A stone’s throw from the famous Élysée Palace you will find restaurant Restaurant Le Zo Paris. After our visit to Market we thought this wouldn’t matter. We were so spoiled yesterday that it felt a bit senseless to visit Le Zo. Of course we went anyway and afterwards we were glad we did.

We made a reservation at 20:00 and we arrived a few minutes early. The inside of the restaurant was shocking. There was nobody. The scantily clad floormanager told us that the we were not expected until 21:00. Hmmm. Not so much of a good start. But, we went for a long stroll around the block and came back at nine. This time there where people actually eating food instead of looking at the beautiful waitresses.

The service is not what we expected. But, eventually we are here to discuss the food… We guess. It might be that the floor manager doesn’t really know who we are so we pick up the phone and text the manager who invited us. Minutes later we hear the phone ringing and 2 minutes later the floor manager stands besides our table with a bottle of champagne. Strange right?

But, we still didn’t gave up hope. Let’s try the food. A a starter we order a big plate of sushi and sashimi. Yes! This is good. We know good sushi when we taste is and this is it. This is the kind of food we are willing to pay extra for. The main courses are some côte de boeuf and steak de thon. Both of the dishes are fine. Not too much, not to little. It does misses a bit of creativity in layout, but the flavors are very good. We don’t order a dessert. Normally we do order a dessert but the starting plate of Japanese seafood was overwhelming in size. We just can’t eat anymore.

So. The services wasn’t that good. The food was. That makes it 1-1, right? There is one more point we havn’t talked about and this can make or break this review. How about the Atmosphere? The interior design? Well, it’s a mix between the exotic East and the cosmopolitan Mediterranean. And we like it. Its pretty dark what makes it even more intimate. But! There is enough light so you can still see what’s on your plate. The greatest asset of this dark interior is you focus more on your own table and less on your surroundings. There are also a lot of oriental influences like paintings and rugs on the wall.

All in all we had a bit of a crazy evening. Food was good. Service not so much. The interior is very well done which resulted overall in a good feeling when we left. It was a close call though… Would we come back? Yes, the sushi/sashimi plate as a starter is something we look forward to. Some day.

Avarage price: € 12,- voorgerecht, € 20,- hoofdgerecht, € 25,- fles wijn. 
More information: Website Restaurant Le Zo
Tripadvisor link
Google maps link

The Thalys was kind enough to bring us to Paris. And back to Utrecht. The train leaves from Rotterdam or Amsterdam. It only takes you like 35 pages of your favorite book and you’re standing in de middle of the City of Light. It goes so fast you it’s kind of an culture shock when you get out at Gare du Nord. We travelled first class with free WiFi for less than 200 euros per person.