Zen Japanese Food Fast

Update: The restaurant reached out to make amends, so I decided to return to Zen and give it another try. This time, I ordered the Shishito Steak and the BTS Burger—both were delicious and cooked to perfection. I have to give credit to the restaurant for how they handled my initial experience. They took accountability, showed genuine care, and demonstrated that my first visit was not a reflection of their true standards. I will definitely be returning in the future and encourage others to give this establishment a try! ---- First time ordering from Zen. I ordered the Muscles from Brussels for lunch takeout. The beef and brussel sprouts were very charred and burnt (see photo). How charred and burnt? The beef was rock hard when I bit into it. The quality of rice and sauces were fine and well flavored. Service at the counter was friendly and adequate. Overall, I'm not sure if I would give this place a second try. Initial Rating: 2 Stars

We got the school girl bowl with rice and salt and pepper shrimp with noodles. The shrimp was extremely deep fried and noodles were bland and the whole bowl was flavorless. Just felt like eating unseasoned cooked noodles with fried shrimp. The chicken bowl was very ok, it dominantly had the sauce flavor- probably aioli and the quantity of the protein seemed to be very less.

We received wonderful service from Nate tonight! Even though it was busy and he told us he's been working for 10 hours, he greeted us with a warm welcome. The food was great, but the Schoolgirl Bowl was by far my favorite. It was very delicious and I will most certainly be coming back for it.

In all honesty this place is GOOD. Friendly service, tasty food, lots of options, and the price isn’t too bad either. Worth a trip. I gave two stars because the tables are always sticky. Every single time I’ve been every table is sticky. Will change to 5 stars if I go in and have a non sticky table next time.

love this place! fast service, tasty food ^_^ extremely reliable

Really great place! I loved my sandwich. It was crispy chicken and juicy in the inside. The flavors were great and it was on a Hawaiian bun. The beans were awesome but the spicy sauce that came with it was even better. Our teriyaki chicken was great. I wish it had a little less sauce than it did but I feel like it wasn’t too much sauce. The staff were all really friendly and kind. They answered any questions we had and helped us decide on what to eat. The room is really open, not too loud but not too quiet. It was a good balance.

There were shrimp (cross contamination) in my chicken dish. Good thing I’m not allergic! I agree with another reviewer that the tables were sticky. It’s likely whatever wood cleaner they’re using. You order from a screen and the service is them walking the food to your table after calling your name. I won’t be back.

If I could give zero stars I would, but I have to at least leave one star to write this review. Everything tasted great for the most part until I found a freaking staple in my mouth!!! There was a staple in the dolce de Leche cream in my crêpe!!! They offered me a $20 gift card, which I refuse because I am traumatized!! I will never eat there again! Also speaking to an attorney about this. I honestly have no idea if I ate anymore because there were walnuts in this too which is what was in my mouth along with the Dulce de Leche cream when I noticed something in my bite and spit out a staple!!! I guess I’ll find out sooner or later…. It’s very possible I could’ve swallowed additional staples. I can’t even imagine how a staple got in this, but finding a sharp metal object in my food was traumatizing to say the least. I obviously did not finish my food. —- I literally still have this in my fridge, waiting for them to respond, yet they have never responded to this. They obviously don’t take me seriously and think they have nothing to do with a staple in my food.

No beer no sake no sushi. No bueno. But everything else is delicious. Best miso soup. Pot stickers and build your own bowl is great. The new additions here are: Japanese crepes Gelato Luck Burgers Service is now done on a kiosk. So less people work here. Great music!

I've been going here for a long, long time and the food is still delicious as ever. There's always plenty of seating and the staff are very kind and helpful. Prices have gotten more expensive within the last few years but their portions make up for it, I always end up taking some to go.

When it comes to lunch I am definitely a creature of habit - I find myself going for a burrito probably 90% of the time. I was feeling the limitations of that this week, however, so I looked for an alternative in the same ballpark price/portion/satisfaction range and settled on Zen. The Crispy Almond chicken bowl was excellent. Fresh, flavorful, delivered hot and quite quickly, despite the lunch rush. Zen's interior has a good amount of seating and smaller tables for a lunch audience. I think I'll have to add Zen into the rotation!

Food quality has drastically gone downhill. :-( The self serve kiosks are not so easy, and when I took my grandparents there, we couldn't find the things they saw on the printer menu above on the kiosk. It's ok but for the price, I'll go somewhere else.

Was upset the last time I came here and pre-ordered food and they were closed. Posted my review and their owner Adam W. posted on my review givng me his email address to discuss. I emailed him multiple times and he never wrote back Pre-ordered food yesterday and showed up to find out they gave away the food to someone else. Asked for the manager and was told Nate the GM would call me. He never called. I followed up today multiple times and Nate has yet to reach out to me. This place has a serious management issue if they can't operate correctly AND can't have anyone in management reach out to an upset customer to apologize.

I really like the idea of a Japanese fast food restaurant. We ordered for pickup, and we thought the modern Japanese decor inside looked so nice. I had the chicken katsu sando burger, and it was so good. It was spicy, the chicken was large, and the bread was fragrant. The Asian slaw and onion rings really complemented the flavours. It was a little dry, but I added some ketchup, and it was perfect. The prices were so good!

Been going to Zen for 19 yrs (started when it was on Guadalupe). It just took a huge nose-dive. Owner made drastic changes No more iced green tea, less steak in the bowl today (and 2 big pieces I had to spit out because they were so tough.Raw veggies in the bowl - they used to be grilled. I'm not going to bother with the owner. Looks like he doesn't care - according to the previous review and what employees are doing to try to help customers. I politely talked with employees The employees concerns are falling on deaf ears with the owner. The employees are against the new "order behind the huge plexiglass wall in a very confusing computer system that all customers and some staff were confused by. hopefully they can turn things around and still keep kids eat free with purchase of adult meal on weekends. Sad though....

I love this place! Good food and options and the atmosphere is great too with all the decor and stuff. Definitely recommend!

Really great place! I loved my sandwich. It was crispy chicken and juicy in the inside. The flavors were great and it was on a Hawaiian bun. The beans were awesome but the spicy sauce that came with it was even better. Our teriyaki chicken was great. I wish it had a little less sauce than it did but I feel like it wasn't too much sauce. The staff were all really friendly and kind. They answered any questions we had and helped us decide on what to eat. The room is really open, not too loud but not too quiet. It was a good balance.

As a long time fan of Zen, I was extremely disappointed by the self service technology and cold and ambivalent service of the front line workers. Service was always so friendly and efficient before, and things seems to have changed for the worse (new management?). I waited for over 10 minutes while other customers received their orders and when I asked, was told me they just forgot to call out that my order was ready. When I checked the order, it was not complete so I had to wait even longer. I am writing this in hopes that management will bring back customer service which was a real contributor to the cool vibe of this place.

Fellow restaurant owner here and I've got to say this place is a hidden gem. Seldom do you find a great lunch in the $10-$15 range, but this spot has it. I had the Katsu Waygu Burger and an order of the spicy tuna roll, and was able to leave full and happy for under $16. Semi-service order at the front and food was out in 5-10 min. Highly recommend. Great ambiance; would be perfect for a first date without breaking the bank.

Excellent food at a reasonable price! The staff is friendly and will assist you. You order at the counter, and they bring it to your table. I built my bowl. I had chicken as my protein. I got the ninja veggies with schezuan sauce on kale. It was spicy and delicious. The setup inside reminded me of small Japanese restaurants in Japan. If you haven't tried Zen, then I think you will be pleasantly surprised!

I got the salt and pepper shrimp based off the takeout menu description: tiger shrimp and Sichuan pepper over rice with fried garlic? Sounds great! I ended up getting tiny fried baby shrimp (probably about the size of a quarter all cooked) that was inedibly salty. No hint of Sichuan pepper, just red chili pepper flakes that come out of a shaker at a pizza joint. There was a good amount of food though, so I wouldn't be opposed to trying something else here, but definitely not this dish

The food was missing vegetables. The menu was not easy to read and staff did not offer a suggestion

Haven't ordered from Zen in a few months, but popped in to grab some sushi to go for lunch. They had no sushi ready, but were making it all to order. I ordered the spicy salmon roll and the spicy tuna roll, both raw fish. Unfortunately, both rolls were very fishy tasting. I don't know if the fish was old, or poorly prepped, but it wasn't good. It'll be awhile before I return. Disappointing!

Ordered a cheeseburger via lunch drop from Zen. The cheeseburger was wrapped but not secured. There was no bag or napkins or anything just a cheeseburger with paper. Zen is beyond cheap to not include protective packaging. Would never consider eating there again.

Great food. Great service. Fast service.My go-to lunch spot during the week. The bowls are phenomenal with just the right amount of spicy!!!

We tried the bowls and they were really good. Fresh ingredients, made to order, fast, friendly, and tasty! It wish there was a South location, closer to home, to we could try more items off the menu.

This is not my first time at this fast food restaurant but by far the worst we ordered two build your own one with chicken and one with shrimp with the Buddha mix and noodles but when we got our food we just had a bunch of vegetables that did not come with the mix and had to ask for the employees standing around taking to each other to fill the napkins and fork station that was pretty nasty we ask for our money back and the guy that took our order said he voided the transaction and it would go back on our card, Well sir if we hadn't paid CASH that would be great maybe if you weren't just standing there talking to the other employee while we stood there waiting for you to finish your conversation you might remember. This was the worst experience for a fast food restaurant and to the management team training your cook and front counter staff should be a must

I was looking for a quick in n out Asian restaurant and came across Zen. Nice dining room, awesome menu, different bowls to select from and other meals but the sushi looked promising. I was disappointed, the rice tasted tooo salty, the spicy sushi roll was $4.50 for 4 pieces.?? I felt ripped off. The flavors were there and the salmon was fresh but the overall value vs price, just didn't do it for me. Plus, why not put the spicy sauce in a container instead of sitting in the tray? Looked like the sushi roll is leaking, the eye appeal is missing. The rainbow roll was good but I wasn't impressed. It wasn't tightly rolled and it completely fell apart when I used chopped sticks. Again, the rice is salty, the fish was fresh but the fish on top, just too thin and not enough of a true Japanese taste. The spider roll was good but I've had better. Too much rice, not enough soft shell crab. A total for $28 for 3 rolls is decent but the value I tasted and paid for, wasn't value to me at all.

Great delicious food... Suprisingly there Burgers are really good too. Good variety. It's better than a 3.5 rating

Great fresh food option. It was like Japanese Chipotle! Lots of choices for a fresh bowl and easy to eat healthy if you are looking for that. Great for folks on Weight Watchers. Service was quick and the restaurant was clean and cute. Will definitely be back.

Food was almost burnt, but edible. Worst part of the experience was the girl at the register, she acted as though she was so above working the register and handing out orders. Asked for chili and soy sauce, she said nothing handed me a wad of soy sauce and turned back around, said nothing the entire interaction very disappointed.

I had high hope that this would be a good take out option. We ordered the School girl bowls, Singapore Noodle bowls, along with California rolls, and Rainbow rolls. We had hoped to have these for lunch for the next couple of days. The rolls were awful, far worse than any sushi from HEB and that is hard to be that bad. The California rolls were gross with imitation crab, and rainbow rolls were awful and consisted of rice with a tiny little square of fish on top. The bowls were disgusting slop that made our stomachs turn.

Everything tasted great! I probably should have gotten extra protein though because they don't give you too much

Came in for lunch, on a weekday. Quick service, very nice staff, and food is superb ! Loved it !

This place is consistently good. Some more than others. The burger is absolutely incredible but probably the least healthiest thing in the house. Be careful because u could easily become addicted to the Wagyo Katso! Doing that double decker thing today. Eat now and work out later Ha

Come on who doesn't love Japanese food? Love the decorum and great when you just want to stop buy for a quick bite! Staff was amazing giving me lots of hints what to try. Sooo goood

I loved zen great spot for a date. Sushi was good, service was average. Price was fair compared to some sushi restaurants.

I'm not sure why this place doesn't have a better rating, because for a fast casual restaurant, I think the food is really good. I don't go here very often, but I always enjoy what I get, which is usually the BYO veggie bowl. This last time around I had enough for leftovers the next day. Get the Spicy Szechuan sauce! It is delicious! I didn't think it was off the charts spicy, but rather it was just the right amount and it was very flavorful. I tried the brussels sprouts for the first time, and that was the real winner! Charred and caramely, be sure to treat yourself to these little gems!

The food was absolutely delightful, exceeding all expectations. It arrived promptly and was surprisingly affordable for such delicious fare. I highly recommend this establishment to anyone seeking a satisfying meal without breaking the bank.

I now recall why I haven't been here in years....the food is average at best. I had the Singapore Noodles, substituting chicken instead of beef. The best thing about this dish were the noodles and red bell pepper. The dish itself tasted so bland I added soy sauce (which I normally wouldn't do!). Still this might have been 3-stars except the edamame was under cooked, not tender, they hand you a cup of salt for it, and it was inedible so I just threw it away. Service was great and the food came out very fast.

I used to come here all the time when I worked down the street. So many bowls to choose from. They also have pretty good Wagyu burgers. I tend to build my own bowl but this afternoon I was too lazy and opted for an "Ultimate Favorite" My favorite bowl is the Singapore Noodles - it packs a mighty kick with its yellow dragon sauce! The sauce also works amazingly with the beef tenderloin and shrimp, in ways your tongue could only imagine. The music is always very chilled and makes for a good atmosphere to decompress after a long day at the office (or home office) One wall in the restaurant has several frames of Japanese artwork, signs and whatnot which are really interesting to look at. There's also pictures of robot phones for some reason.. I don't mind them at all and they look kinda cool Don't forget the corner tv on the wall which has anime with subtitles playing endlessly - that's pretty cool The people here also give off very cool vibes, especially Nathan! The friendly service and good food make it one of my favorite places to go with friends or alone. I'm glad I came across this place again after moving and absolutely will come here again.

We had a couple bowls. Thumbs up on quality and flavor. Didnt like the rice that came with the almond chicken bowl, but the rice with the salt n pepper shrimp bowl was good. Quality ingredients, well prepared, very good service. If you don't get the "double meat" option, seems a little skimpy though. Atmosphere isn't anything amazing, but clean, comfortable.

My mom has been raving about this place and has also consistently gotten lunch here without me...rude. I digress! Today was my first time eating here and I loved my bowl. I built my own udon shrimp bowl with lime ginger sauce and oyako per recommendation from the cashier. I really had a hard time choosing because it smelled amazing, everything everyone was eating looked delicious, and I typically get sushi but was in the mood for rice or noodles. Ultimately my bowl was AMAZING and my veggies were SO GOOD I do wish the broccoli ratio was a little higher, but next time I will just ask for double broccoli. I think this would be a good place to eat for anyone with vegan friends and family because there really is something for everyone. I will mention that my mom cosistently gets the burgers with fries and eats half (it's huge) and always enjoys her leftovers for dinner. I am not a huge burger fan and I typically won't eat french fries at all (I know how weird people find this, but they feel so gross in my tummy #Crohnsproblems) but when her food came out I instantly had to try a fry they looked like nothing I had ever seen and the burger did really make me consider getting a bite but maybe next time. On an aesthetic note, the bathrooms were really clean. I also love when restaurants make a display of the ingredients/seasoning used regularly. It's super. cute and adds to the ambiance.

I've been coming here for well over a decade and, until recently, I've always recommended Zen as a place to get well priced, good food. No more. I get prices have gone up but what's happened to this once great local business is so sad. The food has become so generic it tastes like what I imagine Panda Express would. The costs have shot through the roof where I almost spent $20 for a small bowl of noodles, veggies, and salmon. Sadly, this place has fallen into a Dallas level of disrepair. Never coming back.

There are two types of people: those who love noodle bowls and those who prefer rice bowls instead. Me, personally, I like rice bowls better. Anyways, it wasn't until I was at the Luck's Burger Shoppe pop-up that I finally tried Zen out for the first time. What I got was: - Crispy Almond Chicken: I like the different ingredients in this one. You have katsu chicken breast (katsu is Japanese for panko crumb crusted) with asian slaw, almonds, cilantro, and spicy almond soy on rice. You got hints of sweet, spicy, savory, herbal, and nutty all in one and if you know me, you know I love when my dishes have various types of flavors. Keeps each bite fun! - The Muscles from Brussels: It comes with steak, Brussels sprouts, carrot, scallions, crispy garlic, cilantro, a savory caramel glaze, and got these on udon noodles. This one is more on the lighter end. For someone like me who craves salty foods, I would say I preferred the other bowl more, but this one was still good nonetheless if you want something healthier. All in all, I had good service and admired the Japanese decor throughout the establishment. Food came out quick and I had a good experience.

This has been one of my favorite places for years- it has never disappointed. Favorite part of any dish is the udon noodles. Great atmosphere

I can't believe I haven't reviewed Zen! I've been coming here since high school for inexpensive but good sushi and stir fry. They have many vegetarian and vegan options and the food is always fast. I love that you can pick up sushi to go and order ahead and the food is always ready quickly. An excellent lunch option or a quick dinner. They also have budget bowls - usually a rice and protein, and a lot of food for under ten dollars.

Go-to lunch spot. I usually end up picking up food from here once a week. Love me some "muscles from brussels". Food is usually ready in 15 or less and consistently tastes great!

My wife and I came across Zen while shopping at a nearby store. A true "hoke in the walk" Excellent experience great atmosphere inside Many choices on the menu. Portions were huge. I had the crispy chicken salad, large portions of chicken, a lot of veggies and just the right right seasoning. I ended up having to take some home. Staff was great. Look forward to going there again next time we go into town.

Seriously my favorite place in Austin for a quick bite to eat. This place is good clean quality food. For sushi, it's probably the fastest place you can get it at the quality they provide. It's definitely not FAST fast food but it's fast for what it is 100% especially at how popular they are. I have tried a bunch of their items and they are all good. Some favorites are the Salt and pepper shrimp, the chicken bowl and all their rolls. My favorite roll is their spicy ahi sushi roll. I usually order a double roll with extra rice, cucumber and avocado. I know it sounds basic, but it's the most high quality sushi you can get without having to dress all fancy or go in a sit in restaurant. There's seating but you can get it faster because you order at the counter. I also love the ambiance. Just a positive bright vibe. Their decor is pretty cool and interesting. I go here a lot because of everything really. -Plenty parking (never had an issue) -High quality, clean food -Never disappointed with quality or service -All of their dishes are above average -Friendly -Positive bright vibe I'd say the only thing is the wait can get a bit much during lunch because of the demand. But I'm seriously in love with this place. I don't live in Austin anymore but I still always make a trip here in between my errands.

Routine go to place for healthy food with some vegetables, meat and either brown rice or noodles. Reasonable prices. Glad they survived COVID.

Great food. A bit pricey for fast food. But still might come back on occasion. Great food. A bit pricey for fast food. But still might come back on occasion.

I took my niece here for her first time to try sushi. The staff answered her questions with respect and thoughtfulness. She's now hooked! I tried to take her to a fancier sushi restaurant, but she only wants to eat at Zen The to go trays of rolls are also a go-to for me- I can get in and out in minutes.

Stopped by for a quick dinner after a trip to the grocery store and was pleasantly surprised by the quality of food here! I ordered the tempura shrimp roll and the brussel sprouts. The rolls were decent enough, but the brussel sprouts were delicious! In the future, I'd be interested to try more options so long as brussel sprouts were still in my order. As far as the location itself, it's a nicely decorated little nook off of a decently sized shopping strip. The set up is nice, with individual booths and a long center table which would be perfect for a group or a single individual. The staff was also very pleasant and my wait was not long at all even though they made the roll upon my order.

I've gone to this place for a long time having lived in Austin my whole life but I was really disappointed with my visit today. The service was good but my beyond meat burger was awful. It looked amazing on the menu. The bun was very grainy. The beyond meat itself was very flavorless and tasted like a frozen Morning Star patty even though I thought they make it in-house and it looked like they make it in house. The breading was greasy but not thick and did not remind me of Katsu. I really appreciate that Zen tried to do a vegetarian option, but this was a miss.

I had wanted something lite, like miso soup and a rice bowl. I had to spit out every bite of the chicken budget bowl. Half of each piece of chicken was tendon/fat. I was just biting off the fat, spitting it out into my napkin, then trying to finish my meal.

Great burgers! Sushi is all pre-packaged, so I'm hesitant to try that. Sushi is best fresh, in my opinion.