Zeno’s On The Square — Restaurant in Weatherford

My parents and I trecked out here from Fort Worth for my birthday dinner. I had seen a cheese wheel pasta reel on the internet and wanted to try it. It took me over a year to actually get out to the restaurant to get it because of the two person minimum on the wheel (my friends don't eat carbs apparently). So I was very excited about this cheese wheel pasta. The plan was to get pasta, two drinks and dessert. The restaurant was nice inside. The music was a nice level, the wait staff was professional, and there was a comfortable amount of space at the table. I ordered a Sazerac which I really liked. Was it total New Orleans traditional (no, but it still had the citrus flavor to it and it was good). We asked questions about the menu and the waitress was knowledgeable and responsive. She brought out one of the Italian peppers for me to gauge the heat when I asked about it. I liked the peppers. The cheese wheel came out very fast, like the same time as the bread fast. The made it and talked about it and it was neat. We tasted some slices of the cheese and you could tell it was high quality by the taste. Now as for the actual pasta dish (my main meal).. it was very underwhelming. They don't serve you much pasta. It tasted okay but it was similar to macaroni and cheese tasting and was nothing special. They brought about 6 peppers out whole in a side dish and I was just kind of like how am I supposed to eat those with my pasta if they're whole? I was considering cutting them up into pieces, but just kind of laid them out over my bites and bit partial pepper with a bite. For some reason I thought the "protein" would have actually gotten mixed into the pasta for us, rather than just handed on the side. I wasn't sure what I was supposed to do with it. I was still very hungry after finishing my small serving of pasta and ate a bunch of bread. The Foracocio was medium quality. I have had much better but it wasn't bad. The plan was to also order a Bellini and Limencello cake, but after the pasta disappointment we decided maybe we should just go and try somewhere else around town for the birthday dessert. The waitress never seemed to get the message that it was my birthday because she never even mentioned it even though it was listed on the reservation. She came back and asked if we wanted to see a dessert menu and we just got the check. My parents went to the bathroom and as I was waiting for them to leave I noticed a fruit fly was attracted to the lemon peel that was left in my empty Sazerac glass that was on the table. That tells me they have fruit flies somewhere back in that kitchen or bar area-which means they need to clean better. I was still hungry when I left (which should NOT happen when you've paid about $150 for some pasta and a salad in a restaurant). It was kind of a joke for how much food we got for the amount that was paid there. I absolutely never would return and ALL those people who heard me talk about how excited I was for my birthday dinner are going to ask how it was, and they will be told DO NOT drive all the way out there for that. It's more of just a hype and it was...

My wife and I saw this by happenstance as we were driving in to Weatherford and stopped to see if it was open, pleasently surprised (at first) to see a new restaurant option. They are currently in their soft open phase. It was a significant disappointment. Cutting to the chase, if the owners want to stand a chance of staying open for any respectable length of time, they need to make significant improvements to the menu and price points. To begin with, as it stands currently, this is definitely not a place to take the family. The menu is very limited, the food unimpressive and uninspired and the pricing is ludicrous. Also, be prepared to wait a considerable length of time to get your dishes. We both started with the insalatina primavera (spring salad) which took 15-20 minutes to get after placing the order. This was a decent salad, with fresh spring mix rather than iceberg lettuce, julienned carrots and zuccini maybe. The dressing was lemon juice and olive oil. Allergen Warning! This dish has nuts. However, they are made to order and so can be requested to be made without, if the kitchen staff actually PAYS ATTENTION to the server's instructions!! Mine came out and one bite told me it had not been prepared properly. Our server promptly took care of it and brought me another that was indeed nut free, but the same care and attention as displayed the first time was no longer present. Then we ordered our "main courses". A medium size serving of plain spaghetti with a tomato sauce barely enough to color the noodles (the spaghetti pomodoro), a bit of cheese mixed in, fifteen dollars! This dish was not terrible in taste but it was certainly not tasty. The sauce reminded us of a canned ravioli sauce taste. My wife had the spaghi cacio e pepe (pasta pepper and cheese), which actually tasted pretty good, with a good balance of parmigiano reggiano and pepper. But again, not worth $15. I had the Filetto di manzo al Merlot (filet of beef in Merlot reduction). It consists of a small filet and four potato wedges, nothing more, for the privileged price of $35!! The steak, while tender, was not seasoned in any way other than the reduction, and not cooked to my specification. A positive note here, our server immediately noticed and offered to correct it, which I declined. The potatoes were very disappointing. The atmosphere was nice, our server was friendly and mostly attentive. None of the food was bad, but it wasn't great and certainly not worth the price. Do not mistake me in this. For example, my wife and I LOVED The Wild Mushroom when it was in Weatherford. And we were happy to pay the price of the meals. But Zenos has fallen flat. Without significant improvements to the menu offerings, the taste of the meals and the pricing, we will most definitely not...

I don’t normally write less than positive reviews but felt that perhaps this would help the manager or owner to coach their staff. We have been here before and have had a really enjoyable dinner but not tonight. It was a series of small (not overt, but nonetheless) disrespectful events that culminated in a very mediocre and borderline offensive experience. First, my husband walked in with reservations and was not greeted or even acknowledged until 3 other people walked in behind him at which point they were asked if THEY had reservations to which they replied no. Then, only then, did they acknowledge my husband when he said he actually did have a reservation. The entry to the restaurant is quaint and it’s pretty hard to not be seen but for whatever reason he wasn’t seen by either of the two people working at the hostess stand. It’s not a pleasant feeling to be made to feel unimportant and invisible. Once seated, my husband was waiting for us (our daughter and I) to arrive so he just ordered water with lemon and some appetizers. Water arrived. No lemon. Okay, no big deal. Not the first time we’ve ever had to remind wait staff to bring an item. But it continued. No offer of cheese for our pasta dishes. Waited and waited for our waiter to return to the table and the finally had to flag down another waitress for that. Water glasses (now with lemon yay!) barely got filled. I was literally chewing on ice by the time we left because I was so thirsty. No offer of the traditional limoncello. Just the check - as quick as you please. As we stood to leave, our daughter curiously inquired about the limoncello and was told oh yes did you want one? Too late now. We’re headed out the door. I realize everybody has an off day but when you look a across the room and see the same waiter being more attentive to another table you gotta wonder why you’re being slighted. Good service in the hospitality and restaurant industry is anticipating your patrons every need, even before they ask for it. We thought perhaps this lack of consideration was because we were seated at the bar top tables as we have always been seated at a regular table on the other side of the restaurant during our earlier visits. Perhaps it was just a case of “out of sight…out of mind”. Regardless, we were disappointed and trying not to be offended and no, we’re not uppity people but this used to be a favorite place for us to go and I will definitely be rethinking a return visit. My husband even said he wished we had gone to Olive...