Zelo

Doesn't Recommend

kerouac11

Joined 5 years ago

You can find better Italian and better service elsewhere.. Visited Zelo for an 8:30 reservation on a Sat night. The host staff was quite nice and the bar seemed active. We were promptly seated but that is where my compliments end.

Our waiter was extraordinarly slow and had to be prompted to bring our wine, to bring a second menu, to bring the check, he was the antithesis of proactive. He was a bit of snob as well. If you insist on going, do NOT order the beef carpacio, there was so much sea salt on it that I left feeling brined. The bacon and blue cheese salad was nearly soggy and the lasagna was unimpressive. The hanger steak was passable. This is shame because the restaurant has a cool atmoshpere.

Recommends

Rose_Johnson

Joined 10 years ago

Superb. I dine at Zelo frequently and am never disappointed. The service is among the best in the twin cities and the food is fantastic. The Ahi Tuna Springrolls are amazing and the fresh seafood is so very good. During my most recent visit I asked my server for wine recommendations and she was very knowledgeable about what paired well with my food. I highly recommend this restaurant for anyone who has a real appreciation for good food and wine.

Doesn't Recommend

lmu

Joined 5 years ago

Zelo is NOT "Minnesota Nice". My husband and I live in Los Angeles. We are visiting Minneapolis for business. I have warm, wonderful feelings regarding the Twin Cities as my mom is originally from here. We were excited to try Zelo as the concierge at our hotel highly recommended it. We had reservations and walked in the door. We were not greeted at all by the hostesses. We stood there for a while while the lead hostess was busy chatting with two men on their way out the door. We finally said to another woman standing there that we were here for dinner and had reservations. She said something to the effect of "You'll have to wait." We were struck with the fact that were were not even acknowledged and by the overall rudeness. My husband and I ended up dining at McCormick and Schmicks across the street. We were warmly greeted and immediately shown to a fine booth. The food was delicious and every one in the restaurant was "Minnesota nice." My recommendation is to avoid Zelo and go to McCormick and Schmicks right across the street.

Recommends

Contributor

Joined 10 years ago

A glamorous, gothic downtown Minneapolis eatery mixes glitz with some of the Twin Cities' best contemporary Italian food.. In Short
Vaulted ceilings soar overhead, while stylishly dressed diners occupy intimate banquettes. The decor is almost theatrical--dark, sumptuous fabrics, murky lighting, gold accents. The elegant bar area, just past the dining room, stays busy from cocktail hour well into the wee hours. The Italian-influenced menu features bruschetta, sesame-crusted walley and lovely presentations of olives, cheeses and meats. The crowd is almost uniformly young, hip and good-looking, punctuated by the occasional gaggle of tourists wandering in off Nicollet Mall.

Doesn't Recommend

raterd

Joined 6 years ago

Poor Service.........again. My wife and I have eaten here twice. On both occasions we were extremely dissatisfied with the service. The food and ambience was splendid. However, our servers were dreadful; among many things they were slow and rude. We have dined at numerous upscale restaurants and have always had excellent service. Zelo definitely missed the mark.

Recommends

tandc

Joined 6 years ago

Best Rissoto. My fiance & I stopped in on Saturday afternoon for an early dinner. Since we were shopping earlier and dressed casually, we decided to sit in the bar area. We ordered calamari for appetizers, rissoto w/wild mushrooms and a sicilian sausage pizza. The risotto was abosolutely the best I'd ever had and cooked to perfection. (Most places I've visited for risotto can never cook it right, its either still hard or too mushy) The portions were also a good size. The only thing that could have been better was having another waiter in the bar area. It was just the bartender and 1 waiter so he was running around from table to table and seemed kind of flustered. All in all, the food was delicious and restaraunt decor was interesting. Definately will be back for more!

Recommends

anniems

Joined 7 years ago

Wow!. Very rarely do I give a wow when it comes to dining here in the cities. I can say that there was really nothing missing. The service was spot on, and the food was great. I have to recommend the ahi tuna appetizer, and the halibut, although my husband had the fettuccini with asparagus and that was great too. From start to finish, Zelo really impressed us!

Recommends

bestofmin

Joined 7 years ago

Delightful. The atmosphere at Zelo is just fantastic. Walking in past the bar and into the spacious main dining room, I was thoroughly impressed by the beautiful lighting and paintings. The food was absolutely delicious. I had the seared diver scallops, miso-marinated Alaskan halibut with soba noodles, and the molten chocolate cake with Tahitian vanilla gelato. The service was warm and pleasant. It was truly enjoyable!!!

Recommends

hushasha40

Joined 7 years ago

Lousy cesar salad but great scallopine!. Overall, Zelo's is a great experience. Lovely food with great wines and a serious drinker's bar. Their cesar salad needs to be greatly improved. The romaine was fine, the dressing was all right, but the parmesan was not fresh and the croutons were minimal. The veal scallopine and the squash, on the other hand were amazingly delicious. Coffee and gelato are always classically tasteful.

Recommends

chelwats

Joined 8 years ago

Very good. This is a great place - its sleek, sexy, and a great atmosphere. They have great food and the atmosphere is very cool. I recommend it. It is not the cheapest place however. A meal for 2 (including a bottle of wine) would run around $80-$120,