Zoes

 

2

9

Mike A.

Marblehead, MA

I really wanted to like Zoe's. My wife and I moved out of the city to the North Shore about two years ago, and we've been struggling to find good restaurants up here. Overall, the experience only OK. The food was basically mediocre. We went with tapas and got, among other items, the salmon sashimi, fois gras, crab cakes, and one of the pizzettes. With the exception of the crab cakes, we just weren't that impressed. Everything seemed a bit dry and just not quite ready for prime time. The atmosphere has potential; it's a really nice space. However, it felt about 62 degrees in there, and the TV broadcast from the bar area was piped into the dining area by ceiling speakers, which was a tad annoying. On a more positive note, the service was very good. Our waitress was friendly and efficient, and the hostess was a total sweetheart.

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Elite '08

89

190

Kathy S.

Beverly, MA

I wavered between 3 and 4 on this one.

The cocktails were really excellent. The Tangerine/Basil gimlet was really really really . . wow. One of the best drinks I've had in awhile. And the Zoe's Thai was great too. I tasted their Mojito which was right on and full of fresh mint, as well as the prickly pear margarita - all really excellent. Not cheap at 10 bucks a pop either. . but well worth it.

The atmosphere is fitting and though the layout has stayed the same since this location was Yanks and G2 - they have altered the colors(warm and funky), music and art so as to make it unrecognizable. There are now flat screen TV's in the bar area, too. Generally much more warm, casual, and inviting.

The tapas - inconsistent. The kobe beef mini burgers - they were tasty - but over-done to my way of thinking and. . .geezzuuus 7.50 a piece??? for little itty bitty sliders? If they were rare. . but yeah. And the white asparagus (spagel anyone?) was tough and stringy. 4 skinny spears for $8. The baby greens that came with were very tasty. . but. . I dunno. Those two didn't impress me, especially for the price.

Landing right in the middle - the chickpea fries were crunchy and good. The fried olives were - warm green olives. Good, but the stuffing didn't stand up to the tang of the olive itself. It was a texture, but not a taste. The grilled shrimp were a little overdone. The garlicky flavor was good though, and the avocado relish that came with them was very delicious.

Outstanding? The foie gras with asian pear confit and almond butter. OMG. And bacon wrapped dates stuffed with mascarpone cheese. OH YEAH. Well, since when has ANYTHING wrapped in bacon been bad?

The bean dip that came with the bread as a starter was good, too.

Nice presentations with thinly julienned veggies and good sauces.

The desserts - a friend and I shared the 3 s'mores - dark, milk and white chocolate. So the "graham crackers" were digestive biscuits basically - yummy enough - and "homemade" marshmallows. The dark chocolate one came with the sauce poured over it. It was realy runny -The white chocolate one came without a biscuit, and the milk chocolate sauce came in a little pitcher to be poured over the naked marshmallow sitting on top of its biscuit - we had to ask for instructions. It was just. . weird. The milk chocolate sauce was thin too, though cold - like cool hot chocolate. ??? That's all. The pecan vanilla bread pudding with banana rum sauce ordered by our other companion was tasty, but not outstanding..

They've only been open a couple of months - there was enough delicious tonight that I would definitely come back for another run to try the many things left on the menu.

I'd come back anytime for the cocktails though. hint. hint.

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