. I hope they can come back after taking a long and well deserved break!
This is curry! Wow, just absolutely amazing. I went with the Ono Special with a level 4 heat. Heat level was just right, spicy enough for a slight kick. The Ono Combo consists of pork katsu curry, spam katsu and fried egg. The curry shined! I literally could just eat the curry with rice all day. Did I end up wanting more curry and rice ? Yes! The pork & spam katsu were also fried just right. And with the curry, it paired so well. Other things on our table:-Unagi bowl: if your a fan of eel, this is the perfect bowl for you. I was surprised about how big the eel was, especially for that price. It was also glazed very well, which helped carry the flavor -Pork belly bowl: this one is good if you're a fan of pork belly but don't want curry. This one didn't stand out to me as much but I mean we are a a curry place, so you should opt for the curry - Chicken Karaage: this was a great appetizer/starter for the table. You can't for wrong with it. In terms of location, there is plenty of parking but the space is kinda small.
Great Japanese Curry spot on Clairemont Mesa boulevard.I got their Wednesday deal when I went, which was Chicken Katsu CurryLevel 4 was good for me which was about a Thai level 3The chicken was juicy and the breading very crispy
I've been wanting to go here for awhile and finally got the chance a few weeks ago. Smaller than I thought but lots of parking, which is a nice change from that other popular curry place down the street. Food came out really quick and lots of servers checking up on you. We had the fried oysters appetizer and that was real yummy. I had the Beef Moco with Mushroom curry and it was delicious! It had a fried egg over the beef patty, on top of white rice and smothered in curry sauce with mushrooms. I love mushrooms so this was right up my alley. They also have bowls on the menu, like unagi, karaage, katsu, or pork belly, if you don't want to any curry. I'll definitely be back to try their other items.
I wanted curry and Cocos ichibanya messed up on the waiting list and I decided yo come to Zen. Located in a big but little shop center, I wanted to find Curry spot and better than Cocos(it's not the same compare to Japan/Hawaii).A simple decor, zen wasn't busy(2pm). I ordered the beef stew curry, garlic Nan, and takoyaki(still can't find an authentic takoyaki spot in SD). I'm not big on spicy food and I got a level 3 and that was good enough for me. Good flavor and tender meat. Maybe I didn't see the menu more, I think I had to add the potato and carrots. Nan bread went well with the curry and the tokoyaki was fried but top with bonito(not alot of other spots do this).After looking at the menu, there wasn't additional toppings of potatoes or carrots. In all, it's okay curry. Wish they had that options or maybe I didn't ask. I'd go back only cause Cocos isn't the spot. It's just well known. After curry, you can get some milk tea next door. On to the next.
Restaurantji Recommends
If you're craving Japanese curry in San Diego, this is the place to go! The chicken katsu was perfectly crispy and juicy, the korokke was a side added that was also perfectly crispy plus fluffy on the inside. The pickles tasted super fresh. The rice was on point. This was just awesome. And the curry came out so quickly! Prompt service and kind staff.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Chicken Katsu Curry
I'd give this place 4.5 stars if I could but that's not an option so I'll give them 5 to support small businesses. The food is really good here but a bit pricey after all the inflation increases considering its a fried cutlet over rice. If you can come on the right days for their daily specials, that's the move and the curry is delicious here. Other than the price, which isn't purely on the business, the only other reason I'd give 4.5 stars is because they don't sell just the curry by itself or even a curry and rice option. A curry place that doesn't sell just the curry just isn't right... Coco does this and it's a great option to bring home and add to home made meals, but that's my only negative here.
Food: chicken katsu curry and croquette curry, spice level zero, with white rice. Delicious, authentic, Japanese curry and always consistent. This is a chain that was started in Las Vegas and that we go to regularly. Imagine my surprise when I searched for Japanese curry during our visit to San Diego and this came up! Score!
The curry was really good. It was my first time eating Japanese curry and I was impressed. The spicyness level can get really hot at low levels of spicyness so don't underestimate it. Service was a little slow withsome of our request but overall it was decent.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 4
I usually am not fond of curry, but this time it was amazing! The gyoza was so crispy, it made a loud noise whenever I bit into it. The chicken inside was so tender and surprisingly juicy. The pork katsu was crunchy and succulent, complimenting the Umami curry. I didn't come here for the eel, but the Unagi bowl was the best dish by far! The eel was fall-apart tender and had the most delicious teriyaki sauce ever. The service was also above average. Our food came out fast and hot. The waiter was very interactive and made sure our experience at Zen Curry was good, which it was! Definitely recommend this spot.