zen asian fusion

best japanese in town?. usually when i receive an outstanding meal and an outstandingserviceon a dining experience that's not that expensive, i write it off as a pleasant fluke. having visited zen asian fusion 3 times now, i can pleasantly say that this is not the case here.

food- a pleasant menu with a smattering of various asian cuisine with a focus on japanese. the prices are very, very reasonable, especially when matched against the quality of the food. the non sushi dishes are accompanied with the fine detail you would expect to pay $30-$40 an entree(and will if you eat at a similar outfit in new york or san francisco). the sushi itself is even better, easily outclassing tsunami and pretty much every other japanese offering in town. the attention to detail and knowledge of the inner workings of sushi are proudly on display here, the sushi chef knows his stuff. 10/10

service- theserviceis above average, drinks stay filled and you are regulary checked up on but not in an intrusive manner. you are served in a timely fashion but not rushed out of the building. 7.5/10

atmosphere- a dark setting, the interior is a suprise given the drab exterior of the building. inside you find a quiet setting that somehow manages to walk a fine line between gaudy and sleek in an urban japanese setting. it doesn't distract from the great food though. 6/10

zen is the bomb.... yummy and awesome service.....if you want terribleserviceand salty food go somewhere else..................,...........

great looking place with good sushi and pad thai.servicehas drastically improved since my first visit months ago. will be returning.

never disappoints. what more can i say? they just never fail to provide the bestserviceand food and atmosphere my money can buy!

excellent establishment! upon a previous review, we revisited and were met by cindy in which she told us our review was taken very seriously and the problem has been rectified. it's wonderful to know that a restaurant takes feedback with such consideration and to also be observant enough to follow up with us a month later. not even knowing who we really are, but recognizing our faces within a large group of 25! very impressive. thanks cindy! and once again... wonderful sushi!


-----23 may, 2013-----

best sushi rolls in town! we are regulars and have never had a specialty roll we did not like. came in with a large party( 25)on a weds night and were put in the private party room.servicewas mediocre but the food did not disappoint. the female bartender was less than professional and extremely rude to our party. she messed up a few checks and mine twice, even after i discussed the mistakes with her and without letting me approve the corrections, ran my card when the bill was still wrong. she told me i could go to the person who's drinks were on my bill and get cash from them or it would take a couple days for my card to be refunded. she was complaining to another customer at the end of the bar about our party and having too many separate checks and she was too tired from working out that day to work. thumbs up sushi, thumbs down bartender.

zen tastic. what a great place. the sushi is always great the presentation is always great. the non sushi is always great and theserviceis always great. this place it great

after reading so many reviews of zen it was a must try. we had four rolls that were amazing. my daughter likes cucumber rolls with cream cheese which was not on the menu. when we asked about it, her request was happily accomodated.servicewas really good as well. definitely will be back!

love this place! much cooler looking on the inside than the outside would indicate.

the fourbtimes i have been theservicehas always been excellent and helpful. the sushi always fresh and delicious.
i tend to prefer a more basic style of sushi and they have numerous fresh rolls, nigiri and sashimi that accomodate my tastes. they also have he numerous array fo beautiful specialty rolls that are fantastic and if you prefer your sauces on the side like i do they accomidate!

a perfect place to take a date!!!

nice restaurant, great sushi. i was in town for the weekend, with a friend showing me around. we stopped at this little restaurant for some sushi. i loved it.servicewas really good as well. prices reasonable with every other place serving sushi. the "west ashley roll" was really really good. a must try. restaurant was very clean, even the restrooms. i would revisit this place for sure.

half and half. my boyfriend and i decided to try zen one friday evening as our weekly date night. the outside of the building is a little... sketch.. but it's really quite lovely once you get inside. we sat in the dining area, but we had a decent view of the bar area as well.
pros: the sushi was wonderful!! we ordered one of the nightly specials, the hurricane roll. i don't remember all of the components, to be honest, but it did have apples in it. it sounded strange and interesting, so we just had to try, and we were so, so glad we did.
theservicewas really good, too. our waitress checked on us regularly without being hovering.
cons: we also each ordered an entree dish. i had the thai basil, and my boyfriend had one of the chef's special dishes (i don't remember which one). neither were impressive.
the place was mostly empty, too. it was fairly early, i guess, but i'd expect something to be a little more hopping on a friday evening.

all-in-all, i enjoyed the experience, and will be returning, but only for the sushi.

awful service. we have eaten here several times. the food is good, if not a bit over-priced. theservicehas been so bad every time that we resolved not to return. we had a waiter who ignored us the entire time because he had s very large group. he took our drink order and then we literally didn't interact with him again (several others brought food/drinks/check). i left a below average tip for very below average service. he had the audacity to make a very rude comment as we were leaving. never going back.

the friendlyservicedidn't even compare to the delicious food! the freshness of the sushi was clearly evident. i would recommend to anyone looking for amazing food in a beautifully decorated establishment!

dont let the outside fool you. this is a very modern yet small sushi place. sat at the sushi bar. greatserviceand wonderful sushi. try the west ashley roll

fantastic. we celebrate my daughters birthday at zen last night.special thanks to james and cindy for all your effort to please us.the chef did a wonderful job.food was delicious theservicewas impeccable.our friends was very well impress for most of them was the first time at zen and they love it.

zen the best in charleston.

had dinner at the bar last night. master eddie was terrific, the food was spot on.servicewas my favorite type, attentive without being pushy, knowledgable and helpful. if your in a hurry, skip it for lunch and go for a relaxing evening.