Zin - Uncommon California Italian — Restaurant in Delafield

Do Not Recommend Had a reservation for 9 for a birthday dinner. We and were seated promptly in the upper dining room. We asked about splitting the check before the first drink order was ever placed. We were prepared to not split but we were assured it wouldn't be problem.The server who took care of our table was friendly and engaging. First round of drinks was a little delayed, but I chalk that up to a completely filled dining room and the upper was filling fast. There were 5 tables that were seated after our large group. Appetizers were very good, but one had to be remade as the waitress did not write down the correct item. We placed our dinner order when we ordered our appetizers. The re-make was fast. Second round of drinks were slower but not too delayed. Salads came out about 1/2 hour after appetizers, which gave our group time to talk and enjoy ourselves. The main courses is where the wheels came off the wagon. The main course came out 55 minutes after our salads and we didn't get ours until 2 other tables, which had not seated until after our salads had been ordered were served. 5 other tables were served before ours.

I had the Rigatoni with Bolognese with chicken added. The chicken was cool in the center and was very bland. One of table had the short ribs which had no depth of flavor like you would expect from short ribs and the veg that came with it was still hard in the middle. The Alfredo sauce was thin and honestly tasted like it was from a jar. The biggest issue came with the Cioppino that was ordered. It comes with 4 large mussels. But of the 4 only three were opened. One was not opened at all. The others were clearly open. A closed mussel is a sign of one that is not fresh and is most likely bad and could get you terribly sick. It should never have been plated. Any experienced chef or cook that works with seafood on a regular basis could tell you that. It wasn't until about 15 minutes into our food being on the table that the server came by to check. We explained the mussel issue and several of us were not giving the food glowing reviews, resorting to words like, okay, good, alright. A new mussel was brought, in fairly short order, to be fair to our server. But by that time, those of us not happy with out entrees decided not lodge a complaint at that point as we were unsure if we would get a new one in anything resembling a timely manner.

After that some of us had desserts which were all good, but very delayed in arriving. From beginning to end of meal wound up being over 3 hours. We asked for our checks and the waitress said she would get them for us. Nearly 20 minutes went by when our table decided to go find our server only to find the lower dining room was completely empty and the kitchen was being closed down. We couldn't find our server and I requested to talk to the manager.

I explained to him the issues that we had, especially with the mussels and he said that it was inexcusable. I wasn't looking to have my mean completely comped. In fact, I never asked for a comp, but did I expect some form of attempt to fix the situation whether it was with a comped item or perhaps some form of credit or something to appease what was an unpleasant experience, yes. But I leave that to the management staff to determine how they want to handle it. Any restaurant worth its weight, will try to fix or assuage a customer complaint. I would even have expected him to find our server and discuss it with them.

Much to my own dismay, while I had to excuse myself from chatting with the manager to use the restroom, I was informed that on my exit, he did the same. I know (having waited tables for years) that the waitstaff's are their lifeblood, but I feel our server did not present the service and integrity that I was expecting out of the sister restaurant to Fishbones (which we have eaten at several times and is a favorite, with service so good we have bought our server and the kitchen staff a round of drinks). Our tip reflected our experience, and I know I will not be back at Zin. Your...

Random Friday night, the ambiance is unique and impressively cheerful, the waiter was very young but also very professional, which is a rarity. If you care about the food then you may leave disappointed. I was. The crab cakes were to wet with the meat resembling a flavorless soggy chicken breast that’s severely over cooked. Changing their freezer storing methods or draining the meat better could help them. The steak however was nicely pan charred and done to specification, the seasonal veggies were on point. The Gorgonzola mashed red potatoes were delishous. The menu and drink list are interesting without being intimidating. The crab tortellini was plated very sloppily (and no, not in an artistic way, just lazy) but did have a nice ratio of meat to cheese. The moist crab meat worked better with a noodle since there wasn’t a texture variation like with the crab cakes and the cheese helped to hold it together and give it a little texture... the sauce and asparagus were very enjoyable. Two more ticks were that one of the cooks in this open view kitchen dug in his nose more than one time during our meal and I didn’t see him go to a wash tub. The last was that our creme brûlée were cold and soggy. Not room temp, but leftover dessert from last night that we stuck in the fridge and pulled out and handed you -cold. There was very little color and no snap to the top, at all. When sent back to have it hit with the torch we were told by the cooks that no, this was fine and we should eat it like it was. The gross, old, uneaten desert was taken off of the bill, and another complimentary dessert was offered- but the damage had been done. There are many better local options that have more consistently cared about their food quality and possibly even more importantly, customer service, so buh bye...

We stopped out at Zin for dinner with the family and we were seated right away but we did have reservations. We went on a Monday night, steak night, so there is a deal for filets. We said “yes please” to the steak. You do get bread and oil while you wait on your order. Shayla and myself ordered our steaks medium rare. The atmosphere and decorations of the restaurant are a little on the older side but still ok. There is an area where you can see into the kitchen but you would need to walk up to that area to see them prepping the food. I am always a fan of seeing the kitchen and hustle and bustle of the chefs. We had placed an order for an appetizer and unfortunately our main dish came out before the appetizer did. We were told that the kitchen missed it and they would put a rush on it. Shayla’s steak came out just right, medium rare and mine came out more medium well and I was a little disappointed by that. I had ordered shrimp as an add on to my plate and they were delicious. Probably the highlight of my meal. When the appetizer came out hot and ready it had good taste and good flavor (calamari). I would recommend them. Our waiter for the evening could use a little improvement and check on the tables a little more and be a little more curtious. Overall it was a fun night with the family but we will keep looking for new places to try. Outside seating available. Parking is...