Zest

Y’all, I don’t know. If it was poor service but great sushi, okay. Or if it had been meh sushi but great service, okay. But I got poor service and meh sushi. I’ll elaborate.
So let’s analyze the food first:
Don’t get me wrong: I wasn’t expecting the best sushi ever for $ 3.50 a roll, but these guys were kinda flimsy and sad as far as sushi goes. Especially my spicy salmon roll. It’s as though they were trying to hold on tightly to every scrap of salmon that day because they were definitely stingy when it came to the filling. The taste of the spicy salmon didn’t impress either, but I’ll give them this: the taste of their Philly roll was nice! Really heavy on the cream cheese though (more salmon would’ve been great…) but it’s cool they do avocado instead of the usual cucumber.
Now, as for service.
The waitress was pretty nice, no problems there. But a random guy (a chef maybe? no clue, he wasn’t our server) was super rude. I like spicy mayo, and in the middle of my meal I grab some more. He gives me such a dirty look and audibly scoffs at me, as though liking spicy mayo (or utilizing it) is a crime. Shameless, yo. You’re telling me you guys are so stingy you can’t spare me a little bit of spicy mayo without giving me an attitude for it? First they were stingy with the salmon and now the mayo too. Ridiculous.
Then, when my friend and I put the money for the bill down, he rushes over and counts the money in front of us. Are you kidding me? I eat out often and that’s just not done. You don’t count the money in someone’s face. As if the scoffing at me earlier weren’t enough, this guy kept amping up the rudeness to levels I couldn’t have predicted.
All in all, I’m not coming back here unless it’s for take out because they’re so close to where I live. They don’t deserve a tip. I keep hearing how busy a place Zest is, but if it’s so successful, why are they apparently hurting so bad for cash that they can’t spare a girl an extra squirt of spicy mayo without making a crime scene out of it? I’d rather walk down a few blocks to the East River, catch my own fish and make my own sushi than give this place a tip. At least I’d get more fish in my sushi that way.
There is much better and fresher sushi in Brooklyn for comparable prices. And yeah, other sushi places in Manhattan are more expensive, but at least I wouldn’t have to deal with a jerk when I’m just trying to eat.

Ein sehr kleines aber wunderschönes und sauberes Lokal. Ein sehr gutes asiatisches Bier bei dem der Pitcher grade mal 10 $ kostet. Sehr freundliches Personal. Mein Thai Curry mit Chicken war ein Traum und die fritierte Banane als Desert erst recht. Absolut empfehlenswert.

I used to enjoy their sushi when they first opened but they have gone down in quality and I just don’t like it anymore. The fish isn’t as fresh as it used to be and you can taste it. I do like their miso soup but I don’t find it to be a place I’ll be going back to anymore unless I really really want some sushi and they happen to be the last resort.

Tiny, super busy sushi spot with an above-​and-​beyond amazing Happy Hour special ($ 3.50 for appetizers, rolls, sakes, beers, and more) that you’ll have to fight to make it in for. Really, I’ve seen people literally push each other out of the way – and even cry– to get a table before the 7pm cutoff. But the staff is on top of the chaos (they give you cell phone notifications of your place in line), and it honestly adds to the character of the spot.
Once you’re in, it’s an inexpensive sushi heaven. The quality of the fish is surprisingly good for the price, and the ambience is dark, cozy, and date-​friendly. The sake isn’t high-​end, but it comes in a beautiful glass heating vessel, is pretty strong, and you get 8oz for the aforementioned $ 3.50. Can’t really get better than that.

Zest is a simple, Japanase restaurant with no frills. They are usually accommodating with special requests, serve food quickly, and the dishes have never disappointed me.
They have a cheap yet wholesome lunch menu. Dinner prices are more than reasonnable. And what I also find very handy is the waitlist: you can see online where you are in the queue!

Busy spot in the LES. If you want to take advantage of the — simply awesome — happy hour deals ($ 3.50 for many appetizers and basic rolls), you need to get here early. Check in on Unilocal and you’ll get a free serving of yummy edamame.
Keep in mind that in one week they will discontinue their byob… Not really a problem, since a pitcher of Sapporo is just $ 10. I was here with three friends and had a feast.
Seaweed salad: very tasty, and very sizable.
Vegetarian gyoza: soft and crunchy like they should be.
White tuna jalapeño: the best dish of the evening; delicate, flavorful, super fresh, delicious sauce. Heavenly. (Looking at their online menu afterwards, maybe I’m wrong… They list yellowtail jalapeño. Either way, this dish was spectacular.)
Salmon dream: very good; the sauce was mouthwatering.
Pepper tuna: also very good.
Rolls: tuna avocado, salmon avocado, eel cucumber (disappointing), spicy yellowtail, spicy white tuna (the best), mix vegetable.
Passion special roll (disappointing…not much going on).
Overall, a solid restaurant that just made my favorites list. Not everything was spot on, but we were surely happy for what we paid.

Very good happy hour which includes delish appys and nice sushi rolls for $ 3.50 ea.
Very small, intimate place. Service is good n tunes are upbeat. Frequent this place

Can’t beat a $ 3.50 Happy Hour a la carte from 12pm to 7pm each day. The sushi is actually very good — which I was not expecting given the low prices. I had the Crispy and Spicy, Thai Spring Roll, Gyoza Pork, Philadelphia, Salmon, and Spicy Shrimp Rolls. All were excellent.

My go-​to place with my Little/​mentee, since she lives relatively nearby.
We usually split the three-​roll sushi lunch special that packs a lot of value and quality.
The miso soup goes to my Little, and I take the salad with ginger carrot-​ish dressing (happens to be one of the better side salads from a sushi place I’ve had).
The sushi is really good, and I was pleasantly surprised that they put avocado in the Philadelphia Roll; most, if not all, of the Philadelphia Rolls I’ve ordered elsewhere do not include avocado. (Take note, but I can get excluding the avo).
Service is great. You can draw on the bathroom walls with chalk. Bathroom graffiti is always fun.

Super leckeres Sushi, coole Location und günstig echter Geheimtipp unbedingt machen…

We were really let down overall, especially relative to the large # of reviews and their overwhelmingly positive bent. I was ordered for, and the rainbow roll was fine but far from great, and the chicken fried rice & soup were forgettable. Service was average (we sat at the counter) and the *fresh* ginger soda was a definite move of deception, as it’s just bottled from elsewhere (albeit good).
Stuffed after a huge meal earlier, we skipped the Unilocal checkin special for free Edamame.

Yes ! Yes ! Yes!
I had a wonderful time at this sushi bar.
Not a huge fan of sushi but my friend couldn’t resist.
The happy hour menu is not pocket hurting at all.
Nom Nom!
Thanks for the free edamame :) !

you have to make the happy hour to get the rolls for amazing prices.
They have a super efficient line management system — they put your name on a list via tablet and that sends a link to your phone via text, through which you can see the update on the line as time passes. You know you’re fifth in line, second in line, next, etc. they text you when they’re ready to seat you too. So you can walk around the area (not that there’s much to see) and then come around the time you’re second or third in line.
Once you’re seated they’re quick to take your order– the seating is tight, so they probably want to turn around tables asap. This means fast service, so I didn’t mind.
My friends and I got a bunch of rolls and seaweed salad, all of which was with it. The staff are pretty attentive with water and taking your order and stuff, and the chefs keep churning out the good food. I think they have a good system going on.
In terms of the food itself– the rolls are good, not too much rice and fresh fish. It’s not the best sushi in the world, but it’s a good deal and fast service so that’s a big plus in my mind.
Probably will return soon, and hopefully the wait isn’t as bad.

If you want cheap drinks and cheap food, you should come here for happy hour. And their happy hour is like half of the day. We got hot sake, avocado salad, jalapeño wings, spicy tuna roll, shrimp tempura roll, salmon avocado roll and that was about 20ish dollars.
I’m not saying that this is the best sushi in the world but it is pretty damn cheap for decent sushi rolls. Just a warning, it does get crowded in here and it feels like they are trying to rush you (probably because it’s crowded). Also, free edamame when I went for checking in.

We came around 1:30pm on a Sunday and had a fantastic lunch. Our group started with free edamame (thanks, Unilocal check-​in!), miso soup, green salad, and seaweed salad. The miso soup was average, the dressing on the green salad was delish, the edamame was well-​cooked and perfectly salty, and my friend enjoyed her seaweed salad (although I didn’t try it). The Thai Spring Rolls were unlike any spring rolls I’ve had before but they were SO good, and the sauce was fantastic. Definitely a must-​try.
We had the pineapple fried rice, which honestly I think was overrated. It didn’t have very much flavor, although the presentation in a half pineapple was pretty cool. I think we had a rainbow roll and dragon roll, both of which were good. The Salmon Lover plate was ok, but nothing super special. The fish was fresh, but it was pretty basic. We also got an American Sushi entrée, which was great. The tuna and yellowtail were really flavorful and fresh.
We had a spicy tuna roll and salmon avocado roll off the happy hour menu. I’d say the happy hour rolls were about ½ the size of the salmon rolls that came with the Salmon Lover plate, so be warned that the happy hour rolls aren’t super substantial. They were perfect for me, though, since giant special rolls are usually too much to put in my mouth.
For three of us, it was about $ 80 before tip for a massive amount of food. I really enjoyed our lunch here and can’t wait to come back!

Been here a few times. BYOB, no corking fee on first bottle. They also sell beer & sake.
Order the pineapple fried rice, it’s good plus they serve it inside a pineapple! The sushi was good, they have a decent amount of choices for those who don’t like fish either. The dumplings are a good appetizer. Entrees come with a soup or salad, so you end up getting a good amount of food.
The place gets crowded and I don’t think they take reservations.

HAPPY HOUR!!! came here on a thursday night at 6pm. had NO idea they had a happy hour, which consisted of pretty much an ENTIRE menu of food and drinks for $ 3.50! my buddy and i had a generous portion of sake and plum wine, then ordered 4 appetizers and 7 rolls. (this can probably feed 3 – 4.but we had empty bellies and an extra large appetite) for only 25 per person plus tip.
tip: the house cold sake for 3.50 is a steal! they give you a pretty large serving of it. can definitely be shared between 2 people
appetizers:
seared salmon (delicious! 4 pieces), tempura (1 shrimp, and 3 vegetable– decent), mini spicy salmon don (salmon over rice! pretty legit serving size), seaweed salad (always good)
rolls:
Salmon, yellowtail, spicy salmon, salmon avocado, shrimp avocado, eel, and tuna avocado. (solid! especially at the ridiculous price of 3.50)
will be backk

Zest delivers good sushi at a very reasonable price. The only downside is the long wait due to the restaurant’s small size. But don’t you worry… there are plenty of nice bars in the area to grab drinks at in the mean time!
We started with a bottle of cold sake and a yummy fried seafood appetizer (unfortunately I can’t remember which one it was). My check-​in on Unilocal gave us a free order of edamame — yay!
The BF & I shared avocado salad (very generous on the avocado) and a few regular rolls. Everything we ordered was good and better yet, we left feeling full & tipsy with a check that didn’t upset our wallets. I’d gladly come back!

Zest is my go-​to sushi spot in the Lower East Side. Although the place is small, there is never more than a half hour wait. I think it’s because most people probably see the crowd and leave, instead of attempting to wait for a table. Oh well! That just means less of a wait for me to get my sushi on!
They have happy hour Mon-​Fri 3:30 — 7, and Sat/​Sun 12 – 7. During this time, they have $ 3.50 appetizers and basic rolls, $ 10 pitchers, $ 3 beers, and $ 4-​$ 5 wine. I believe they have sake too but since I don’t really drink that, I can’t remember. Avoid any of the wines — it tastes worse than boxed wine. Just stick to the beer and you’ll be fine.
Onto the food — there’s this special roll called the Passion Roll. It is lobster salad, spicy tuna, mango, avocado and crunch wrapped with soy paper. I really like this roll because it’s a nice and interesting change if you want a break from your typical seaweed + rice rolls. It’s also not too heavy so you won’t feel too stuffed afterwards. Of course, you can’t go wrong with their other rolls. The fish tastes fresh and they give you more of it than rice (unlike other places that try to just stuff you with rice, and you’re left wondering where the fish is)!
As long as Zest keeps on keepin’ on, I’ll continue to make this my go-​to sushi spot.

Rhymes with ‘Best’ because it really is. Best happy hour in LES — $ 3.50 menu which has addictively tasty little morsels like the crispy and spicy — a trio of flavorful buggers of spicy tuna on delightfully crisped rice and the mini unagi don — a few thick cuts of eel on yummy rice with that sweet, sweet eel sauce. Sushi rolls are standard and solid, but honestly, all I need are those two dishes on repeat. So fun. So cheap. So good.
Came slightly before 6, and seating was easy to get. After 6:30, good luck ! Happy hour from 4 – 7 M-​F, and 12 – 7 on the weekends!

One of the few places that serves fresh uni (sea urchin) sashimi or sushi while they are off-​season!
Their sushi was very good and their prices are cheap. They served free edamame as soon as you check-​in. Their happy hour specials are a good deal; a pitcher of beer for only $ 10! I also tried the plum wine and it was both strong and satisfying.
We were seated at the bar which was no problem since the place was packed. We admire watching the sushi being prepared in front of our eyes. I had the shrimp and avocado sushi roll and we also shared the chirashi dish. They plated both of our orders along with the uni on the same large dish, which I thought was a romantic and beautiful touch.
The food was good and the liquor paired well with it, especially after a long, stressful work week!

We were meeting friends in the area for a birthday party later on, so we decided to head to Zest for dinner. The place is pretty tiny, and there weren’t any open tables when we arrived, but after about a ten minute wait, a spot at the bar opened up. I find it to be pretty interesting to sit at the bar of a sushi joint – the hands of the three guys behind the counter never stopped moving! Zest is BYOB without a corkage fee for the first bottle, so we brought a bottle of wine to have with dinner. Within two minutes of being seated our server had it out of the bag, poured us two glasses, and put it on ice! Super speedy!
I love free food, and they offer a free order of edamame when you check in on Unilocal.Yes, please! We started off with that and a seaweed salad. Both were a nice way to start our meal. The serving bowl of the salad made it seem like the salad was super small, but it actually was a very decent sized portion. For rolls, we choose a mixture of regular rolls and specialty rolls. For the regular rolls, we went with the tuna avocado and the Philadelphia – smoked salmon, cream cheese, and avocado. The No Name and the Fiery were our specialty roll choices. All of the rolls were awesome! I had a hard time deciding which one I liked the best because they were all so good, but if I went back I would definitely be sure to order the No Name again.
The service was fantastic throughout our entire meal, and it was very reasonably priced. The sushi was high quality and very tasty. No complaints over here!