ZED451: User Reviews

Should Have Went to Fogo
By Double E from South Loop, July 13, 2008

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A huge waste of money!!! Our GROUP OF 14 could not have been MORE DISAPPOINTED! We were all impressed with the look of the bar and dining area, but absolutely everything else was terrible. First of all, the salad bar doesn't compare to any of the other Brazilian steakhouses that we have tried, and even if it did, there were green flies on the fruit and cheese. Secondly, we had to practically beg for the "chefs" to bring the meat to us. We waited over fifteen minutes after going to the salad bar to get our first meat offering (and had to request it at that). Then, our waiter talked up the venison only to tell us later (after we had to ask for it, of course) that they were out of it. The worst of it was that they served half of us a meat, then took it back to supposedly sear it again, but never returned with it, even after we requested it FOUR TIMES. When we complained to our useless waiters, they would promise that we would soon be "bombarded" with the meats, but we were lucky to see even one meat in the following ten minutes. What little we did get to try was mediocre at best. It is important to note that the restaurant was not even full while we were dining, yet our service was pathetic. If we had it to do over, we would just go to Fogo de Chao.

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evening on the deck at Zed 451
By gall2309 from Lakeview, July 12, 2008

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It was our first time, on the deck. The view and Ambiance were worderful. The server was sweet and very caring, but their was just two servers for the whole deck and one of those was for a privite party. That left just one for the rest of us. They served us the wrong food, but we were pleased to keep it, because it looked so good , we wished we ordered it. The food was very good.Our drink order got lost, and I had to look up the serrver to get it reordered. I think management shoud have helped out until the number of customers decreased.

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Worst service ever!!!!
By Ricardo from Gold Coast, July 12, 2008

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I really dont understand how people can invest in creating such a wonderful place and get the worst people to host or manage the place. Its totally ridiculous that on a Friday 5pm the people who manage the place make customers wait on line outside with the sun to get upstairs specially when there is nobody updstairs.

I was with a friend since 3h30pm and another friend of us came by 5 and he couldn't come up because they were not letting people come up "just to play cool".

The drinks were not cheap, nothing impressing, staff were rude we had to leave!!!

i dont know about the rest of the customers, but i dont like to be treated like that nor my friends, if that restaurant continue like that its going to close like the last three restaurant that were in that corner, its a shame to the city.

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do not waist you time
By BPH from goldcoast, July 10, 2008

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zed 451 Chicago spent all their money on the design of the restaurant and failed to hire anyone who might resemble anyone who knows about true service. A recent experience there consisted of overcooked food, constant service flaws and overall disappointment. We were asked by the head chef how are food was before we had a single bite of anything, and that was the last of the inquires. Despite that neither my self or my guest, consumed any more than 10% of the proteins that were feverously presented to us. Not a single person was to ask, did you enjoy the food? nor did the reluctant exceptance of further protein service sp. The one main protein we really did enjoy the seared Tuna, they ran out of with very little apology! But to be specific, the beef had way too much rosemary, the citrus salmon was well done and flavorless, the two chicken cuts were extremly dry, the chese topped lamb chop tasted only of butter ant he immense amout of bread crumbs on top. The Market Table selections were decent but really Whole Foods could do better. To further lessen the experience, when we reported our findings to the management we were scolded for not offering the information earlier. We stated that no one seemed to care, and we were certainly looking for anyone who might have paid a longer glance to really see the dynamics of the situation. All in all, we were offered complimentary desserts, we are not sweets people and we declined and then were presented the full bill. We left hungry and out $150.
Boo! We will not go back even to the bar where they have great drinks with absolutely no liquor in them!

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More of the same
By 60611Diner from River North, July 8, 2008

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From the outside Zed looks a cut above the other Brazilian steakhouses. The decor inside and the rooftop lounge are great. Our hopes were still high as we enjoyed the well above-average salad bar. But then came the meat. Venison was good, fish was awful, beef and pork were in between. Consider stopping for a drink either inside or out. Skip dinner.

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Smells like franchise America
By Kurt from West Rogers Park, July 7, 2008

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This place is as tricked out as any place I've ever seen! But with corporate America footing the bill, why not spend a few million on ambiance? The wine list, and drink menu were very impressive, and appear to have been created with alot of time and thought, but I wish that I could say the same for the beers that they offer. The beer menu is very small in comparison to the other libations, and all of which are your typical CBS mainstays, Lite, Heineken, Blue Moon, etc... If you're only going to offer a dozen beers, why not get out there on the ambitious side of things? As for the food, it was all very good, and I really recommend that you starve yourself before going, mainly so that you can try as much as possible. The sides were as imaginative as the entrees, and there is really an attempt to provide something for everyone here as well. Other than the beer, the only gripes that I have with ZED is the buffet style of dining, and charging fine dining prices for such? Also, it is pretty tacky to put tip %'s on every bill that is presented from the bar to the dinner table! I look forward to seeing ZED in every shopping mall across America by Christmas 2008!

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Good Stuff!
By Bill Kooties from Rogers Park, July 1, 2008

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The meat's fantastic, but those Harvest Tables are on another level. Service was great. The staff is very personable. For the amount and quality of food the price is really reasonable. The only thing bad about this place is the name. Oh, also, snotty unwelcoming hostess, but I almost forgot since everything else was so good.

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Ruined a birthday! Horrible experience.
By aubrey08 from wrigleyville, June 24, 2008

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I asked my boyfriend where he wanted to go for dinner for his birthday and he saw an ad in the Red Eye for Zed 451. They were new and had just opened and he loves Fogo, so he really wanted to try it. I made the reservation about 3 weeks in advance and they asked me what we were celebrating and I said my boyfriend's birthday and the hostess said, we hope to make it a memorable one...they sent me an email confirmation that evening so things seemed to be off to a good start.

We get to Zed and valet park. We get in and about 3 people were at the hostess stand, just standing around. I had to interrupt their conversation to get seated. We get seated at a booth. We look around and the place is really nice. I will not knock them for the ambiance. We are waiting for our server, both really hungry as we skipped lunch that day since we knew we were going to Zed for dinner. We wait about 15 minutes for our server to approach us. 15 minutes. He brings us water and says it has been filtered 3 times. He asks us if it is our first time, we say yes and he asks what we came for and I pointed and said, it's his birthday. He then takes our drink order. I order a coke and my boyfriend orders a drink off their drink menu. We go to the salad bar and fill up our plates and sit back down. we finish or salads and cold cuts and about 20 minutes has passed. server still has not given us our drinks. He keeps walking around to his other tables, paying more attention to the party of 6 next to us. He comes back and brings me my coke and looks at my boyfriend and says, your drink is on the way! This is now after 25 minutes. His drink finally comes and the server explains the meats and what to do with the rocks. Take the rocks off the plate and someone will come by with the meat. When you want them to stop bringing meat, put the rocks back on the plate. My boyfriend takes a sip of his drink and says, there is no vodka in the drink. It's all juice! This drink is about $10. We take the rocks off the plate and wait patiently for someone to bring us some kind of meat. Slowly the carvers come and bring little pieces of meat. We quickly finish as we are both starving! There was a lot of standing around. It seemed like they didn't have enough food prepared. After the carvers made one round, all of them disappeared into the kitchen, which is open. We were just staring and waiting for someone to bring us something. My boyfriend's second drink comes, now it is just pure vodka, no juice and again, he had to wait 15 minutes for it. The waiter just kept pouring the water that had been "distilled 3 times." We wait some more and only 2 people come with meat that didn't taste that great. They keep walking the same cuts of meat around. We look around Zed and see that a lot of the tables are just sitting around waiting to be served. Carvers still in the kitchen. Waiter still not really checking on us. My boyfriend then gets up to use the restroom. He comes back and tells me not to use it as it is filthy. Now, this is a pretty upscale place, you'd expect good service and clean restrooms. We are both still really hungry and we have been sitting at the table for over 2 hours, close to 2.5! I have been to both Brazazz and Fogo and you are in and out of there, stuffed in no more than 1.5 hours. My boyfriend is finally fed up and asks that I get the check. We are both still hungry. I have to flag the waiter down and he brings the check after 15 minutes and I just fork over the credit card so he doesn't have to come back! We didn't want to reach the 3 hour mark. I wanted to ask for a manager, but it was his birthday and I know he was just so turned off by everything that we should just get out of there. 2 dinners, 2 drinks, 1 coke and tip cost me roughly $165. What a waste of money since we both left hungry. The waiter and the hostess knew we were there for the first time and for my boyfriend's birthday and they couldn't even offer him a scoop of ice cream. I felt really bad as we weren't just going for dinner or just because, it was his birthday and we got the WORSE service ever.

I called the next day to complain. She apologized for the experience and gave me her cell phone number. She said to come back in and she would take care of us. She seemed to actually care and wanted to make things right. So I tell my boyfriend and he is reluctant to go back as it was just a waste of time the first time. We decided to go back a month later in the hopes that things changed. I called the manager on her cell and she said she would put us in @ 8:30 for that evening. We get there at 8:15 and the hostess informs me that my reservation is for 9:30...I said, I talked to the manager (I will not post her name) and she put us down for 8:30? They tell me I'm not on there. The hostess tells us to go upstairs for a drink and she'll try to get us something in 20 minutes. We didn't want to argue, so we go upstairs. We have a drink. The view up there is beautiful, drinks were okay. Do not get the sangria, wasn't that great and they ran out of fruit that night. After 30 minutes, we went back down. We wanted to make sure they had enough time. Now the place isn't even crowded, so I do not know why we had to wait. We sit in the middle section, next to salad bar and get stuck sharing a table with another couple. The waiter this time around was much better and service had improved. The meat service was faster and I can say that we were both full. We had wrapped up everything now in less than 2 hours. Seems like they only had one guy carving the meat that night, the same guy kept coming to our table with different cuts of meat. Now after talking to the manager, one would think she put notations of some kind under my reservation...I was expecting to at least get a discount, have one dinner comped, something. Well we get the bill and it's for 120...No discount, no comp, NOTHING. Now we are sharing a table with another random couple and I didn't want to cause a scene. They said they were visiting from out of town and it was their first time in Chicago. My boyfriend pulls out his credit card and shakes his head...Now, instead of wasting 160, we threw about 120 more away. $300 spent on okay food and okay service. We would not have gone back if we didn't think we were going to get something out of it.

I call the manager I have been dealing with back the next day to complain and she asks me why I didn't ask for her, I said my reservation wasn't even on there and we were sharing a table with another couple and I didn't want to draw any attention. She says she is out of town and will call me back in 2 days when she returns to work. 1.5 weeks later, I have not heard anything from her. I left her another message on her voicemail and have not gotten any kind of follow up at all. Why give someone your cell phone and say you will take care of them, when you really had no intention to. Honestly, for the amount of money spent, go to Ruth's Chris or Joe's on Grand or Wildfire. Fogo and Brazazz are so much tastier if you really want to go to a Brazilian steak house. Zed is not worth it.

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Zed451 how cool is that
By misshobbes from river north, June 23, 2008

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I have been to ZED at least 4 times and each time was great. The wait staff are so friendly and knowledgeable. The bartenders are really nice I was just there yesterday with my fiance and daughter. The huge bar the fireplace seating and the open air design are a fantastic setting for a large or small group.

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