ZOOZ — Restaurant in Washington

My friend and I chose to come here because it was advertised as a Christmas “Pop Up because of the decor and a seasonal drink menu. We were off put by the DJs club vibes instead of holiday music. I was also disappointed in my $20 cocktails that were served at a premium price with clearly substandard “house” liquors being used in their cocktails. We had a reservation, but were not seated until at least 15 minutes after our reservation time. Which is why the service score is lower. The bar tender while we waited and out server once we had been sat were delightful, but if I have a reservation I should not have to wait a quarter hour after my reservation time for a table. I appreciated having a standing area blocked off from where tables were sat, but having saggy poles and velvet ropes blocking off the area cheapened the vibe and having to step over the ropes to get you out table and watching servers step over the velvet ropes to get to their section felt hazardous and cheapened the high end vibe. We were seated for over 15 minutes and didn’t even receive waters. We also ordered a grey goose cosmopolitan with Cointreau instead of triple sec and received some double orange monstrosity with no cranberry that was basically a vodka gimlet with extra orange liquor. After sending the drink back because it didn’t taste right we received the same drink with a splash of cranberry added to it, but that did not fix the taste of a cocktail made with orange liquor instead of vodka. All in all the drink menu here looked so promising and we were excited to try it out but the execution and quality of ingredients left us unsatisfied and searching for more. I am willing to come back on a non weekend after the holiday season to give it a try, but failure to make a classic recipe such as a cosmo is a very large red flag for any establishment that bills themselves as a cocktail lounge. We watched the table next to us sit down and get waters and wait for 25 minutes before walking out. We sent back the drink and ordered a different drink straight off the menu and it’s been over 20 minutes and it’s still “on the way”. I did offer to pay for our one drink and cut out losses 45 minutes into the experience and the floor manager was more than happy to accommodate/comp our drinks but then our second drink finally arrived. The espresso martini is delightful and worth coming back for but I am hesitant to order anything else after...

As a bartender myself, I was disappointed with the cocktail execution and service at Zooz. I had to ask multiple times for our group’s French 75’s to be shaken, a basic step when making any drink with citrus. Instead, they were built directly in the glass, which resulted in overly sweet, warm cocktails with no proper dilution. This isn’t a high-volume club or dive bar. Zooz is marketed as an upscale restaurant and cocktail spot. The service bar wasn’t busy, so there’s really no excuse not to take a few extra seconds to shake the drink or at least train your staff to know better. Several of us left our drinks half full.

I also ordered a gimlet and clearly asked for it not to be sweet. What I received was a plastic cup with what I thought was lime juice and a splash of agave but when I tasted it, it was cloyingly sweet. When I asked about it, the bartender casually told me they use sweet and sour mix. That’s absurd for a place that claims to serve craft cocktails. The only other spot at the Wharf using S&S mix is Boardwalk Arcade Bar lol. Gimlets are supposed to be made with gin, lime juice, and a touch of sweetener, not prebatched mix…and served up with a lime garnish, which I also didn’t get.

To make things worse, the bartender originally said they didn’t have lime juice, only to “find” it 10 seconds later in the other bartender’s well. Instead of just walking over and grabbing it from the start, he remade the drink with only gin and lime, omitting any sweetener until I asked him to add it and ended up swirling it myself.

Lastly, the attitude of the short male bartender was noticeably rude. I’m not sure if it’s because of the type of guests he had to serve yesterday or what. He rolled his eyes several times, got smart when we asked him to chill the unshaken French 75’s, and even dropped a random $390 check in front of my friend and insisted it was ours despite us closing out our tabs after every round (the bar wasn’t busy, they had 4 bartenders in total and at the time people weren’t really ordering). All we got was an “oh, my bad.”

Zooz has been open for a year now, and I had hoped it would improve, but clearly not much has changed. People are spending their hard-earned money and deserve proper technique and basic professionalism.

Steps of service need to be improved all around the board. The aesthetic is...

Disappointing Experience! I had high expectations based on recommendations from others, but unfortunately, my recent experience was far from satisfactory. Despite making a reservation and arriving 15 minutes early, I was not seated until 40 minutes after my scheduled time. Once seated, a waitress approached to take our drink order but informed us that the kitchen was no longer accepting food orders—even as we watched other tables receive their meals! I politely asked the waitress to check with management about making a small exception, considering the extended wait time and our early arrival. However, the request was declined. The waitress then returned to take our drink order again, but my boyfriend and I were still enjoying the champagne we had already purchased. Her response to this was disappointing, stating, “These tables are only available for people buying drinks now,” despite the champagne being visible on the table. The lack of organization and professionalism from the service team was unexpected and disappointing, especially compared to how we were treated upon arrival. On a positive note, the security and hostess staff were excellent! However, the overall experience left much to be desired. I hope this feedback encourages your team to provide more consistent and respectful service, particularly for guests like me, who traveled from out of town and also who values professionalism and are inclined to recommend your...