Zen Noodle and Sushi Bar
| Address » | 400 Walnut St, Des Moines IA (Map) |
| Phone » | n/a |
| Website » | n/a |
| Downtown » | No |
| Type » | Restaurant |
| Tags » | Sushi |
| Avg User Rating » |
  (based on 14 reviews) |
| Details » | Located on the first floor of The Kirkwood at 4th and Walnut. Open May 2007. |
| User Reviews | |
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User Reviews (14 reviews)
Jun 17, 2008 Lexi
Sushi was the best in town that I have ever ate. Service was kind of poor. I thought the sushi guys were kind of cute. The drinks were average. Good location.
Apr 16, 2008 zac
the martini and the budda roll was AWESOME!!!
Apr 16, 2008 chris
zen is the bomb i like it alot i went their for my sister birthday we had free sake bombs and the service was great the sushi roll was very good i love ordering the budda roll..
Feb 01, 2008 
wes
If I could have chosen 0 stars, I would have. My first visit to this restaurant was so bad that I thought it only fair to go back a second time to see see if it was a fluke- - -it was not. Do not waste your time or your money at this spot. The service was very poor on both occasions, the staff is more interested in conversing with one another than dealing with customers. The food is tasteless and the selection is horrible. If you are in the mood for sushi, go down the street to Myabi 9- - much better experience. Lets hope that Zen closes soon and something better takes its place because it is in a nice location.
Jan 27, 2008 Alicia
Horrible service and lame food. The wide egg noodle dish I had didn't even taste like anything but noodles in sweet and sour sauce that weren't cooked well. The salmon roll I also got didn't seem very fresh, I only ate two. Our waitress was rude and forgetful--this on top of our hour and a half wait when we were told 40 minutes really made the "zen" restaurant experience just plain bad. The host gave us attitude because we were waiting in the doorway as he seated parties that had gotten there after us.
I won't be returning there.
Jan 25, 2008 hojo
Sushi here is confusing. When I order a roll, I expect a ROLL, not a mound of rice with something stuffed inside. Terrible form of sushi, although the taste is sometimes there. I agree with previous poster that the rice seemed old. It's just not good. I think the only way this place may stay open is the fact that it's a trendy spot that makes a good drink. I've not eaten the noodles here, so I'll reserve all judgment on their food, but their sushi is the worst in town, followed closely by Wok in Motion (at least by some place that is supposed to specialize in sushi). I'd suggest Appare, Miyabi 9, or Waterfront if you want good sushi. I suggest Cheesecake Factory (yuck) if you want a roll that is actually better than Zen. If you want to swing somewhere and have a quick cocktail, this place would be a good choice, but I don't know why you wouldn't just cross the hall to the spacious bar area at Azalea.
Jan 25, 2008 PSH
I would say this place Zen should have 0 stars. I don't think they are real Sushi Chefs that know what they are doing. The food was bad, real bad the worst in town. The service was ok, more talking to us then letting us eat. The miso soup was not even miso at all I thought just onion and water. The sushi was more rice than fish and rolls were made loose, uneven, and the rice tasted dry and old. And the fish tasted bad and didn't look fresh at all. The dishes looked bad and no presentation on anything from what I thought was going to be a hight end sushi bar. It is a dissapointment we have this sushi bar in down town.They just don't know how to make ok sushi and I don't think they are chefs at all. Just bad everything, never going back and don't recommed Zen to anyone. Because I heard Miyabi 9 down town has a real Master Chef that makes the best sushi and Japanese food and people enjoy the food.
Jan 11, 2008 foodie
I eat lots of sushi, so I am always looking for a new place to go and decided to give Zen a try. Went here on a weekday evening, so the restaurant was not too busy. Seated right away by a courteous host.
The good:
Service was decent, nothing to rave about.
The drinks are tasty, creative, and reasonably priced.
The dumpling appetizers were delicious.
The sushi roll combinations are creative.
The bad:
The sushi had very little fish and a ridiculous amount of rice.
I am a large eater and can put away lots of food, but I was so full from all the rice in the sushi that I couldn't finish our plate.
Nor could I taste the fish, just the rice.
Verdict:
There are better, and less expensive sushi restaurants in Des Moines. Won't be back until they cut back on the rice in the rolls.
Jan 10, 2008 A-Rog
Like its sister restaurant, Azelea, Zen is mostly show and little substance. The sushi was fine. Service was a little below fine. The atmosphere was hip and urban. We went for lunch, so don't rely on my opinion for a dinner, but if you are anywhere close, Taki is a sure sushi bet.
Dec 02, 2007 broox
First let me preface that I am huge Taki fan. The service I recieve at Taki is ridiculous. Those guys are always showing their semi-regular customers a great time.
This weekend my wife and I decided to check out the new guys in town and had a pretty good experience. The decor was nice, and I love having a sushi option in downtown Des Moines.
For starters - the edamame was excellent. Fresh, crisp, warm, and had great salt. I'm sad to say it - but it was better than Taki's. The squid salad was tasty, presented, well and was quite a generous portion, however - it was apparently premade and refrigerated because 1/4 of it was frozen together.
They only had 2 beers on tap, 1 of which been Kirin, so that was alright. They had a great liquor selection though and made some good martinis.
As for food, they didn't have as many rolls as Taki, but for some people that may be a good thing. Their menu is much less intimidating for someone who's not familiar with sushi. The rolls we sampled were Dragon, Buddha, and Karma. All 3 were great with my favorites being the buddha and dragon. The dragon came with a really good dipping sauce and the Buddha had some good flavor with a hint of spice. All of our sushi was presented very nicely on 1 large plate.
In addition to the rolls, we ordered some Seared Tuna Sashimi - however they messed up the order and brought us just regular Tuna Sashimi. They were quick to fix the problem and took both off of our bill. Both were delicious with perfectly sized cuts of fish.
The service was good, but not excellent. Our drinks went empty a couple times and my salad came out quite a bit before my wife's miso soup (which she said was a bit too onion-y). Our waitress apologized and explained that they had a "spoon crisis" in the kitchen, ha. Also, like I said they corrected our sashimi problem and took care of us.
I'll probably still hit up Taki most of the time, but this is a great option for downtown. I hope they do well.
Aug 20, 2007 Jolene Williams
Dreadful!!! Absolutely dreadful!!
Have you ever seen sushi rolls cut unevenly- well I hadn't either until I ate at Zen. My sushi rolls went from a normal piece of sushi to a sliver and then big chunks of cucumber that over powered the tuna. Not to mention way over priced for what you get!
As for the soba noodles.....wow... I have tasted better flavor in a can of campbells chicken noodle soup- what a disaster.
If you can't do it right Zen....don't do it at all.
Jul 23, 2007 Dre
Visited Zen on a Friday night. Overall, we were impressed. The atmosphere/decor was contemporary/urban, pretty laid back. We are Taki regulars, and in comparison, I would say Taki is more "party" and Zen is more... well, zen. Laid back, upscale place. We had edamame and a couple rolls - the Gorilla and Buddha something - both were excellent. Service was friendly and helpful with suggestions. Prices were a little steeper than Taki, but not outrageous. Overall, it's a great alternative to suburban Taki. Probably we will head there when it's just 2 or 4 of us looking for a more sedate evening and head to Taki when 4 or more of us are looking for a Sake Bomb night.
Jul 16, 2007 bwfrieds
Good service and food. Chairs were comfortable. Music was not so loud that I had to scream to have a conversation. Although I would have preferred Asian music over American pop & rock. Unfiltered saki was good. Sushi chefs were kind and conversational. Prices were competitive. Miso soup was very very good. The green tea was also good.
Jul 12, 2007 Heidi
I have been waiting for an exciting new sushi place to open in downtown Des Moines, so I was thrilled when Zen finally opened in the Kirkwood building. I probably should have brought a big group for dinner so that I could get a better feel of the service and sample a more of the menu, but instead chose to settle in for a solo lunch.
The decor is modern Asian minimalist and there is both counter and table level seating at the centrally located sushi bar. There are also window tables and chic booths around the perimeter. As the name of the restaurant implies, the menu offers variety of noodle bowls (with assorted add-ins like shrimp, tofu, and shrimp available) and various maki, nigiri, sashimi, and specialty sushi rolls. Four prix-fixe sushi sampler options are also available. These did not offer near the variety you usually find in a Japanese bento box, which was a disappointment because I was hoping to be able to sample some miso soup, a little salad or some veggies, tempura, and sushi in a single meal. The rest of the sushi menu looked pretty standard and uninventive, with the exception of the Iowa roll, which is made with pork.
Because bento boxes were not on the menu and I wanted some variety, I ordered an “appetizer” of edemame, the udon noodle bowl, and tuna maki. The edemame arrived at the same time as the noodles, which was unexpected but perfectly acceptable. The edemame was a bit over-cooked for my taste (the pods were mushy), but was well salted. The giant steaming bowl of soft udon noodles were nestled in a simple, flavorful both and topped with six large tempura vegetables (onions, mushrooms, and asparagus). The tuna was of good quality and the presentation was simple and unremarkable. .
The service on this quiet Thursday afternoon was ok, not spectacular. My water glass was kept full, but dirty dishes weren’t whisked away as quickly as I would have liked. As I got up to leave, the manager did ask how I enjoyed my meal.
Next time I visit Zen I will come with a large group and try an assortment of specialty rolls and the nigiri so that I can get a better feel for the quality of the sushi and better test the chef’s creativity.