Zodiac Room

The Zodiac Room is the downtown Neiman Marcus’s restaurant. This Dallas landmark is a prime example of Dallas opulence. Just like the department store beneath it, the Zodiac Room caters to those looking for a service & quality. During the holidays, the Zodiac Room offers a lunch buffet. This review focuses on this experience.
My Overall Rating — 5 Stars (Atmosphere, Service, Food, Return)
Atmosphere — Take the elevator to the 6^th floor. What’s great about the Zodiac Room is that it is located in the original Neiman Marcus. A true department store with a different departments on each floor, during the holidays Neiman Marcus is beautifully decorated with trees, ornaments, and plenty of festive enhancements. As you exit onto the 6^th floor, you’ll see the bar for the Zodiac Room and the hostess stand. It’s has a feel of classic history. Expect to dine next to Dallas’s elite and ladies who lunch. 1 Star.
Service — The service is great. Once you’re seated a server will bring out the famous Neiman Marcus popovers with strawberry butter. The staff is very attentive and will help you with every request. We had an excellent experience with no issues whatsoever. 1 Star.
Food — They have a regular lunch menu, but this review focuses on the holiday lunch buffet. It’s a fantastic spread, filled with staples such as prime rib, lamb, turkey, & chicken. But if you’re a fan of side dishes like me, you’ll find a bounty that will keep your tummy happy well until dinner. My favorite (and my kid’s favorite) was their triple mac & cheese. It’s topped with bread crumbs that add an extra layer of texture to the creamy cheese. The sweet potatoes, caprese salad, and dressing/​stuffing were also items I came back for seconds. You’ll also get a plate full of mini bite size desserts. Expect to see favorites like pecan pie, crème brule, and cake pops. It’s an excellent spread that is on par or even better than the Four Season’s holiday buffet. 2 Stars.
Will I Return? — Yes. I’ve visited the holiday on two separate occasions and I can easily see a return visit in the future. It only comes once a year and we had to make our reservations a month in advance, but it was a great family experience that is worth repeating. 1 Star.
My Unilocal Rating Scale (Sum of all parts):
1 Star — Atmosphere — Is it a cool dive? Perhaps an upscale place? No matter the type, atmosphere plays a big part and I’ll give a star if I like it or thinks it has great charm.
1 Star — Service — You can have a great meal with bad service. But that’s also what can make a five-​star joint drop to four. It’s important to the dining experience that service is great and on point.
2 Stars — Food — I’ll award up to two stars for the food, since this is the main reason we dine out. Sometimes the extra star is given for value, but it’s really all about the food.
1 Star — Will I come back? — If I know for a fact I’ll return, I’ll give this a star. A place has to make an impression for me to return.
Each Category can be given up to 1 star except food (2 stars) because I consider all these categories important to the overall dining experience. I will sum them up to provide my final Unilocal score.

Tables of well to do families, ladies parties, adorable little girls, and fabulous looking gay men. What’s not to love and adore. They serve all the dishes from the epic Neiman Marcus cook book, starting with the famous popover and strawberry butter!
They also do a soup and biscuit dip that’s complimentary. The food here is above 5 stars. These guys wrote the book on delicious food and are serving up consistently. They have the best prime rib I’ve ever let melt in my mouth, as well as the soufflé. Every dish is special, and the array of exotic salads are perfect for ladies trying to eat healthy.
I love going to the bar here! It’s fun to browse around NM to see what they’re peddling, then buy some fragrance and head up to the 6^th floor bar. You can eat there too. French fries and a dirty Martini with blue cheese stuffed olives please! Or whichever over the top cocktail that’s trending there, Just too much fun and eye candy to resist.
The Christmas buffet and various other buffet events they have here are a GO! Usually around $ 45 per person, and you get your monies worth! 9 different kinds of gourmet salads, meats, sides, and desserts. Memorable and addictive in every way!

looks amazing, and I’d rate it 5 stars if they were honest about price point, but at $ 42 per person for a lunch buffet, this is no «$$» restaurant. at least $$$, more truthfully $$$$

This place is a solid little lunch spot. The décor was pretty nice, though a bit cold for my taste. Service was excellent and the food was tasty. It wasn’t the tastiest I’ve ever had, but I’d totally go back. Overall, it was a pretty nice experience.

For the quality and uniqueness Mr. and Mrs. Marcus strive for with fashion the Zodiac Room food is way off the mark! The service was pleasant but the kitchen was slow for only a dozen table occupied. I took my daughter for lunch to celebrate her 17^th birthday as Mother & Daughter lunch tradition. It is very heart breaking to say the meal was very disappointing.
Chicken Paillard Milanese $ 20-​Herb parmesan breaded chicken, israeli couscous, mushrooms, baby carrots, tomato basil sauce, arugula, olive oil. The chicken was bland and not juicy and tender. The Pulled Pork Sandwich $ 16.5 Onion crisps, barbecue vinegar dipping sauce, house cole slaw, fries. tasteless (We are in Texas so this dish should be superior.) The dessert menu should have at least one chocolate treat.

Decide to try something different never been the location was awesome and the food was magnificent would definitely go again

You’ll never be disappointed in the Zodiac. The selection and service are amazing. It’s a little pricey for me, but absolutely exquisite and ideal for a celebration or just a special lunch

A wonderful place to treat yourself. The dining room is calm, spacious and well-​decorated though a little old fashioned. It’s quiet, almost a little too quiet if you’re with a group of talkers.
The servers were very attentive and didn’t rush us out when we stuck around for a while talking after our meal was over.
The food was excellent. Love love love the popovers with strawberry butter. I had a bistro salad with grilled chicken … Delicious. A little on the pricey side, but come on, it’s Neiman Marcus.

Chicken Consommé (chicken broth) a hit with teens bc it’s special and unique. Service in beginning was fabulous and came every 2 min it seemed to place order. Didn’t give us a chance to review the menu selection being our 1^st time.
When wanted to order sat for over 20 minutes. Bittersweet!
Food fantastic! Overly priced definitely but hey it was Neimans! Would I go again… maybe for special in town guests for the downtown Dallas NM visit for a girls lunch monthly heck No! Again… bittersweet!

Delicious every single time! It’s a bit pricey but it’s in Neiman’s so it’s expected. The service is always spot on, the food is great and fresh and the atmosphere is relaxed even for being so upscale. My favorite thing so far has been the grilled cheese and tomato soup. The holiday buffet was really yummy too. I’d definitely recommend this place for lunch with girlfriends or a nice business lunch.

Nice atmosphere but the service was slow and the food was not worth the price. The first order of calamari was extremely salty so they made another one which came out bland. The crab cake sandwich was straight from the frozen aisle! Not worth it!

I have a cookbook from the 1960s era called Famous Foods From Famous Places. The Zodiac Restaurant in the famous Neiman Marcus store is featured. A description of the place complete with photo of a man serving himself from the buffet and in the background a model sporting a red chiffon evening gown comprises a couple of pages along with some recipes.
The menu is pretty straightforward lunch fare. Salads, sandwiches, soups, and desserts. We each ordered soup. I had a pasta fagioli soup of the day – tomato based with white beans. Excellent. What sets this dining experience apart from other lunch offerings is that popovers (airy rolls) are brought to you along with strawberry butter. Yum! This is followed by a small cup of rich chicken broth with a cheddar biscuit.
I really didn’t expect a woman in a red chiffon dress to show up, but lo and behold a very statuesque model wearing a long sage colored Zac Posen evening gown paraded into the room! Wow! So the traditions of the Zodiac Restaurant still live on. It’s an experience not to be missed on a visit to Dallas!

Pomposity
[pom-​POS-​i-​tee]
Noun
1. The quality of being pompous
2. Pompous parading of dignity or importance
3. An instance of being pompous, as by ostentatious loftiness of language, manner or behavior.
Example:
The Zodiac Room, while well-​lit, tastefully and brightly decorated, and serving palatable dishes, overwhelmingly exudes an inexcusable pomposity.
And the ceiling tiles are nasty.
And there was, literally, a black gnat in my Chardonnay.
My grilled cheese sandwich with tomato jam and seasonal roasted vegetable bisque was, admittedly, divine. My husband’s turkey club, however, was decidedly lacking. I wasn’t able to get our waiter’s attention during the meal to point out my unwelcome wine garnish and have it replaced, nor was it removed from the bill. We were seated at the foremost table of the restaurant, directly in front of the open entrance and the elevators, which was a tad shy of intimate, charming and upscale. There was a gawk-​show going on in the back with live modeling, so it was apparent that any guests not involved were being shunned a bit by staff since the priority was clearly not us. And while there was ample, and much better seating right within my view, they sat a woman with her massive stroller and newborn so close to us at a two top that the stroller nearly touched our table.
I say, my good man, that’s bad form all the way around.
Tsk, tsk. If you want to be snobbish, live up to it. And replace that danky ceiling.

First time eating at this swanky restaurant located on the 6^th floor of Neiman Marcus in downtown Dallas. The décor is an elegant theme of turquoise & white. The food and service were both excellent and the price was in line with what you would expect to pay at an upscale restaurant (or at one of the new hip BBQ places that are all the rage right now).
First they start you out with a tiny demitasse of consume. Soon after, a warm popover rollI with some wonderful strawberry flavored butter was delivered to our table. I ordered the pot roast served on a bed of Yukon potatoes, crispy onion strings and some very thin julienned carrots. The pot roast was tender and delicious! My co-​worker ordered the crab cake sliders which came with two sliders and french fries served standing up in a fancy cone-​shaped holder. Both presentations were beautiful! We also ordered crème brûlée to go. I haven’t tried it yet but my mouth is watering just thinking about it! At the very end of the meal when you tab out, they bring you a little piece of chocolate wrapped in a shiny Neiman Marcus little envelope. Everything about this place is first class. This is a great place for women who want to meet for lunch and do some shopping or for a business meeting. This is my new favorite place to go for birthday celebrations!
P. S. Good idea to make a reservation ahead of time especially if you’re going on a Saturday and absolutely if you’re going during the holiday shopping season!

Elegance at its best and everything that entails. Great food, great drinks and Stellar service made for a 5 star experience at the Zodiac Room.
Zodiac exudes elegance from another time, when ladies wore white gloves and hats. It is clean and crisp with its white table clothes and lines. They have an extensive wine list and delicious specialty cocktails. I really loved my Mango Mule, it was crisp and refreshing on a hot Dallas day.
The popovers were extraordinarily good. The menu is extensive and they also offer specials. The salmon and burger were delicious.
The Zodiac Room is a great choice for a special lunch, bridal shower/​wedding party event or any special occasion. It is a great transport to a simpler more civilized time.

Such an elegant place to have a really classy lunch. I met some business partners here recently had a great lunch. The service is top notch and the food choices are extensive, healthy and fresh. My chicken sandwich made for a perfect light lunch. Don’t miss out on the popover and special butter… such a sinful splurge!

The Zodiac Room is a lunch only place, hidden away on the 6^th floor of the Neiman Marcus mall. Its primary patrons are business people and girlfriends looking for a fancy meal.
The place was OK. The décor, price and service is about two notches above the food itself. The cup of «tea» is actually a chicken broth and the popover had lingering taste of seafood in it (not sure if intentional?)
Ordered the pasta bean soup (very standard southwestern style) and the vegetable cup (which has zero veggies and tastes like I’m drinking the cheese fondue from melting pot).
Ordered the madame croque (the egg was very sunny /​runny) and the jumbo crab cheese melt (tastes exactly like you’d expect). Fries side and salad were fine.
Regular lunch at a non-​regular price.

A friend took me there for lunch for my birthday, and we had a lovely time! I had the chicken melt sandwich, it was very tasty. As you come they serve you a little cup of I don’t know what (looked like tea but it wasn’t), and a brioche piece of bread, with strawberry butter. It makes for a posh atmosphere of course, but the prices are not as unreasonable as you would think.
An interesting distraction during lunch is that a model goes around the room while you eat wearing different outfits from a specific designer. I suppose the designer changes everyday.

I usually have lunch here when I’m done browsing the 4^th floor.
I order the seared ahi salad with avocado and the mr. orders a chicken melt sandwich.
But I have to say, my favorite part of the meal is the complimetary chicken soup ;)

If you are visiting Dallas, you MUST lunch here at some point! Make reservations for sure. The popovers and strawberry butter make the visit worth it. Their entrees are usually at par to my expectations. and their desserts are always a perfect finish. If you live here, you should make it a monthly visit! It is like a little New York City feel in the Big D.
The ambiance is fun chic, and the service has always been pleasant. I usually park in the parking garage an have my ticket validated or use the valet next to NM.
This is a Dallas landmark.