ZEN Garden 一品楼 — Restaurant in Ikeja

Ugh!“ I want my money back’ - anytime I remember I visited ZenGarden.

Anger didn’t even allow me take nicer pictures!

Walked through the entrance, I was graced with waiters for adequate directions to a seat.

The lounge area was so cozy, liked the furniture& seat arrangements.

However, I did not think the artworks & designs screamed it was a Chinese restaurant. I had high expectations as though it would remind me of proper chinese eating culture. It didn’t. ——————————————————————— MY ORDER. Fried Noodle with beef, chicken, shrimps & vegetables. (Medium Size) - ₦8,400 Deep Fried Chicken Wings - ₦4000 Long Island & Screw Driver (Cocktail Alcoholic) - ₦9700 ——————————————————————— REVIEW. I liked their service, I thought it was commendable, very engaging and also felt like zero wait time. Menu was so extensive, such a long list of variety.

A Golden rule of food – Before you taste a food – The eyes eat first. I was underwhelmed by the presentation of the fried noodles – it did not look visually appealing to me.

I liked the plating of the deep fried chicken wings (if you don’t like ginger, you may want to tell them to do yours without it.)– It looked colorful – had strips of ginger (subtle yellow) with red & Green pepper.

The Fried noodles tasted & reminded me of “Turkish indomie noodles” which was so ironic because I was in a Chinese restaurant. The beef in the noodles were really chunky & Vegetables tasted steamed rather than cooked. Also did not taste fresh. Tasted like mixed frozen vegetables.

The lack of proper Chinese utensils to eat was a major concern to me.

In respect to value? I thought the prices were reasonable for a “5 star restaurant” as said on Google. – Now, in regards to what I ate? It was way too overpriced. I certainly didn’t get 5 star qualities.

My highlight was definitely the drinks – It was mixed to perfection, strong enough to make me trivialize my walk into this restaurant.

Slowly, gradually, with great mental resistance, it finally dawned on me that I had just paid ₦12,400 for actual Turkish indomie Noodles and wings.

For a self claiming 5 star restaurant, it’s a 2...

While I was never a fan of Chinese restaurants, I will gladly say the Zen Garden was the bomb! 💣

Literally, everything about the place was articulated, well thought and well presented.

We were received by a uniformed courteous park attendant, who helped navigate us in the parking lot. Making our way in, the doorman opened the door with greetings to be ushered to a conservative seat reserved for couples. The tables were already set up for two (without reservations) and we were immediately attended to by 2 courteous gentlemen, each taking mine and my wife's order and helping us select from the host of preferences in the menu book. They were friendly, well mannered, accommodating and very helpful.

While we listened to slow, romantic music playing subtly from the speakers, hot towels to help disinfect our hands were presented barely 2 minutes after our orders were taken. And the food was presented shortly afterwards. All in barely five minutes after we arrived. Wow!

The good was hot and tasty. We absolutely enjoyed the shredded beef, the fried rice and spaghetti was a delight. The drinks were the best I had had in a Lagos restaurant and need I say it was all very affordable. We couldn't even finish the food and had to take the rest in take outs.

If you are looking for great food in Lagos, a family or romantic hangout, without having to face the stress to the highland, I highly recommend The Zen Garden, Ikeja.

The lighting and aesthetics of the place is also great for photos, if you are a...

I went to Zen Garden on 20 February 2023 for a takeaway lunch. The ambience was very nice and that was all about it. The food took too long, although I can accept that, but when it came to paying for the food I ordered, the first POS did not accept my credit card and then they brought another POS, and it did not work either, so I asked my nephew to make a transfer to Zen Garden's account number,The transfer worked and at the same time I saw on my account that a previous payment had been debited. I informed the Deputy General Manager, Mr Giwa, and he said as soon as they saw the amount on their bank statement the next day, I should contact them and my money would be transferred back to my account. I called the next day and the assistant manager said he would get back to me. I waited in vain for a call back, and the next day I called again and he said, yes, we have seen the amount in our account, but he can not transfer the amount back to me, I have to contact my bank. I told him that I can't reach anyone at the bank's customer service at the moment, and since the amount is visible on their account, the manager can transfer the overpaid amount back to me, and suddenly his statement from the previous day changed. He knew that it was not easy to reach the bank's customer service at the moment and he insisted that this was the only option. Why then did he assure me of a transfer back to my account in the first place if he knew they could not transfer...