Zen Bistro

Hidden treasure, if you have not eaten here I definitely recommend you trying it. Delicious and delightful staff too.

Best thai food in the area. Great staff. Can take a while right around lunch time, but it’s worth the wait.

My husband is a BIG fan of pad Thai and he loved it! I hope we knew this place before… I ordered a duck fried rice! And believe it or not I like it very much!!! I was even surprise cause I didn’t have really nice experiences on Thai restaurants at all, my daughter had a vegetable soup! And it was superb! Overall, nice ambiance, good service.

My daughter and I had lunch here and both ordered salads. She had the shrimp and I, the chicken. Hers was fairly decent but mine was horribly salty. Apparently fish sauce and lemon juice we’re the only ingredients in the dressing. The service was fine but wait too long so I will not be going back

I swear they spat in my food.
The service took forever, no one apologized or offer us an estimate on how long it would be, we were hungry and cranky. The food came and i mean i know how thai food looks like, they spat in it. We left without eating.

So good! The service is awesome and the outside eating is really nice! All of there food tastes so fresh, it is obviously all homemade. Definitely recommend!

Nice Thai place that you could drive right past. The outside décor was great and it had a nice ambiance. Only glanced inside but it looked very nice. The food was great! I got the chicken fried rice and wife got broccoli and chicken. We were both satisfied and will definitely go back. Only reason I didn’t give a 5 star was we seemed to wait a little longer then I expected. Another table sat 5 – 10 minutes after us and received their food before us. I’d definitely go again though!

Zen bistro was a nice place to get away from the fast pace restaurants we were used to visiting at Daytona. The pepper steak was good and tender. The pad Thai was really good, it had a sauce that made the flavor really hit your tongue. They make the plates spicy but if you ask for it without spice they will do so for any plate. It’s a Thai restaurant so it’s expected that the food would be spicy. It came out hot and fast.
We also had the fried tofu and calamari which honestly had no flavor without the sweet and sour sauce variations they were accompanied by. The sweat tea was good and fresh.

This is by far the best Thai food I’ve had here in the U.S. Wherever I go, I always compare the quality to this place! I’ve been going here since 2007 when I was in college. When I came back after I graduated, I got to go to the new location. The ambiance is just perfect.
The food amazing, and so is the service. If you’re visiting Daytona, you must try this place!

Ordered take out a couple of times. Usually ok but complete mess up this time I ordered two masaman curries plus chicken app. Chicken was undercooked so couldn’t eat it. I told the lady many times that one of it must be spicy and no carrots since my husband is allergic. The other one was supposed to be medium spice and no onions. My husbands food ended up medium while mine ended up super spicy with carrots. Needless to say that we ended up throwing the food away since none of us were able to eat it. Disappointing

This restaurant was so delicious! As a vegan, the accommodated beautifully! Multiple options! The fried tofu and Thai rolls were delicious appetizers. I loved loved loved the Thai rolls! I could eat them daily. The sautéed dishes were fantastic! I ordered the vegetable dish with tofu and it was excellent! Not one thing to complain about! I’ll be back!

I am from out of town and am used to many very good Thai restaurants in my area.
The staff here were very pleasant, friendly and attentive. We sat outside on a very pleasant patio.
Unfortunately I must disagree with many of the reviewers that have given the food high marks.
I tried the beef salad, Thai Rolls and my companion had the Cashew stir fry with broccoli and beef. The food was spiced properly, however the beef had been prepared ahead of time and added to the to the dishes. It was «well done», tough, and tasteless. I ended up eating only the salad part of the meal.
This still may be the best Thai in the area, just don’t know. Just a warning to those in the know!

This place is phenomenal. The cashew chicken is so good. Great lunch spot, always on point. Friendly staff.

Excellent food and service. Our party of eight were seated outside and I very much enjoyed the experience. I ordered the fresh roll for an appetizer, a couple bottles of hot sake, and the shrimp pad woon sen. I made a huge error in ordering it hot. Not Thai hot, just normal hot and it was way too hot for me. I very much loved the dish but I am paying for it today. I’ll order medium heat next time.

Nice outside garden and decent Thai flavors but nothing special. Dissapointed that I saw nothing that made me feel like I was in Thailand or very Zen. If you really know Bangkok style Thai food then this place leaves you flat. Nothing bad but nothing great. Prices are higher than then quality.

The flavor of the green curry and the eggplant sautéed in medium heat were amazing! We will be back!!!

Absolutely love this place. Food is always fresh and portion sizes are great. We order out or dine in at least once every 2 weeks, and have yet to have a bad experience. Cannot say enough good things about this restaurant.

I’m obsessed with Thai food, so I definitely jumped on the chance to get my massaman curry on. After seeing some of the pictures of the other tofu dishes, I asked for fried tofu because the pictures of the steamed tofu just looked soggy, like the cooks didn’t bother to drain the tofu (which makes it next to impossible to have any flavor and not be just a gross blob). My one sister ordered the massaman with beef, and the other ordered the chicken skewers appetizer and tofu spring rolls.
Now I understand that ordering two entrees and two appetizers isn’t going to be super cheap no matter where you go, but the total ended up being a little more than I expected so I just chucked it up to thinking this must be a little nicer of a restaurant than your usual Thai food take-​away place.
I was wrong.
The spring rolls were a sticky, dry mess with thick rice paper that was hard to bite through to being filled with mostly rice noodles and soggy tofu (again, if you offer tofu on your menu, just watch one damn YouTube tutorial on how to drain the protein properly– it’s not hard.) and lacking in any flavor whatsoever. The peanut sauce that came with it was pretty standard with a spicy kick. Her chicken skewers looked dry enough that they were on their way to becoming jerky.
The massaman dishes were good, but just standard good. I’ve had worse, but I’ve also definitely had better. And you don’t have the option for absolutely no spice, which for me wasn’t a problem, but that would limit some people who either can’t take spicy foods (like my mom for medical reasons) or kids who are starting to explore a variety of foods. Also, the fried tofu in my dish had the fried outside part falling off the cubes of tofu. That tells me that the tofu was soggy so the outside easily separated from the inside. Sorry for harping on about the tofu, but since I don’t eat meat, it’s really frustrating to see the clear lack of caring on behalf of the cooks/​chef/​owner to learn how to properly work with a protein. (shoot, you can get a tofu draining press for super cheap on amazon)
Don’t get me wrong, it was not terrible overall, but there were some bummer moments in the meal and nothing that stood out enough to balance it out.

2 Stars for what was unfortunately pretty below average Thai food. Caveat– this was takeout.
Takeout was ready in 15 minutes, which was great.
We ordered the fresh rolls (summer rolls with tofu), beef massaman curry, and chicken satay.
My first disappointment were the fresh rolls. They were mostly rice paper (very thick) and clear noodles. I noticed very little lettuce and most upsetting– the tofu was incredibly unpleasant. It looked like it hadn’t been drained properly, and the texture was really off. Each roll had one piece of basil, but nothing to add any texture or flavor. The only flavor came from dipping it into the peanut sauce. As a note to folks who aren’t into spice– The peanut sauce was speckled with peppers and had a real kick. I love a good summer roll, but this was pretty weak…
I had a few bites and moved on to the satay. It was breaded with yellow curry and skewered in rectangles. I know that takeout doesn’t always hold up well, but the satay was extremely dry. It was hard to bite into them and pull pieces off. Once again– a disappointment.
On the plus side, the Massaman was pretty tasty. I appreciated that they let me know that even the mildest version had some spice (and it did). It was pretty run of the mill, but I likes that they let you choose your tofu fried or steamed. (One recommendation– fewer peanuts! I had a mountain of peanuts in the side of my plate.)
I hate leaving a 2 star review but 3 stars would be average and it just wasn’t there.

Great food! Great service! Loved the ambience!
Ordered the Yellow Curry and the Panang Curry. The Panang curry had too many green peas in it. But yellow curry was pretty good. Seems like a family owned restaurant but i am not sure. I would go back!

Food actually is really awesome! Best paid thai in The area thus far. Tom Yum Goong soup is so flavorful! Very casual ambiance with good indoor and outdoor seating. They get 3 stars and not 5 because of the service, especially on a Tuesday for crying out loud. Waitress didn’t check in much with us and we ended up having to get up to ask for our check. FYI restaurant is closed on Sunday’s.

What do I like about zen bistro?
Choices.
Brown rice or white.
Tofu – steamed or fried.
I never knew such choices were available at a Thai restaurant, but I do have a choice here.
The fresh rolls. Rice wraps are too thick. Check on that.
Otherwise, I’m happy with the flavors, décor, and especially the music here. The music takes me away.. .
Which is generally where I would like to be in Daytona Beach.. .
Check it out.

A friend recommended this restaurant and it was amazing! Fantastic service and both my husband and I really enjoyed our food. I had the garlic with fried tofu and it blew me away! So so good. I highly recommend! Veg friendly too! :)

Amazing Thai cuisine!!! A must try if you are in Daytona! Totally recommend it!!! The outside patio gives it a great touch!

The original Zen Bistro on Bay Street was a true gem. Recently the business has been sold, and the heart torn out. The food has lost the spice, lost the zing, even the servers couldn’t tell the difference between the beef and chicken. Additionally the portions have been decreased in size, and the prices have increased. The salad was that of a generic iceberg lettuce, fresh out of the bag at your grocery store! The main entrée was served on an eight inch salad plate.
A group of friends and I were reminiscent of the classic ZenBistro experience, but hadn’t been to the new location yet. We decided to give it a try, although my friends fiancé warned of a terrible service experience. ***I should have listened***. For the price we paid, we should have made reservations across the street at The Cellar. Now that would have been a wonderful dinner experience! After 4 servers confusingly delivered our entrees, we began to eat. All of us were in disbelief with how bland the food was. Trying to look past it we continued on with casual conversation critiquing the establishment. I made a comment how dishes are of larger size at other Thai restaurants, allowing for the rice to be placed on the plate with the main course to meld with the flavors and sauces. Much to my chagrin the owner was eavesdropping on our conversation and screamed out to me «Do you want a bigger plate!?», in which I replied «I can explain.» He came back with «The conversation is do you want a bigger plate?»
Never have I been scolded or yelled at in a restaurant. This was the point where I requested my check, and my party and I promptly departed. Hungry, and insulted.

Busy lunchtime but service was great regardless of that our waitress was friendly and knowledgeable about the menu (Angela)
Food: curry without coconut milk on fish was delicious (12 $) FYI fish is a little bit crusty so maybe breaded or fried??? But good flavor Sauce was delicious. I got a mild one but definitely not spice enough so next time I will go hotter. I was afraid of the Thai hot reference in the menu so I decided to go mild but if you like spice… mild will not do it for you, so go hotter! :)
Squid salad (12 $) was very good. Refreshing dish. It reminded me of a ceviche but milder with cilsntro, lemon, onions and tomatoes. Light choice!
Overall, food was good and service was superb. The ladies in this place know how to work on busy hours I bet the kitchen is also great bc food was delicious during the busy hours too this is a good restaurant in Daytona Beach area. I am not a local or ever lived in Daytona but i can say this is a great place to visit for thai food in this area.

Downgrade. The food quality and portions are not working. The chicken in my curry was cooked sometime in the past and thrown together after I ordered.
They’re busy so maybe shortcuts are normal.
The pad Thai was decent.
For $ 12 I expect a little more.

We were very excited to head out to what we had heard was a great place with a friend. Never having been to Daytona before it was a nice treat to head out and visit, have a bite and then head back home.
Zen Bistro has a Miami vibe without the crazy crowds or ridiculous prices you now find everywhere there. The outside patio is simple, nicely decorated and has unique live music. Inside the décor is simple and modern.
They seem only to be open for a few hours in the afternoon so it can be a bit crowded, especially yesterday where there was a big party. No problem, we had no reservations so we had no issue waiting for a bit.
Now, the service was excellent but quite slow. It took a while to get our drinks and food. Quite a long time between appetizers and main courses. For some who want to chill out and hang with friends, this can be a great thing. We were doing just that, but ended up leaving two and a half hours later, not because we were there to visit, but because of how slow everything was. It seemed as though they were overwhelmed a bit.
We had to skip visiting on my friend’s balcony with a beer because by the time we left it was way too late and we had to head back.
As for the food, the curry was underwhelming. The garlic stir fry tasted exactly like Chinese take-​out. The dessert was delicious though and it was the best part of the meal. It was the pumpkin in coconut milk. That we did love.
The prices for the food aren’t at all bad, so if you want a sexy place to hang out with friends and grab a bite, it’s great. If you want authentic Thai food that will tickle your tastebuds with explosions of Thai flavor? Meh… My daughter described it best when she said it was what you expect of a Thai restaurant managed by non-​Thai people.