My family and I moved to White Bear Lake in 2018 and have been grateful to live so close to this restaurant; it's located in a small space, and we may never have found it otherwise. We do not order out often, but when we do it's usually Zen Asia because the food and service have both been high quality. No restaurant can be perfect every day, but we haven't had a more consistent experience anywhere else (we've tested most of the menu multiple times at this point) The past couple of years have been hard on many of us, including small business owners.In our experience, the owner has been genuinely kind and thoughtful, and the food quality and pricing have reflected this.
I have been so sad sence Kings city closed, this is now my replacement place. The owners are great, the chef is a genius. The flavors of all their dishes are amazing, and a note ginger too. Spent 100 dollars to test the menu, and I had no buyers remorse, none. Can't say that about the other 10 places I tried. Again the chef is a genius in the kitchen, with a style all his own. Go in with an open mind and be prepare for a treat.
Service was great, our waitress was super nice and actually wore a mask, which is something you don't see often right now. The spring rolls are fresh and excellent, and surprisingly filling. The wontons, I don't know if there are handmade here or not, but either way they are on a whole different level than any others I've personally had. All around a good place to stop.
I had no idea this restaurant existed. I was wowed at every bite. The owner knows how to speck 4 languages. She's very kind and fast working. Felt so welcome and food was awesome.
Unquestionably some of the best food in the area. My coworkers and I visit frequently. My favorites are the Bun Bo Hue and the Vietnamese Curry. When I visit other similar restaurants I usually order the Bun Bo Hue but nothing compares to Zen's. The owner is the absolute best, always so friendly. I highly recommend you check them out.
This place is awesome. The food was great, and I was raised off University Ave in St. Paul so I have eaten Vietnamese often my whole life: this restaurant is better than many/most.The service was great and very friendly. Definitely recommend!
Zen Asia is our go to Chinese restaurant. Good food and great service! They must have changed their recipe for the lemongrass stir fry because the past two times I ordered it it’s been super spicy and just all onions. I’ll have to find something new.
Great asian fusion food! We've only been a handful of time for takeout but we really enjoy it! We get the vietnamese hot and spicy chicken and spring rolls were amazing! They charge an extra 4% on credit cards though so bring cash if you want to save a little.
Terrible! Bland (and we ordered a hot Thai basil dish!) heavy on bamboo shoots, baby corn and canned pea pods. We pulled out every condiment in the fridge to try to enjoy this. Do they have a new chef or cutting corners? Won’t be back
I go here frequently because it’s close to our house, and we enjoyed some of the dishes very much.Last night I ordered vegetarian spring rolls with tofu and no cilantro which I’m allergic to. Unfortunately, they accidentally gave me spring rolls with shrimp. By the time I got home and called, the kitchen was closed. I said no problem and I asked if I could pick up vegetarian ones tomorrow in place of the ones with shrimp that I did not order.I picked up the vegetarian ones today, and this is what I received. Spring rolls literally half the size of what they normally make. And full of cilantro. Also, you can see in the photo, the “fresh” spring rolls literally fell apart when I unwrapped them.We have enjoyed Zen Asia very much over the past 10 years or so, but something must have changed.