ZEST bar+grille

I came in as a walk-in with my brother after we both got out of our shifts dealing poker at windcreek. Honestly, I almost didn't even go but my brother was really hungry and suggested the place because we have both heard a lot of people speak highly of Zest and I am so glad we went. Immediately upon walking in you are hit with a very professional and upscale vibe to the place that impresses upon you the professionalism of the employees and the clear attention to detail put into everything. All of the staff are moving with purpose but not hurried and you know immediately that you can expect great service which is exactly what my brother and I got. Our server for the night was Hannah and the bartender we met after eating and going to the bar was Travis. Hannah was a perfect server, prompt but not pushy, knew the menu in and out and was able to answer all of our questions without a moments hesitation. She made my bro and I feel welcome and it was easy to relax into the quiet atmosphere and take in the amazing views of Bethlehem the restaurant offers with windows that wrapped around the restaurant and an outdoor eating balcony that I'm probably going to sit at next time. Looking at the menu it was almost impossible to make a choice given how great everything sounded and watching the kitchen staff through the pass window at work, it was immediately obvious the food was going to be high quality. I wasn't very hungry so my bro and I decided to just order a few drinks and a bunch of the apps to make a sort of mini tasting menu out of em. All in all we ended up ordering 8 different apps and everything was fantastic. I wasn't dissapointed about a single thing we ate and the way they put the dishes together and mix different flavors of savory to sweet to acidic, nothing ever felt too much or over the top. I seriously can not impress enough on whomever may be reading this, the apps absolutely slapped. I could go on and on, but I highly recommend the clams, the bao buns and the pork belly personally, but I doubt you could really go wrong. Also, on a side note, I have a girlfriend with celiac disease and finding a restaurant with a decent gluten free menu or options has been quite a challenge. Here at Zest, they have basically the whole entire menu but with small changes to accommodate gluten free allergies. I again, can not state enough how great Zest was from beginning to end. And speaking of the end, my bro and I decided to sit at the bar when everything was done being eaten to take a shot each of casa migos before leaving. This is where we met Travis, didn't spend much time at the bar but he helped bring full circle the customer service experience and professionalism felt here at Zest. The drinks were delicious, well priced and I can't remember the names of the two cocktails I ordered (shame on me) but they were well crafted and again, Travis knew what he was doing. All in all, will definitely be coming back here and bringing others with me. If you're in the Bethlehem area, there is no reason why not to try the fantastic restaurant. Ps: I wish I took more photos of the apps as they came out, but I was having such a good time it totally slipped my mind. These photos are of the grilled octopus on rice cake, bone marrow, crab egg rolls, bao buns and empanadas. The drink with the purple flower was my favorite and tasted so good, it's a tequila drink and I wish I remembered the name Edit: spelling errors and I think the drink with the purple flower was called heebeejeebees or something

My partner and I dined here about two weeks ago. After being a regular for about two years, the menu drastically changed which I had no idea about. When we got our food we immediately noticed the quality of the food drastically decreased. I can compare it to eating at longhorn steakhouse. My filet mignon was fatty and chewy, every single bite had fat in it which is not how a filet is supposed to be. It was also extremely dry despite me ordering it cooked medium. This part may be my fault, but I am celiac and eat gluten free, and the filet mignon has always been gluten free for years up until they recently changed the menu. I noticed immediately that the sauce was thicker like gravy and not like the usual steak sauce from before, so I asked my waitress if it was gluten free. She said that it wasn’t gluten free and that “for next time you need to ask for a gluten free menu” in a rude tone. I was super nice about it too especially since I already ate a couple bites of it which is really bad for a celiac to do. She didn’t even ask me if I was okay, I felt kind of blamed. Technically it is my fault for not saying I was celiac, but she could’ve at least shown a little concern, especially since I went home and could barley move from the pain my stomach was in. Begrudgingly, I still tipped her 20%. All in all, after spending $200 for low quality food and sub par service, unfortunately my favorite steak spot in the area is now at the bottom of my list.