ZEN Japanese Restaurant — Restaurant in Subiaco

Good food. Shame about the terrible service.

Visited Zen this year for the first time since about 5 to 6 years ago. While the food was still not too bad, the customer service was terrible.

When arriving at the restaurant, the lone waitress (possibly manager) simply pointed and motioned for us to be seated at our reserved table next to the window. While taking our order, she spoke over us to other customers in the restaurant several times. She did not have her utmost attention to us, which made out ordering process very confusing. When she was serving drinks to us, she left them on the table behind us and only returned to serve them after attending to another customer.

The menu did not seem complete and the pricing of some menu items were not justified. Choices were limited, but we managed to pick out six dishes to share. Just be aware to clarify the inclusions of the dishes prior to ordering.

The Sashimi served on a ship pictured with a couple of oysters among the sashimi was priced on the menu as "FROM $100". When questioned, the price did not include the oysters. We then ordered the 24pcs Sashimi platter for $48.00, spider roll, sea urchin sashimi and unagi roll... Coincidentally plated up on the ship!?

Sashimi was not the freshest, but still palatable. Sushi rolls were average - they had a very similar taste to kiosk-bought sushi rolls. Ordered the nasudengaku (grilled eggplant with miso), grilled pork belly and prawn tempura. The grilled pork belly was a winner for me. Fat to meat ratio was perfect, beautifully grilled with accompanying sauce.

Apart from the waitress' (who apparently has been working at Zen for the past 12 years) crude behaviour, which made the restaurant seem like a South East Asian hawker centre, the food was good and the ambiance was casual but pleasant.

Zen is located just parallel to Rokeby Road within a Wilson prepaid car park. Be aware to read the signs within the carpark. There are no ticket spots just around the side of the building.

Would not be returning...

My family and I came here after reading good reviews about the food and price. I'm not sure why there were good reviews at all. We've dined in Japan, and in Japanese restaurants all around the world. Needless to say, we know what authentic Japanese food tastes like and this is far from it. The menu was extremely limited. The salmon sashimi was far from fresh and was most likely frozen, and the ingredients used in the California Roll were not fresh either. The ramen was too soft and mushy. The fried chicken came out within 2 minutes, and although it was warm, it was not freshly fried. Service was okay, nothing special except she pointed out free...

Zen Japanese is by far the freshest Sashimi quality you can expect in any local Japanese restaurants without the hefty price like high-end dining such as Nobu. Every dishes here is beautifully presented with amazing flavours and cooked to perfections. Was introduced to this place by my partner and have been here multiple times since. The owner, Hideki, is very lovely & friendly. Zen Japanese is officially my favourite Japanese dining place in Perth to satisfy those Japanese cuisine cravings. I highly recommend this place as a must try and will definitely be returning more often with family and friends :) Thanks...