Zen West — Restaurant in Baltimore

We went to Zen West to attend a concert later in the evening, so decided to eat there prior to the concert. There were 4 of us.

First, this place needs to be shut down and thoroughly cleaned. We were at a 4-top next to the front window that you cannot see out of because it hasn't been cleaned. The tabletop was sticky and even after asking for a wipe down, it remained sticky. Gross. Everything is just dark and grimy.

Service was meh. We had to ask for water refills numerous times, we had to ask for the sides to be brought several times, we had to wait nearly 35 minutes from the time we finished our appetizer before our very basic tex-mex meals were brought to us. Inattentive at best.

The food was less than average. My SO's rockfish tacos had two barely larger than pencil stick, (but not even mozzarella stick sized) rockfish sticks that were pretty overcooked. My cheese enchiladas arrived at a temp just slightly above cold. The trio sampler was okay, but we ran out of chips and never got the requested refill to finish off the queso with.

But the most EGREGIOUS thing...was the 20% charge for the "Large Bill"! We eat out alot!!! First time I've ever been nicked for ordering what most people consider a normal dinner out.

This was NOT a large party, there were 4 of us.

This was not a large amount of food. 4 people shared 1 appetizer, 2 margaritas, 1 beer, 1 Pepsi and 4 average main meals. The bill was $100.75 for 4 people. That is NOT a large bill for 4 people!

How is "large" even defined? Where is it posted in the restaurant that you are going to charge for a "large" bill? Never saw it on the menu, didn't see it on the door, wasn't told about it beforehand. Is the staff getting all of that 20% for a "large" bill? Looks like a service charge just for coming in and eating what I would consider a normal meal.

Price your food and drinks however you want and if I can afford it, I will eat at your restaurant -- but STOP it with hidden fees and...

Zen West is a concert venue, Tex Mex restaurant, & a speakeasy known as Clandestino. We came here for the Wheatus concert in May 2025. It was easy to find, and we arrived through Lyft transportation. The lighting was dark at the very crowded concert venue area. We didn’t eat here yet I was told the food was Tex Mex and didn’t have traditional Mexican food ( my preference).

The staff excelled in meeting all our needs, and we captured amazing photos at the concert. The owner of Zen West was quietly and swiftly managing the different areas of Zen West. Brandon was my bartender at Clandestino and made sure I got refills for my Diet Coke. Loved how you could order food and drinks at different places all over the venue. I liked the intimacy & private space of Clandestino where a separate concert performance was taking place. It was my favorite part of Zen West. I spent a lot of time going back and forth from the concert venue area to Clandestino. I did sit and talk at the restaurant area with some performers. I liked how I could hear people easily despite how loud and crowded it was in Zen West. The place and bathroom were clean with no long lines. The ambiance was ideal for a crowded concert, restaurant, and speakeasy. I connected with many people there and loved the energy of the concert goers with the music artists performing.

At the end of the concert, one of the staff helped me get a flyer promised to me on the window above the stairway - too high for me to get on my own. I greatly appreciated & thank him for his act of kindness and the meaningful conversation he had with me. He seemed concerned for my welfare and the difficulty I had getting assistance at the concert, yet I assured him I was ok and...

The worst experience I've had at any establishment. My friends and I decided to go out to catch up. We are a predominantly black group of friends ( I say this for context). Right from the beginning our waitress never introduced herself and was rushing our orders. She never announced her presence at the table and would simply just appear and begin talking to one of the 6 of us as if the rest of the table didn't exist. Only then would we realize the waitress was present and that we could order. However this is just a small issue. A larger issue is that fact that one of my friends asked the waitress if the bar had a certain drink. She abruptly says "No" and proceeds to keep walking without bothering to continue the conversation and accommodate her patron which is what a proper waitress would do. Ever heard of "Is Pepsi ok?" same principle. You accommodate, you don't just shun your customer. But this waitress gets worse. Out of nowhere she speed walks by the table, throws the check on it and keeps walking. Mind you we didn't ask for the check, we showed no signs of leaving, and one of the friends we were waiting for hadn't even arrived yet. Clearly we were not welcome at this predominately white establishment. But let's move aside from the clear racism for a second. No matter what color we were this waitress treated us like gutter class citizens. One could argue that the bar was busy right? Well that bar was not even half full. It was a sunday night at around 8pm. This woman has no excuse to treat anyone this way and I am appalled at the way this place operates. Steer clear if you're not holy enough to be a member of the "master race".

Note: We were at Table 1, Server 70, on 1/19/2020 and...