Zula Restaurant

02/23/09

run in the OTHER DIRECTION!

by lulusag at Citysearch

i went out with my friends over the weekend to this place, i didnt have a very good experience. originally the waiter that was waiting me was VERY RUDE! my friends are I were just talking amongst ourselves and we were getting loud because we'd been drinking and the waiter so rudely comes to us and says "baby your too loud" as if he'd asked us to keep it down a few times before. We called for the manager and had the waiter switched, the manager was awesome. the food however was not, i ordered the flattened chicken it was supposed to have cheese on it but you could tell it was valvetta for almost a 20$ meal without drinks i'd have better gotten real cheese...the only decent at this place is the manager and cheesecake but for 7$ your better off at cheesecake factory its a dollar less and doesnt taste like it came from the forzen isle at walmart

• Pros: the manager (mike), very trendy interior
• Cons: food, original waiter

10/28/08

Unfortunately Disappointed

by tc749 at Citysearch

I visited Zula with a friend after reading about it on both CitySearch and OpenTable. Upon arrival, we were taken upstairs to what looked like a storage area turned dining area for the evening. (We were told that the entire bottom floor had been rented out for a party.) Our table was so off balance that we were concerned it was going to fall off of the center leg, and after showing our waiter, he immediately "created" another table for us. It was so dark, that we could barely see our menus and ended up using the light from our cell phones to see them. It smelled very musky! The carpet was stained. Our waiter changed twice during our meal. The first one did not have a clue as to how to serve wine. He came to the table with the bottle, popped the cork, stuffed it in his pocket, poured a huge glass for my male friend, and then another huge glass for me, sat down the bottle at the opposite end of the table, and took off. We spent the rest of the meal filling our own glasses - as he never returned to do it for us. The only thing I can speak positively of was the food. It wasn't impressive per say, but it was good. To summarize, I was very disappointed and embarrassed. (It was my turn to pick a restaurant and I thought I had it in the bag) I was wrong. I'm sure Zula had their heyday at some point, but the present time isn't it.

• Pros: The food was ok
• Cons: No valet at 7pm that evening, parking is across the street in a pay as you go lot

10/28/08

Gone Down Hill

by snipdoggydog at Citysearch

I had been to this restaurant many times in the past and it had always been a great experience. However, I went there with two friends before the theatre last week and it was a big disappointment. I always liked the funky decor of the restaurant, but it now looks worn and tired. The bathrooms were also not in good shape and unkempt. The music was so loud that we couldn't hear each other and we had to ask to have it turned down. There was no one else in the restaurant and the service was very slow and not attentive. We had to hurry to finish our meal before the theater because it took so long to get our entrees. Once the food arrived it was actually pretty good, however, the rest of the experience ruined the evening and I will never go back.

08/16/08

strange, decent place

by cmk1126 at Citysearch

The pictures of this place are misleading. Although they are of the inside of the restaurant, you may be surprised to find that the inside looks like the gaming floor at casino royale. I found this depressing, especially in the daytime. Here's the good news: the food is decent. But it's not great. People keep praising the steak. The one I had was on the lower side of middling. This is probably not worth trying.

08/02/08

What a disappointment...

by MustangAlicia at Citysearch

Service was terrible. Food was good but just not worth it. Our server forgot to bring part of our order, so when we did get it, we had to send it back to be reheated. We were one of 4 tables in the entire restaurant, and the servers kept mixing up orders with the table next to us. When I pay $100+ for a meal, I expect a much better experience. Also, we did not receive one apology for the mix-ups. Even that would have made things better. We won't be back.

• Pros: Food was good.
• Cons: Service was terrible.

05/13/08

Mostly good food, terrible for Sunday brunch

by peterv at Citysearch

We were there for Mother's Day brunch and were extremely disappointed. They are not usually open on Sundays and this was very clear. They ran out of all desserts but 2 (supposed to have 5). There was throw-up in the lady's restroom. We were supposed to get free mimosas but had to ask for them and then convince the waiter they were included, although it was clearly stated on the website. This is unacceptable for any restaurant - to put your customers in the awkward position of having to explain what the waiter should already know. When we arrived we had to wait even though there were plenty of free tables. We were also promised a round of champagne by the host because we had to wait, which was never served. It was very dark and depressing for a Mother's Day occasion. Expensive for what we got; could have had a Four Seasons meal for the same price and better experience. My chicken dish was not good - huge hormone injected breast with little flavor at all. The other dishes were very good though - excellent filet, fantastic pan fried salmon. This place is probably great for a wild Saturday night, but avoid for any special occasions on Sundays, especially in a city that is known for fantastic Sunday brunch.

• Pros: Mostly good food, unique decor, great bar area
• Cons: disappointing service, terrible brunch experience

05/09/08

Bad Food and Long Wait

by Karenrenee07 at Citysearch

I visited Zula's today 5/9/2008. I love going there becuase of the flatten chicken and delicious macaroni. Today I went and the executive cheif must not have been in the building because my food was very different. My chicken was overcooked. It is usually light brown and easy to cut. Today it was dark brown like it had been deep fried. I had to saw on it just to cut it and eat. My macaroni was over cooked as well. It tasted grainy, I could not eat it. The sad part is that the macaroni is my favorite, it is usually a little spicy and smooth but not to day. I had to order potatoes which took about 15 minutes for them to bring out.

This brings me to my next issue. It took 40 minutes to recieve my food. I arrived at 11:35; only one other table as filled when I arrived. I purposely arrived early in order to get out early. I didn't get out of there until 1. I can't say that today was my last visit, but if my next visit is similar to this one, it will definitely be my last visit.

03/17/08

AT LEAST THE SALAD WAS GOOD

by PRESHA0906 at Citysearch

I went to a birthday dinner with a group of frineds on a Saturday night. The service was horrible and it was only our group of about 16 people and I looked around and maybe 3 other tables had people. When I was seated I ask for a glass of water with lemon. I did not get my lemon until I reminded my server two additonal times. The prices were relatively ok for a 4 or 5 star restaurant. The unfortunate part was that the food was not a 4 or 5 star quality. It took about 30 minutes to receive my food after my salad. I ordered the Trout with lump crab meat I substituted mash potatoes instead of veggies. After receiving my food it was luke warm and for the first couple of minutes I had to search for my potatoes. Guess where I found them. Under my fish....go figure. The only good thing was the guy that served the water kept my glass full.

• Pros: The ambience and decor was fabolous
• Cons: Everything

08/02/06

Good atmosphere and lighting

by lynnhipp at Citysearch

Nice atmosphere but the food was average at best. Would not recommend and will not return. My entree` was bland and the cheese cake was room temperature.

• Pros: Lighting
• Cons: Food

05/08/06

It's prom night

by stucamel at Citysearch

Saturday night 7:30PM. $100.00 for 2 entrees, 2 martinis. Took wife here for anniversary. I felt like I was on a cruise ship departing Lake Charles and the theme was Prom Night! - Jazz it up! My bad for coming here in May. Prom goers filled two large tables. Most other tables were vacant. It was dark, cold, empty, too quiet. Skyy Martini Up w/ olive was very dirty. Ordered lamb chops and fish. Both dishes were tasty but so is a Whataburger. I made sure not to order appetizers, salad, or dessert. Call me cheap but I just wanted to bail out quickly, as I was crashing and burning. It was Landrys with lipstick. Im certain the prom girls had a magical night and were impressed by their trendy dates. As for me, I owe my old lady a proper anniversary dinner.

• Pros: my waiter
• Cons: ambience, cheese-factor