Tuesday 2 April 2013

A lovely Sunday lunch at ZOE RESTAURANT

To celebrate Easter Sunday I went out for a yummy lunch with my parents. :)

We all decided to check out a fairly new restaurant on Upper Street in Angel (where I live) called Zoe! Obviously the name itself was amusing but the menu was very interesting and it's always fun to try somewhere new.


Don't be put off by the unglamourous exterior!
Once you get inside the restaurant it has a really cosy feel and a great use of colour.

Zoe Restaurant Islington: cozy atmosphere

Zoe Restaurant Islington: dim lights
We sat at the back of the restaurant which was beautifully painted with landscapes and pictures.



As my name is Zoe I was offered a free cocktail which I thought was really nice! I ordered a bellini and my Dad chose the wine.

I was really impressed with the starter menu and immediately noticed the scallops YUM one of my favourite starters! It was a toss up between that and the calamari which my Mum ordered, so I got to try both :)

The starters arrived.....
SEARED N. ATLANTIC FRESH SCALLOPS  £5.95
fresh sea scallops on a bed of leeks fondue and truffle oil


The scallops were perfectly cooked and the flavours from the leeks were beautiful! I finished every last mouthful and soaked up the sauce with some warm olive bread that we had ordered. DELICIOUS!!
I was very pleased :)))))
My Mums calamari was also extremely tasty!

Main course - I went for the .....

GRILLED WILD BISON STEAK £13.50
served with celeriac mash , smoked bacon and organic chestnut mushroom sauce


I had never tried bison before and liked the idea of the smoked bacon and mushroom sauce. My other choice would have been the chicken...

STUFFED CHICKEN BREAST £11.50
chicken breast wrapped with Parma ham, stuffed with garlic and herb cheese
on a bed of creamy sauté spinach and olive tomato dressing


But luckily for me again, my Mum had orederd this!
My Dad went for the Lamb...

CONFIT LAMB SHOULDER £11.95
marinated lamb shoulder, cooked in duck fat served with croquette potatoes
and rosemary red wine jus

Our meals arrived :)


It was an unusual meal but it worked well! The bison steak was delicious and you could really taste the smokey charcoal flavours. The mushroom sauce was gorgeous and the mash was yummy. I of course poured the sauce all over the steak and mash and it was the perfect Sunday treat :)
My Mums chicken arrived and looked great too..... I had slight food envy and I think I will order this next time!

My Dads was slightly disappointing, I think the dish would have worked better with vegetables instead of a salad. We told the owner this and he took our feedback on board.


The menu is meant to be French Mediterranean but I feel it was a bit of a mess. The owner of the restaurant (a really lovely man) explained to us that, as they are new, they are still finding their feet with the menu and he was open to feed back, which we all gave!

Dessert time!!!! :)))))

The dessert menu was very impressive!

Me and Mum decided to go for the honeycomb smash cheese cake with vanilla ice cream.

HONEYCOMB SMASH CHEESECAKE £4.25
My dad chose -
POACHED PEAR IN RED WINE £4.25


The desserts arrived shortly after. The service thoroughout our meal had been fantastic and the waitress was very helpful and really sweet.

OH YES!! Soooooooooo gooooooooooooooooooooood. I was very pleased with my choice.

My Dads arrived...



He really enjoyed it so we were all happy.

When we asked for the bill the owner brought over complimentary liqueurs which was kind and a nice way to end our lunch.

We all had a great lunch and the restaurant had a warm and welcoming vibe. You feel extremely well looked after and the scallops and cheesecake, for me, are two big reasons to go back!

I am actually going back there again tonight with a friend for dinner and I'm excited to have those scallops again.
I think the pink lighting will be much more affective at night time so I'm interested to see the difference in ambiance tonight.

Hmmmmm do think it would be cheeky to get another free cocktail ;)

***************************

So I went again on Friday night with my friend and I got another free cocktail whoooo how nice of them!
The food did not disappoint and the lightening was really cosy!!!

I had the scallops, then the chicken and of course the honeycomb smash cheesecake :)))))


We had a lovely evening, the service was perfect and all the staff are incredibly friendly. The restaurant was packed with a queue at the door! So if you're interested in checking this place out make sure you book :)









2 comments:

  1. Looks like a really cool little place! It always helps when you get really good service and a free drink here and there :) The cheesecake looks worth the journey on its own!
    Caroline x

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Haha exactly! It's really lovely, check it out when you can :)

      Delete