ZoT Restaurant

[FALeibo]

Hey there everyone! I was just wondering if anyone has been to ZoT, in the Society Hill area of town, and what their experience was. Thanks and Happy belated New Year!

[Andrew Fenton]

Welcome, FALeibo!

I posted about a trip to Zot back in the spring. I found it disappointing, especially the mussels. I've been back once since then, and while the mussels were better than before, I didn't think they were better than okay (insipid sauce being the real problem). And their "pick a meat + sauce + starch" shtick seems weird and gimmicky to me.

[KatieLoeb]

I enjoyed the "all-you-can-eat" $25 Monday evening mussel fest a couple of weeks back with a few intrepid dining companions. Between the two of us woofing the bivalves we managed to order four different flavors of mussels. Two were absolutely delicious and the other two were totally forgettable. The one we enjoyed most was some sort of spicy coconut milk based broth with some spiciness to it. Those were just delicious. I think if you know which flavors you enjoy you can have a really delicious pot 'o mussels at Zot. None of them were sandy - which I can't say for my last few visits at Monk's. Nothing will skeeve me faster than a gritty bite of sand in my mussels. It just turns my stomach and makes me want to hurl. I've had excellent mussels at Monk's too. But their record is not untarnished.

My friend enjoyed her steak with Bordelaise sauce and carrot stoemp. It might be gimmicky, but certainly some folks enjoy it.

[davidbdesilva]

I happen to be a big fan of Zot. I have eaten there twice within the last 6 months and both meals were very good in my opinion. The Jamacian mussels were very good, as were the Thai version, which I think Katie is describing. I have had a good meal with the "pick your meat and sauce" and with a pork special, which was excellent. My wife got the filet mignon both times, with different sauces, and both times it was excellent, extremely tender, and a real value at $19. Add to that a very nice room and bar, friendly servers who know the extensive beer list very well and help pair them with the food, and I think you have a real winner and a very good value. Besides, where else can you get Delerium Tremens on tap???

[Buckethead]

I happen to be a big fan of Zot. I have eaten there twice within the last 6 months and both meals were very good in my opinion. The Jamacian mussels were very good, as were the Thai version, which I think Katie is describing. I have had a good meal with the "pick your meat and sauce" and with a pork special, which was excellent. My wife got the filet mignon both times, with different sauces, and both times it was excellent, extremely tender, and a real value at $19. Add to that a very nice room and bar, friendly servers who know the extensive beer list very well and help pair them with the food, and I think you have a real winner and a very good value. Besides, where else can you get Delerium Tremens on tap???

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I've seen the DTs on tap elsewhere. My experience at Zot was not that great, and the servers were part of the problem. Maybe it was amateur night when I was there but they were mispronouncing wines, beers, and dishes left and right and the servers looked barely old enough to drink, let alone recommend a beer pairing. I had the kangaroo steak, which was pretty good. Other people at my table had the mussels, which were sandy and bland. The fries were also just passable. I think that for the limited menu they have there (basically just mussels, the meats, and the sauces for the meats), everything on it should be excellent. It definitely wasn't. This was quite a few months ago, maybe it's improved since then but there are so many great places in that area I don't think I'll get back to Zot for a long time.

I will say that the beer list is good, and the room is very comfortable. If I were going out somewhere else in the area I'd certainly go to Zot for a couple beers first.

[KatieLoeb]

I think the Jamaican mussels were the other flavor we really liked. I'd have to see a menu to confirm that, but it's ringing a faint bell in my head.