Ordered dumplings, udon and green curry. The dumplings had air pockets, the ingredients were mushy without texture. The person who wrapped the dumpling was lack of skill. Broth for udon was flavorless. On a Saturday afternoon, the host was also the waitress and took forever to take my order. Knocked off 2 stars for food quality, and 1 star for poor staffing.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 3
Service: 4
Sonya Dingman
Let me first start by saying the service is great - they're always on top of it, but when I go out to eat I do it for the food!I miss the Zen Zero of twenty years ago. When I first ate there I became OBSESSED with Thai food. I would go there and be wildly satisfied each time. Now (2024) it's like they barely even try in the kitchen. Even the Pad Thai (the signature dish of Thai restaurants) is dry. It's like they skimp on the tamarind sauce. The last few times I went I ended up dumping soy sauce on it so it tasted like *something.* For nostalgia, and hoping I was wrong, I kept going there like 15 times recently hoping I was wrong. But now, my friends refuse to go there with me anymore. It's so disappointing.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 1
Service: 4
Olivia B.
Always a Lawrence favorite!!! Drunken noodles are my go-to, with a Thai iced tea! The spring rolls with peanut sauce are my go-to appetizer.
Jon “Jonjohn” John
The vegan Khao soil, dear God
Max Niederer
Generally good. The soup was way too salty and I love salt. So some more Finesse would be nice. Oh and the table wiggled like crazy and caused the soup to go overboard. Not fun. I also ordered hot tea. It was bought in a pottery cup without handle. The cup took on the heat from the tea and it was impossible for me to hold the cup and drink the tea. There are cup that don't have such a strong heat transfer but this was the wrong cup for hot tea.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 4
Manuel López
The dry chicken curry was exquisite. The cacophony of flavors will remain fresh in my memory for a long time. Can't wait to come back!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Garrett
Summary, service was good, atmosphere was good, food was meh. I don't have much experience in Asian cuisine so may not be helpful.Water being served was from the tap... Server filled the water from the same faucet where there was a "did you wash" sign. Couldn't tell if there was any filtration system but looked like straight tap.Meat - I got pork friend for Chicken both looked and tasted like it was boiled. It was chewy, wrinkly and lacked flavor.Those are my two main takeaways, other than that it was a good experience.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 2
Service: 4
elyse j.
I am hesitant on posting this because the food was very good once I got my correct order... however, the service is some of the worst I have ever experienced. I came in around 4:00ish two other tables were in the restaurant at the time. I stood at the host stand for some time waiting to get sat, while I watched the wait staff chat it up. I got sat, and from there it just got worse.. it took roughly 10 minutes for me to have anyone come up to me and offer to get me a drink. I assume they had a shift change, but getting my drink order, or at least a water and and explanation that a server will be with me soon would've been sufficient. I finally got water by a lady who I assume was a manager, at this point in time I was ready to order. Still no sign of my server. I saw the waitstaff chatting and when the conversation was over I finally saw my server. She asked if I was ready to order, I told her my order and specifically said I want it as spicy as I can get it. Food came out fast, but after I took my first bite I didn't taste anything spicy. I was confused on if I just underestimated the spicy levels on their menu. My waitress didn't come check on me until about 10 minutes after I got my meal... she came to check on me and I asked if this was the spiciest level and she told me no, and that she forgets sometimes to put it in when ringing it up. She went and got me some of the spicy mix on the side, and after that I could taste the spice. At this point though, my food was getting cold and I expected it to been much better had it been mixed in while cooking. As a waitress myself, I just have never seen this bad of service. I could understand if the place was packed, but while I was there the max number of tables I saw was 4. Two of them (myself included) only had one customer. Slow times are the perfect time to do things correctly and ensure customer satisfaction, but it had seemed that the waitress was too busy conversing with her coworkers to give good service. I have never contemplated leaving less than 20% before but I was genuinely considering it. I still left over 20%, because I understand how it is to be a waitress, especially when it's slow in a restaurant. I would love to come back, but if this is the service I should expect, to-go might be a better option.
Soza Wishteyah
Enjoyed the whole experience! The food was excellent!! Nice,big portions&when I finished,I didn't feel heavy& bloated ?Thank you Zen Zero !Vegetarian options: I'm still transitioning to the vegetarian diet&this place has accomodated that.Very flavorful! Loved it!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Phad Thai
Ni ma
Food a little too pricey like the dumplings you get barely any but cost crazy amounts of money but great service and
We came based on pretty good Yelp reviews and oh my gosh were we disappointed! Maybe we came on a bad day? I'm not sure! The Pad Thai smelled and tasted like vomit. My daughter could not eat it and I took one bite and lost my appetite. My bowl of noodles had absolutely no flavor. It was like plain noodles sitting in hot water. When I asked for hoisin so I could add flavor, the server charged me for it. Almost all Thai or noodle restaurants automatically give you things to add to your soup, such as sriracha and hoisin. Not here. My husband and other daughter ordered the same bowl of noodles and added dumplings to their bowl for an additional $2. They each got ONE dumping in their soup. WHAT?! So we paid $4 extra for TWO dumplings... We will unfortunately never return and do not recommend.
Rachel H.
[To-go experience] Online menu was excellent and easy to read. Ordering was simple enough. It was ready pretty quickly. Unfortunately, when our food arrived, while the flavors were good (and spicier than Thai food typically comes - yes even for Thai food!!), it was all a bit dry and overcooked. The noodles just fell apart - but the GF calamari my friend ordered was a favorite! I've been told by locals that our experience was not typical of ZenZeros quality. I hope so!
Ash
Really delicious food!I am a big fan of the phad kee mao (drunken noodles) as well as the fresh spring rolls, with the tasty sauces.You are given shrimp chips as your appetizer, and I love dipping them a little in soy sauce and sticking it on my tongue.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Chicken Curry, Chicken Pad Thai, Shrimp Chips, Phad Kee Mao Drunken Noodles
R Walker
I called in the order and let them know that I was going to be there in 20 minutes to pick up the takeout order and I asked if they could wait 10 minutes before making it so it wasn't cold when I got it but when I got into the restaurant it wasn't ready and they hadn't even started making it yet. The Singapore noodles were delicious however. There's also no where to park most of the time because the restaurant is in the middle of downtown Lawrence.Vegetarian options: Lots of the menu items were vegetarian or gluten free with the options to substitute tofu for chickenParking: Good luck finding a spot to park!
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 2
Recommended dishes: Singapore Noodles, Phad Kee Mao Drunken Noodles
ronald johnson
My family and I thought we’d switch it up for our Sunday night dinner and try somewhere new- and we were all blown away by the quality of the food and the service. Kiara walked us through the menu and was so attentive throughout the meal. The food was even better than my wife’s cooking! We will be back!!!
Ordered dumplings, udon and green curry. The dumplings had air pockets, the ingredients were mushy without texture. The person who wrapped the dumpling was lack of skill. Broth for udon was flavorless. On a Saturday afternoon, the host was also the waitress and took forever to take my order. Knocked off 2 stars for food quality, and 1 star for poor staffing.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 3
Service: 4
Let me first start by saying the service is great - they're always on top of it, but when I go out to eat I do it for the food!I miss the Zen Zero of twenty years ago. When I first ate there I became OBSESSED with Thai food. I would go there and be wildly satisfied each time. Now (2024) it's like they barely even try in the kitchen. Even the Pad Thai (the signature dish of Thai restaurants) is dry. It's like they skimp on the tamarind sauce. The last few times I went I ended up dumping soy sauce on it so it tasted like *something.* For nostalgia, and hoping I was wrong, I kept going there like 15 times recently hoping I was wrong. But now, my friends refuse to go there with me anymore. It's so disappointing.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 1
Service: 4
Always a Lawrence favorite!!! Drunken noodles are my go-to, with a Thai iced tea! The spring rolls with peanut sauce are my go-to appetizer.
The vegan Khao soil, dear God
Generally good. The soup was way too salty and I love salt. So some more Finesse would be nice. Oh and the table wiggled like crazy and caused the soup to go overboard. Not fun. I also ordered hot tea. It was bought in a pottery cup without handle. The cup took on the heat from the tea and it was impossible for me to hold the cup and drink the tea. There are cup that don't have such a strong heat transfer but this was the wrong cup for hot tea.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 4
The dry chicken curry was exquisite. The cacophony of flavors will remain fresh in my memory for a long time. Can't wait to come back!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Summary, service was good, atmosphere was good, food was meh. I don't have much experience in Asian cuisine so may not be helpful.Water being served was from the tap... Server filled the water from the same faucet where there was a "did you wash" sign. Couldn't tell if there was any filtration system but looked like straight tap.Meat - I got pork friend for Chicken both looked and tasted like it was boiled. It was chewy, wrinkly and lacked flavor.Those are my two main takeaways, other than that it was a good experience.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 2
Service: 4
I am hesitant on posting this because the food was very good once I got my correct order... however, the service is some of the worst I have ever experienced. I came in around 4:00ish two other tables were in the restaurant at the time. I stood at the host stand for some time waiting to get sat, while I watched the wait staff chat it up. I got sat, and from there it just got worse.. it took roughly 10 minutes for me to have anyone come up to me and offer to get me a drink. I assume they had a shift change, but getting my drink order, or at least a water and and explanation that a server will be with me soon would've been sufficient. I finally got water by a lady who I assume was a manager, at this point in time I was ready to order. Still no sign of my server. I saw the waitstaff chatting and when the conversation was over I finally saw my server. She asked if I was ready to order, I told her my order and specifically said I want it as spicy as I can get it. Food came out fast, but after I took my first bite I didn't taste anything spicy. I was confused on if I just underestimated the spicy levels on their menu. My waitress didn't come check on me until about 10 minutes after I got my meal... she came to check on me and I asked if this was the spiciest level and she told me no, and that she forgets sometimes to put it in when ringing it up. She went and got me some of the spicy mix on the side, and after that I could taste the spice. At this point though, my food was getting cold and I expected it to been much better had it been mixed in while cooking. As a waitress myself, I just have never seen this bad of service. I could understand if the place was packed, but while I was there the max number of tables I saw was 4. Two of them (myself included) only had one customer. Slow times are the perfect time to do things correctly and ensure customer satisfaction, but it had seemed that the waitress was too busy conversing with her coworkers to give good service. I have never contemplated leaving less than 20% before but I was genuinely considering it. I still left over 20%, because I understand how it is to be a waitress, especially when it's slow in a restaurant. I would love to come back, but if this is the service I should expect, to-go might be a better option.
Enjoyed the whole experience! The food was excellent!! Nice,big portions&when I finished,I didn't feel heavy& bloated ?Thank you Zen Zero !Vegetarian options: I'm still transitioning to the vegetarian diet&this place has accomodated that.Very flavorful! Loved it!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Phad Thai
Food a little too pricey like the dumplings you get barely any but cost crazy amounts of money but great service and
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 3
Service: 5
Restaurantji Recommends
We came based on pretty good Yelp reviews and oh my gosh were we disappointed! Maybe we came on a bad day? I'm not sure! The Pad Thai smelled and tasted like vomit. My daughter could not eat it and I took one bite and lost my appetite. My bowl of noodles had absolutely no flavor. It was like plain noodles sitting in hot water. When I asked for hoisin so I could add flavor, the server charged me for it. Almost all Thai or noodle restaurants automatically give you things to add to your soup, such as sriracha and hoisin. Not here. My husband and other daughter ordered the same bowl of noodles and added dumplings to their bowl for an additional $2. They each got ONE dumping in their soup. WHAT?! So we paid $4 extra for TWO dumplings... We will unfortunately never return and do not recommend.
[To-go experience] Online menu was excellent and easy to read. Ordering was simple enough. It was ready pretty quickly. Unfortunately, when our food arrived, while the flavors were good (and spicier than Thai food typically comes - yes even for Thai food!!), it was all a bit dry and overcooked. The noodles just fell apart - but the GF calamari my friend ordered was a favorite! I've been told by locals that our experience was not typical of ZenZeros quality. I hope so!
Really delicious food!I am a big fan of the phad kee mao (drunken noodles) as well as the fresh spring rolls, with the tasty sauces.You are given shrimp chips as your appetizer, and I love dipping them a little in soy sauce and sticking it on my tongue.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Chicken Curry, Chicken Pad Thai, Shrimp Chips, Phad Kee Mao Drunken Noodles
I called in the order and let them know that I was going to be there in 20 minutes to pick up the takeout order and I asked if they could wait 10 minutes before making it so it wasn't cold when I got it but when I got into the restaurant it wasn't ready and they hadn't even started making it yet. The Singapore noodles were delicious however. There's also no where to park most of the time because the restaurant is in the middle of downtown Lawrence.Vegetarian options: Lots of the menu items were vegetarian or gluten free with the options to substitute tofu for chickenParking: Good luck finding a spot to park!
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 2
Recommended dishes: Singapore Noodles, Phad Kee Mao Drunken Noodles
My family and I thought we’d switch it up for our Sunday night dinner and try somewhere new- and we were all blown away by the quality of the food and the service. Kiara walked us through the menu and was so attentive throughout the meal. The food was even better than my wife’s cooking! We will be back!!!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5