Zesto

Bad customer service, they should screen whom they hire. It was very «urban» and obnoxious. I understand that level of «urbaness» will be about due to the location of thr neighborhood and slow gentrification. Just because you are assisting customers that may share your same complexion doesn’t give you a pass to give beneath average customer service and cross talk with other associates about love and hip hop while you are screwing up my melting order! Then scoff when i say this isnt what i asked for and the shit is ½ way melted! You weren’t cross talking about good will hunting with the people ahead of me so why do I get love and hiphop? The sundaes are about average with mcdonalds and cost more. They got me once, will not be back.

Came here with my girlfriend and the food was actually really good. The double decker was amazing and the buffalo renders were better than Zaxby’s!

If I could give this place a zero I would without hesitation. We came in around 10pm and I ordered a cheese burger combo. My food came out reasonably quick and I proceeded to eat my meal. The first bite was painful. The burger was drier than jerky. I tried to continue to eat it but there wasn’t enough mayo or mustard to salvage this sandwich. I reluctantly took it back to the counter to ask them to replace it. When I asked when I could replace it with a chicken sandwich. I was greeted with an eye roll and was reminded that it was 10pm by the cashier who placed my initial order. I looked at her in disbelief and stated that it didn’t matter what time I came in. The quality of the food should be consistent whether its 10am or 10pm. She shrugged and replied «oh really?». In the midst of our back and forth debate on the dining room floor while ahe was cleaning the drink station, which should have never happened in the first place, I just requested for a refund. At this time a cook came to me and told me he had already started my replacement order and it should be out shortly. I told him I lost my appetite and I was fine but he insisted. In the midst of this foolishness a manager did come and apologize for my dining experience but this to me still is absurd.

I should have taken a picture of the burgers. My point is that the food isn’t bad, it just does not lave anything to do with the pictures on the wall. I mean, at least Wendy’s tries to make the food pictured in it’s ads. That said, next time I go there it will be for a sundae? Hopefully it will be made as if its supposed to be a sundae and not just a plop of ice cream with whip cream on top.

This is a good Zesto’s. Even though they have an 88 on their food rating, this is one of the cleaner Zesto’s in the area.
What makes this location better is the size and the staff. There’s plenty of space inside to eat, with lots of clean tables and booths to enjoy your food.
The staff is also very nice.

Zestos is a spot I come to when I want fast food that’s better quality than McDonald’s/Wendy’s. Came here yesterday with a friend for lunch and had chicken tenders. The breading on the tenders was homemade and actually really good! Fries were hot and didn’t eat the roll since it was a basic dinner roll.
My friend ordered a turkey burger meal and he wasn’t as pleased this time as he was last time he had it but he still ate.
I didn’t get dessert this time which was really hard! I loooooove Zestos ice cream but since I gave up sweets for Lent I had to pass.
Be back after my fast, Zestos!

I’m a cheap ice cream connoisseur, and Zesto serves up some of the best vanilla soft serve around. Even better, they offer a variety of hard-​shell coatings (called «crowns») in flavors from butterscotch to chocolate to literally «crown» an already giant ice cream cone. There is almost no way to eat one of these giant delights fast enough before it melts, so ask for a cup in case it gets the better of you too. Of course, they blend up all sorts of other delicious concoctions with their soft serve as the base, so if you’re looking for a float, a sundae, a malted, a milkshake, or an «arctic freeze» (candy or cookies blended into the ice cream), they’ve got you covered. Despite the plentiful and complex ice cream offerings, you’d be hard pressed to find anything on the dessert menu over $ 5.
I also love that the interior is vintage kitsch, the servers are colorful and pleasant, and they have a self serve Coca Cola fountain so I can guzzle Diet Coke by the gallon. What more could you want in a spot to fill a serious summer guilty pleasure?

I waited 35 minutes before I inquired about my burger order. It was either given to someone else or never made. The manager apologized and refunded my money. The entire time that I sat their waiting, the staff seemed to care more about socializing than doing their jobs.
I may try another Zesto for desert, but I will not return to the Ponce de Leon location.

Who doesn’t love Zesto’s? Well, I love it. Great food, ice cream and service. I like to get a meal at Eat’s then drive the 5 minutes down Ponce de Leon to Zesto’s and get a scoop of ice cream.

Absolutely love this place, especially on Saturday when I can get a chubby decker and drink for a fiver. Vanilla ice cream is awesome, almost like hand cranked. I could freakin live off the food in Zesto, but I’d probably be even more of a chubby decker than I already am! Daily specials keep me coming back for sure.

Cleanest zesto’s I’ve ever encountered. Food was decent. Service was fast. I’d return.

I was able to convince my husband to go to Zesto as I’d been wanting to try it out for forever. We ordered the gyro (traditional aka lamb), Brother’s tacos (1 chicken, 1 beef), Fat Boy burger, side of cole slaw, and a banana milk shake (they were out of peach, sadly).
The Fat Boy burger he thought tasted like an alternative to the Big Mac, except bigger, and he was actually pretty happy about that. I thought it tasted pretty similar as well, but I don’t know if I would have been happy eating that whole thing since it tasted like a fast food burger.
The tacos I thought were pretty good, but they were also very wet and dripping a lot. Came with two different types of salsas and a big basket of tortilla chips (probably gave us more than they needed to).
I liked my gyro — it tasted pretty standard (good thing!) and it was packed with a lot of meat, and sauce came on the side. Probably one of the lighter options on their menu. Cole slaw was good.
The banana milk shake was decent, but I guess I was expecting more after reading all the rave reviews about their desserts. I think it was a little too melted/​thin for my taste. I did like the occasional chunks of banana. I still want to try their soft serve desserts.
I’m kind of wavering between 3 and 4 stars, but overall I was happy with the meal, and it’s cool that they have a drive thru option.

The place — the ONLY fuckin’ place — to get a milkshake in this town.
Three dollars. Big shakes. Real fruit. Don’t bother going anywhere else.

My and my folks came here after a disastrous event at another restaurant. It was okay. Not great, not terrible just okay. I had the taco salad and it was not particularly flavorful. I also ordered a gyro to take home to eat later and a huge order of onion rings. Onion rings were more breaded than anything and not seasoned well. The gyro was pretty good though, though not bursting with flavor as it should have been. If you want to eat like this go to The Varsity.

Though I’ve had a few items from Zesto’s their vanilla ice cream cone is my favorite. It’s clearly real ice cream and delicious.
I’ve had their version of queso and a cheeseburger with fries and didn’t find them great or even good. I found this odd considering all the reviews I read about how great their burgers are, so maybe in the future I will try it again but not the queso I will stick to others for that.
Also, the staff at the Ponce location is always friendly.

I love Zesto. I usually go to the one in Little 5, but this is one is closer to me and after a dinner out, some friends and I went here for dessert. The «blizzards» are always great both here and at the other location. I love the retro styling of the restaurant. So cool. More space for dining here rather than at Little 5. There was a nice mix of crowd. Mostly younger when we were there. At some point a homeless person (I am suspecting) came in and went around to tables asking for change. The staff there was pretty quick to resolve the situation. Wish they were open later during the week.

I pass Zesto numerous times at different locations all over Atlanta. I never given thought about stopping in. A group of us decided to do a gluttonous, multiple rounds of food stops in Atlanta at various restaurants. One of them suggested stopping by at Zestos for ice cream.
I ordered the banana sundae with walnuts. All I have to say is that it is the tastiest, creamiest, soft served vanilla ice cream I ever had.
That is all folks!
PS Talking to the employees, they make their own soft serve in house.

Five stars for the exterior.
Four stars for my malt. Im being generous. The service was nice, but very little malt in the malt. Slightly irritated about that, plus I asked for extra.
Aside, from them not getting the order right. It was tasty. I will admit it’s the only time I have been here. I will try it again.
As for the façade, this place is stunning at night. Check my photo… You will see, I think I captured it very nicely.

Zesto, I have a fleeting crush on you. It will never be love. I’ll never take you home to meet my Gramma. But I can’t help but like you, and you know I’ll be coming over some late night when we’re both lonely, and you know I’ll leave feeling all kinds of good.
Oh, the Chubby Decker. So delicious. So bad, and so good all at once. I may be a total weirdo, but I kinda like the fries here, too.
The milkshakes make me wanna get down. The strawberry is good, if a bit saccharine for my likes, and the chocolate is so so good because it lacks that sticky sweetness… it’s more like a dark cocoa shake than a milk chocolate. I don’t like most chocolate, but somehow I like this.
I haven’t actually had this Toffee Coffee doodad. Maybe next time I’m here, I’ll give it a go.
The people who work here are so colorful! Eating in is definitely worth doing, just for the experience.
I would definitely eat here over just about any major fast food chain. A solid performer in the category of Fast Late-​Night Places That Don’t Make Me Wanna Die.

Having lived in Atlanta for over 11 years and passing by Zesto on Ponce a countless number of times, I probably would’ve never stepped foot inside their restaurant if it were not for Creative Loafing naming one of their desserts as one of the «100 Dishes to Eat in Atlanta Before You Die» (
, May 2011). After dinner in Midtown, I suggested to a friend that we check out this place and try their «Toffee Coffee Arctic Swirl» dessert.
Zesto’s «Arctic Swirls» are basically Zesto’s soft-​serve ice cream mixed with various sweet treats (candies, cookies, nuts, etc.). The toffee coffee version of this consists of vanilla ice cream with bits of coffee-​flavored toffee mixed in. The pieces of toffee are hard, sweet, and sticky. It has hints of coffee flavor, but more caramel than anything else. This is one rich and filling dessert. It’s really good, but I personally would prefer something lighter.
My friend ordered a hot fudge sundae. She kept the sundae simple, just vanilla ice cream and hot fudge. The vanilla ice cream was super smooth and very good. I would come back here just to eat the vanilla ice cream by itself. Towards the end of the sundae, the bowl became mostly hot fudge. Yum.
You can order anything on the menu to eat in the restaurant or to-​go. From the outside-​in, Zesto looks like a diner straight out from the 1950s, from the tile flooring and walls to the shiny tables and chairs. Zesto offers a full menu of classic American fast food including hamburgers, hot dogs, wings, and even burritos and tacos. They also have daily specials. The prices here are comparable to chain fast food places (i.e. Zesto is cheaper than The Varsity).

When Creative Loafing Atlanta published its 100 things to eat in Atlanta before you die list (
), I was somewhat disappointed in myself that I’d only tried 6 of them. As some folks mentioned, I’d eaten at the restaurants, but not chosen the item listed based on personal taste, but I still thought that after 3 full years of Unilocaling and 11 years of living in this city I’d have hit more than just 6.
So when Sunday morning rolls around, J suggested we hit Zesto’s, remembering that there was an item from there on the list, the coffee toffee arctic swirl. I wasn’t terribly keen on the idea, mainly since they’re known for their All-​American drive-​in food, not their salads, and I’d made poor choices earlier in the weekend. Oh well, it was close by and cheap, so there we went.
I got the Chubby Decker (a cross between a Big Mac and a Whopper — 2 patties, 3 buns, cheese, onions, pickles, mustard, lettuce, and tomato), onion rings, and split the Coffee Toffee Arctic Swirl (think Heath-​bar Blizzard) with J. The CD was what you’d expect of a fast food hamburger, though I must say, that was the most perfectly ripe tomato slice that I’ve had on a ff hamburger in years. The onion rings were good — there’s a little corn meal in the batter to give them some texture. As for the CTAS, it was good, but I’m not sure why it made the bucket list. It’s just soft serve with heath bar in it. Nothing special or uniquely Atlanta about it.
If I got to vote, I would put the Nut Brown Crown on the list instead. It’s soft serve ice cream that they dip in the chocolate sauce that hardens into a shell and then roll in chopped peanuts. It’s huge, delicious, and it’s not like you can find it everywhere.
#Yelp365 — ¹³⁶⁄₃₆₅

Last week I decided to change up my routine a little and come here for lunch instead of McDonald’s. I think I’ve been inside the Zesto in L5P once, but I’ve never actually eaten there. I came in with high hopes and left feeling fat and happy.
The crowd here is quite different than what I’m used to seeing next door at McD’s. Apparently every white, blue collar worker from the suburbs comes here to eat when they have jobs in town. Lots of trucks and vans. Plumbers from Covington. An electrician from Acworth. I seemed to be the only Fulton County tag. Of course, this information isn’t particularly relevant. I just thought it was interesting.
I was a little confused when I first came in because the menu is really big, but there aren’t pictures of anything. I thought it was against the law for fast food places to omit pictures. They’re famous for the Chubby Decker, there were pictures everywhere, so that’s what I ended up getting.
It’s a big burger… and it’s yummy! Lots of beef and very messy (which, of course, are two qualities of a good burger). A combo with fries and a drink is $ 7.00. Not a bad afternoon.
They also have gyros, chicken, nachos, and lots of other diner things that I can’t wait to try.