danox

7.5 Recommended

Food  9      Ambience  7      Service  8      Value  6     

This place is expensive but, in my opinion, very much worthwhile. We were taken here by a friend who has recently returned from living in Japan and were told it is as close to an authentic japanese dining experience as you can get in Sydney.

We had the $70 pp banquet which involved 7 courses of some of the most delicious Japanese food I have eaten, accompanied by some excellent sake. The staff were very polite and professional. By the end of the night we were very full, and our mouths were tingling from the different flavours.

Sep 02, 2010

7.5 Recommended

Food  8      Ambience  6      Service  7      Value  9     

Have been looking for a decent cafe in North Ryde and I think we finally found one. Breakfast meals are simple but well made from fresh ingredients. I found the scrambled eggs and home-made hash browns especially delicious. Good quality coffee and tea. The inside of the cafe is nicely decorated, if a bit dark. Outside is a bit of a concrete 70's wonderland, but not too bad.

The service was decent enough. The staffed seemed very busy when we arrived and it took a while for them to notice me standing at the counter, but was fine afterwards. Excellent value for money. We had breakfast for 3 for $35. Considering many of the lesser quality and more expensive cafes in the area, I would recommend Zig Zag as the best cafe I've eaten at in North Ryde so far.

Feb 27, 2010

3.5 Below Average

Food  2      Ambience  4      Service  5      Value  3     

I ordered chipotle sausages and eggs and was incredibly disappointed. The eggs were dry, the tomato was sloppy, the sausages were bland (possibly frozen), the mushrooms were bitter and there was only 5 of them. The whole meal was overshadowed by two giant pieces of what tasted like tip-top toast bread. I ordered a green tea with my meal which came in tea bag form. In total the food was equal in taste and quality to truck stop food I have eaten on road trips through the desert.

Sitting under the skylights is somewhat nice, but there is no way to escape the fact that you are sitting in the middle of the Macquarie Centre, just next to Dick Smiths.
The service was mostly indifferent. All of this, I could forgive if I felt I was getting value for money, but this is priced as I would expect a somewhat upmarket cafe to be priced. I will try to avoid ever eating here again.

Feb 27, 2010

6 Average

Food  8      Ambience  7      Service  6      Value  3     

Food seemed on par with a good pub. Nothing fancy or innovative, but plenty of well-cooked meat. The plates are very large which makes servings seem small, but the large steak and 3 potatoes I received was more than enough food.

The restaurant itself seemed expensive. Certainly a lot of money had gone into the design and purchase of decorations, salt shakers and such. The bar area had lounge sections, and there is a balcony to dine on. Unfortunately the balcony overlooks a main road in North Ryde which is not terribly relaxing.

We found the service friendly but spotty. We arrived early in the night and found we had 3 or 4 waiting staff checking on us. Our child got some pencils and paper to colour in on. By the end of the meal the service dropped off a bit. After we had paid our bill we waited about 15 minutes before we finally flagged someone down to ask for our change.

My main complaint with this place is the prices. Most meals were around the $30 mark, which I think is much too expensive for steak and chips or chicken schnitzel. Many of the steaks cost around $45-50 which I think it completely insane and it really cut down our options when choosing what to eat. One option seemed reasonable, which was a full rack of ribs for $40 which could potentially be shared among two people, but since my wife was not in the mood, we didn't get to try this out.

Feb 27, 2010

7.5 Recommended

Food  9      Ambience  7      Service  8      Value  6     

This place is expensive but, in my opinion, very much worthwhile. We were taken here by a friend who has recently returned from living in Japan and were told it is as close to an authentic japanese dining experience as you can get in Sydney.

We had the $70 pp banquet which involved 7 courses of some of the most delicious Japanese food I have eaten, accompanied by some excellent sake. The staff were very polite and professional. By the end of the night we were very full, and our mouths were tingling from the different flavours.

Sep 02, 2010

7.5 Recommended

Food  8      Ambience  6      Service  7      Value  9     

Have been looking for a decent cafe in North Ryde and I think we finally found one. Breakfast meals are simple but well made from fresh ingredients. I found the scrambled eggs and home-made hash browns especially delicious. Good quality coffee and tea. The inside of the cafe is nicely decorated, if a bit dark. Outside is a bit of a concrete 70's wonderland, but not too bad.

The service was decent enough. The staffed seemed very busy when we arrived and it took a while for them to notice me standing at the counter, but was fine afterwards. Excellent value for money. We had breakfast for 3 for $35. Considering many of the lesser quality and more expensive cafes in the area, I would recommend Zig Zag as the best cafe I've eaten at in North Ryde so far.

Feb 27, 2010

3.5 Below Average

Food  2      Ambience  4      Service  5      Value  3     

I ordered chipotle sausages and eggs and was incredibly disappointed. The eggs were dry, the tomato was sloppy, the sausages were bland (possibly frozen), the mushrooms were bitter and there was only 5 of them. The whole meal was overshadowed by two giant pieces of what tasted like tip-top toast bread. I ordered a green tea with my meal which came in tea bag form. In total the food was equal in taste and quality to truck stop food I have eaten on road trips through the desert.

Sitting under the skylights is somewhat nice, but there is no way to escape the fact that you are sitting in the middle of the Macquarie Centre, just next to Dick Smiths.
The service was mostly indifferent. All of this, I could forgive if I felt I was getting value for money, but this is priced as I would expect a somewhat upmarket cafe to be priced. I will try to avoid ever eating here again.

Feb 27, 2010

6 Average

Food  8      Ambience  7      Service  6      Value  3     

Food seemed on par with a good pub. Nothing fancy or innovative, but plenty of well-cooked meat. The plates are very large which makes servings seem small, but the large steak and 3 potatoes I received was more than enough food.

The restaurant itself seemed expensive. Certainly a lot of money had gone into the design and purchase of decorations, salt shakers and such. The bar area had lounge sections, and there is a balcony to dine on. Unfortunately the balcony overlooks a main road in North Ryde which is not terribly relaxing.

We found the service friendly but spotty. We arrived early in the night and found we had 3 or 4 waiting staff checking on us. Our child got some pencils and paper to colour in on. By the end of the meal the service dropped off a bit. After we had paid our bill we waited about 15 minutes before we finally flagged someone down to ask for our change.

My main complaint with this place is the prices. Most meals were around the $30 mark, which I think is much too expensive for steak and chips or chicken schnitzel. Many of the steaks cost around $45-50 which I think it completely insane and it really cut down our options when choosing what to eat. One option seemed reasonable, which was a full rack of ribs for $40 which could potentially be shared among two people, but since my wife was not in the mood, we didn't get to try this out.

Feb 27, 2010