zest kitchen & bar

saying that zest kitchen & bar is unique is a bit of an understatement.  just trying to categorize it is proof that it’s different from everywhere else in salt lake city.  it’s arestaurantspecifically focused on vegetarian cuisine, conveniently making it vegan- and gluten free-friendly.  it’s also a bar, so visitors must be 21.  it’s open late, at which point its focus shifts primarily to a bar, complete with a dance floor and sometimes a dj. the black bean sliders were one of the highlights of dinner. i went to zest a few weeks ago to try out the bar scene and was excited to find out that they play house music on fridays (a rare find for salt lake city).  the crowd was intimate and the vibe was energetic.  anxious to try the food side of zest, a few friends and i returned last week for dinner. the whiskey sour, emphasis on the sour. the cocktail menu has some creative concoctions on it, but i was disappointed that most of them were on the sweet side.  the high west whiskey sour (lem

one of my new favorite restaurants here in salt lake city is zest kitchen and bar, which just opened a few months ago. owner and operator, casey staker, successfully ran w lounge for several years before closing its doors and taking a chance in opening the fresh and flavorful, zest. i am pretty sure it was his destiny – because thisrestaurantis wonderful for so many reasons.

we were excited to find a new local organic place! the only odd thing was that the entry way looked a little empty and desserted. may just be that they are still new and getting everything sorted.
the atmosphere was great, the food was creative and tasty. the staff was friendly and the owner made the rounds to say hello and thank us for coming in. i understand that everyrestauranthas an off night, especially when they're new and it sounds like someone else who wrote a review may have caught them on that night. our experience was great and we will definitely be coming back to support this local business. ps the carrot cake i'm eating right now is making me want to be a better person.

trying too hard.. some friends and i came upon zest after enjoying the downtown gallery stroll last friday night. when we walked in, there wasn't a hostess in sight, then we come to find her eating at the bar. after being seated (at a table that did not have any place settings, we had to grab them off the surrounding tables) it took the waiter at least ten minutes to even approach our table. the wine and beer was average price, nothing to complain about. looking through the menu i was very hopeful. i am vegatarian and prefer not to eat gluten, so they had a lot to offer. after waiting almost a half hour for our drinks to arrive, we finally got to order. all three of my original choices were shot down because therestauranthad run out. mind you, it was dead empty in the place when we walked in at 8:30 pm. whatrestaurantruns out of three things on a small menu in the middle of a friday night? what i finally ordered was the goat cheese with chives on cucumbers. it came with five dried out cucumbers and cheese that looked like it was squeezed out of a toothepaste container by a two year old. and it cost $9 dollars.
thisrestaurantwill not last by the end of the season, much less a few months.
worst service, horrible atmosphere, elevator club music playing too loud, pretentious owner and the worst "healthy" food i have ever had. stay away from this restaurant.