Zen Restaurant — Restaurant in Quintana Roo

We went to Zen restaurant twice. They are so crucial about the reservation time but are lousy and take forever to serve. First time we did tappenyaki and our reservation was for 8pm and the cook didn't show up until 8:25 and apps were served around 8:40. Food was ok and not filling We booked Zen again for our last night there and had reservation for 7:30. I waited for over 10 mins for the host ( Adriana) to attend to me while I was right beside her but she addressed everyone else before me and allowed people inside that already had half their party waiting for them. Once let in she chose to give us a table outdoors when we requested a table indoors ( we had a baby and a pregnant friend in the group). Our request was ignored and she said that we would sit where she says we will or we won't. I spoke to the manager (Roberto) and he offered to sit us inside and was pleasant with us but the host kept approaching him saying not to let us sit there and she doesn't care we will not be served( this is what the manager translated back to us). It made us even more frustrated with the lack of professionalism coming from a host trying to dictate what goes on as if she owns the restaurant and for that we went up to her and gave her a piece of our mind and she continued to be disrespectful. The manager told us he didn't know what to do about it and still let us sit and we sat for over 15-20 mins still waiting for a waiter to come serve us. At this point the host started crying and calling security accusing falsely (most likely to save her job) as if we were in the wrong. She kept talking to them and pointing everyone in our direction so I approached the security ( elvis and another guard I didn't get his name) and questioned what was going on and why we weren't being served yet and why they kept looking in our direction. The security heard our side but did not care to help and was disrespectful as well. We did not appreciate our time being wasted and if they did not want to serve us or have us there then simply tell us and we would leave but instead they argued with us and created a scene and tried to intimidate us by saying they will call the police( over what? A dispute over a table at a restaurant?) We left the restaurant frustrated with their behaviour and lack of care on the experience they're providing us after we spent thousands of dollars to be there at their resort. We were followed by security throughout the lobby and by our rooms. I asked them why are you following us and the guard got in my face saying "we do what we want and we run it here" Our plans for our last night was to have a good meal and have a couple drinks before needing to go back and pack and that was completely ruined by how they treated us. Based on that experience I would not recommend this resort to anyone ever as no one should not only be disrespected but also felt intimidated and threatened by guards after paying so much money to be there. Having a job there should feel like a privilege and should not come with a sense of entitlement. Clearly these guards and host felt entitled as if they were the true owners of the resort. Truly disgusted with their behaviour and hope they get the right coaching or that the management looks into this to make sure they have employees that can happily provide good service to their...

NOT my cup of tea. As a foodie, i can assure you, This is a place for hibachi ( in small portions), and do not order any sushi , their sushi it is far from authentic and does not taste right at all.

The sushi rice was either over cooked or used wrong rice, it was mushy and yucks. There are barely any ingredients inside the sushi rolls. And there are no nigiri 🍣 options at all, which means no fresh sashimi 👎🏼 How can you call yourself a Japanese restaurant without fresh raw fish 🤨

Service was slow while one of the hibachi chef kept make weird sound while he’s cooking 👎🏼 it was annoying.

Atmosphere was a big time mismatch. Whoever decorated this restaurant clearly had NO knowledge about Japanese culture. The bar is not a sushi bar 👎🏼 , instead has wine glasses placed. So not right.

The “samurai” painting on the wall Of the bar was cool but culturally don’t fit at all.

The Japanese words on the lanterns in the entryway, other than SuKi, all the other ones don’t make sense at all.

Do not recommend this...

Did not realize that when you line up to make reservations you’re automatically making reservations for Teppanyaki and that you only get the set menu and nothing else. Probably obvious, but I’ll say it anyway: this is western/north American Teppanyaki and nothing like Teppanyaki in Japan.

Showmanship was fine, if you’re into that kind of thing. No opportunity to sit and chat with each other, you’re literally there to watch a show. First off, a trio of sushi rolls. Some would say it was very good, but unfortunately coming from Vancouver and having visited Japan a couple times, it’s not that great. It’s like what I would call cafeteria or food court sushi. Rice and vegetables were drenched in teriyaki and kind of reminded me of the teriyaki express restaurant at a food court as well. Chicken was very dry and tough. Beef was decent. Salmon was good.

Did not stay for tapioca or cheese cake dessert. Not sure it’s worth the hype. Definitely lower on the list of restaurants at...