Reviews Zest

The new meat menu in JW3 is unbelievable! Best kosher food in London by far. Lots of little dishes to share. The chicken and the salt beef by far are the best to share dishes.

We went to Zest yesterday for the bottom less brunch. Food was great and we were very lucky with the weather too so all the doors were open onto the beach area. Great atmosphere and delicious food! Strongly recommend for a sunday brunch.

Best tuna nicoise I’ve ever had! Friendly and helpful staff!

This was some of the best food I've had in a long time. sweet potato gnocchi, beetroot and goats cheese salad. the starters sounded a little plain but I was so glad we tried them, utterly amazing. and the galilee wine was AMAZING. as was the 'writing on the wall cocktail'. will definitely be coming again. xxx

According to Jay Rayner in The Observer, Zest is "a jewish restaurant serving really good food." Jay, I agree entirely.

I had high expectations (which were met in full) since not only had I heard great things, but the chefs were behind one of my favourite places for brunch, Made in Camden.

The staff could not have been more attentive and friendly. We took their advice and shared a mixed mezze (£9) to start, comprising cauliflower in a sauce of tahini and pomegranate molasses, marinated red peppers with feta and oregano and hummus mesabaha with paprika and zhug.

For those of you who, like me, did not know what zhug or mesabaha was: zhug is a Middle Eastern hot sauce originating in Yemeni cuisine and brought to Israel by Yemenite Jews. It is now a staple of Israeli cuisine and is made from fresh hot peppers seasoned with coriander, garlic and various spices. Hummus mesabaha is like cousin of hummus, made from very similar ingredients but different in texture and taste. The chickpeas are cooked until extremely soft then mixed with tahini, olive oil, lemon juice and spices, often with some pre-made hummus added in. According to Google, "ideally, the soft peas should melt in your mouth, while the tahini and olive oil linger over your chin and onto your shirt." I'm glad to say I didn't spill anything on my shirt, but it was very enjoyable nonetheless.

My favourite was the cauliflower, simply because it was a taste that was completely new to me, but all were truly excellent. The mezze came with a bread basket that featured a fantastic olive bread.

We then shared oven-roasted cod (£15.95) and a beetroot salad (£10.50). The cod was served with tomato and okra braise (braise referring to the cooking method), caramelised aubergine, ptitim and pangrattato. Ptitim is an Israeli toasted pasta shaped like rice or little balls; aka Israeli couscous. Pangrattato refers to breadcrumbs. I LOVED the cod and ptitim. I am so ambivalent about non-Israeli couscous but for some reason I am really fond of this couscous and the whole dish worked so well together. The beetroot salad comprised marinated beetroot, poached quince, pearl barley, rocket, grilled halloumi and pistachio. It was again very good.

We were pretty stuffed but couldn't resist trying just a mouthful of the sweet potato sfinges (£6.50) out of curiosity. As mesabaha is a cousin to hummus, a sfinge is brother to a small doughnut without the hole. This particular sfinge comes hot with glazed black grapes, creme fraiche and flaked almonds. It really was something special. I've never in my life seen or heard of cooking grapes, but it is now something I plan to do frequently. The elements of the dessert all worked extremely well together.

I thoroughly recommend Zest. It is a tad on the expensive side (our bill came to roughly £70 for two people, which included a glass of wine each) but Kosher food is always expensive, and the quality of the food and the attentive staff make it entirely worth it and a delightful dining experience!

Exciting, newly refurbished, modern, Israeli restaurant and cafe situated at JW3 (with another branch at Bevis Marks Synagagogue). Zest is supervised kosher by the Sephardi Kashrut Authority. All meat in the restaurant is Glatt (חלק בית יוסף) and all dairy in the cafe is Halav Yisrael חלב ישראל. Booking early is highly recommended as they can get full very quickly.

I had a wonderful time tonight at the Zest Restaurant. If you fancy truly delicious and modern Israeli cuisine you won't find a better place in London. All dishes we tried were cooked to the perfection! What's more, it is an incredibly welcoming and relaxed place. I would highly recommend the restaurant to everyone!!!'

A really good restaurant food wise with an interesting menu . A must have, the salmon tartare . It's as good as any top restaurant. A pleasant atmosphere. Friendly staff, and reasonable prices

Great food. Keep in mind that one course probably won't be enough, they recommend 3 or 4 per person, but 2 or 3 should be enough

Unique very tasty menu and reasonable prices! Highly recommended

Brilliant new meaty sharing menu - can’t reccomend enough!