Zest Sushi and Small Plates

“Finally checked Zest off my to-do list. What a great location in Cary, the location is warm and inviting and right next to the garage. The staff are absolutely amazing, including the front management who sat us and welcomed in. Service started off a bit slow for lunch, but then kicked into high gear. Everything was great and unique, including the drinks. Our daughter absolutely loved their filet and frites, what an awesome dish. Bring a friend for the soft shell crab BLT!”

“We had a great dinner at Zest Sushi and Small Plates last weekend and the whole family enjoyed the experience. The table top tenderloin that you cook yourself was a highlight, it requires a little work but the flavor is absolutely delicious. The dozen oysters were also perfect for sharing. For the smaller plates, the vegetable dumplings were good and the edamame was a hit. The sushi was also a major strong point. We have found this to be a wonderful spot for a family night out in Cary.”

“Zest was cool and a great addition to downtown Cary, one of the best places to live in all of NC. Sushi was fresh and crafted with care. The veggie dumplings were scrumptious too. Ramen was excellent and full of flavor. Service was knowledgeable and friendly. The only issue for some may be the atmosphere.. This is a very busy restaurant. The tables are close together so customers seated next to you may hear your conversation. However, there is also outside seating. I would love to explore more of the menu. 4.5/5”

“We were there with a reservation for a birthday celebration on a Saturday for 8:00pm. Despite the reservation, we were seated 20 mins later on the same table that had been empty for the last 45 mins. We got Small plates tempura, calamari, Brussels sprouts, for appetizers and were delicious. The rolls and crab cake were yummy too. The mocktail were not impressive, specially the lychee lime drink which did not have lychee in it. The dinner was the least appetizing of all food. The pork belly rice was good, but the green curry was nothing special. I would not recommend the chicken ramen to anyone , bland with fake chicken cubes making it non edible. The server was kind enough to offer us another entree, but we declined , so she gave us a free dessert in-lieu of the entree. The yuzu cheesecake was a good finish to the evening, tasted great. I would rate this experience 3.5 but it’s not an option.”

“First time here and honestly, I wish Google allowed numbers between 4 and 5 cause I would give this a 4.75. Our waitress was fantastic and it was warm out in January that even though our reservation was for dining room we asked to sit outside with the heaters and it was perfect! They bring food out as it’s ready so everything was hot and delicious. The gyozas were out of this world and the steak for the tabletop grill was so fresh and delicious. They were able to get me gluten free soy sauce. The specialty sushi rolls were phenomenal. A couple things we found a little strange was they didn’t have any wet naps for the fried chicken and the curry was more soupy than used to but still great flavor. Our reservation listed it was my husband’s birthday and they never recognized it. However, loved it overall. Service great. Food delicious. Ambiance perfect. Will be back for sure. We used street parking a block over and was easy to walk over.”