Zoe Cafe

ZOE is THE BOMB !!! I eat here at least 2 – 3 times a week for breakfast or lunch. Haven’t had the chance to have dinner yet, but I plan to !! The service has always been great, very friendly staff, and prompt, and the food is just delicious. I don’t have a favorite dish, because I love them ALL. However, they sometimes have a breakfast special (poached eggs over BBQ pulled pork, with FRESH, sliced tomatoes) that speaks to my HEART!!! The food here always tastes FRESH and that’s what I think I like best. I also love the FRESH OJ. Makes for amazing Mimosas too!!! And the owner, the ever so lovely, TASI, is always there, checking on everything, greeting the guests and making sure everything is perfect!!! Great bar and patio, too!!! A refreshing, must needed, much appreciated restaurant in Bexley!!!

I went for brunch on a Saturday morning and we were seated right away with a very attentive waiter. The space is beautiful with a wonderful patio, water is served in mason jars — just an overall cute and comfortable place.
And I was pleasantly surprised at how adorable the menu was for a trendy place like this! Just $ 9 for a filling meal of Huevos Rancheros + quesadilla. Plenty of other good looking brunch menu items as well that I’d love to try sometime.

Wanted to leave a quick good review here since I was surprised by some of the negatives I read on here. We just had brunch here and the food was really good. On the level with another one of our favorites and sister location Tasi.
Sat at the outside bar and loved that cool design.
Staff was kind of ridiculously nice. In a good way. All and all we were impressed.

Zoe Café has always been on my bookmark list for a while so I figured today was a great day to try something new.
The service was good, I got my own table just the arrangement of the tables going to patio could be set up better. I was literally the table right as people go out to the patio. So think of how many times I had to see the door open and close on my face for the first time I am trying this place. Not the best idea people.
The food was okay, not the best thing I’ve had. I also don’t think it needs to be like $ 7 for the challah french toast when all they do is fry challah bread, add some powdered sugar and then put syrup over it which is everything you can do at home but for much less than $ 7. Also they charge you for any side so if you ask for a bowl of fruit you might pay like $ 2 or $ 3.
I’m not sure I’ll personally be back since I’ve had better food than this but it was worth trying just to see what the hype was all about from Bexley residents.

We came here for brunch Saturday afternoon. The restaurant is located on the main strip in Bexley but has a small parking lot. Otherwise there is on-​street parking.
The place is tight with seating outside, in the bar area and has a mix of tables and communal dining. We were seated at the communal table that runs down the middle of the dining room. The place is noisy but has a lively ambiance.
The menu has a mix of breakfast and lunch items (sandwiches and salads mostly). Everything looked really good but I was hankering for something more substantial as I had not had anything to eat yet for the day. I selected the breakfast burrito which was excellent. It was one of the best I’ve ever had! It had a good balance of sausage and eggs, and was served with potatoes. The food came out pretty quickly after we ordered.
Service was good. Our waiter sort of disappeared for awhile after clearing our plates after finishing brunch. We would have expected our check but had to go to the front desk to request it. We got the our bill from another waiter but then about 5 minutes later our waiter came back with a stack of check folios (I guess he assumed we wanted separate checks). He casually dropped them off and walked away and then did not come back for a while. Everything was fine until the end, so the reason for 4 stars instead of 5. I would definitely be back again should we visit Columbus in the future!

I never knew they had converted from the previous problematic ordering system, to total table service. Thanks, so much better for what is usually a busy place.
Server was knowledgable and attentive to our six top. Food was delivered hot, on time, and correct.
Thanks for the switch-​up.

Love this place and rob the bartender, always ask when he’s available because he’s the absolute best!

Just amazing that this is from established restauranteur Kent Rigsby. Tried 6 or 7 times, still Bland and boring… B&B

Website and other publicly accessible resources state that restaurant opens at 7. When I got there there were several people waiting outside at 7:30 AM. It wasn’t for several minutes until the busser rudely and curtly informed us that the restaurant does not open until 8AM even though this is stated no where. HE was extremely unapologetic.
this place is clearly very unprofessional with no regard for people who have schedules to adhere to

Peeps tell me Columbus is a good food town but I gotta tell you this place was not just bad, it was terrible. Okay so I’ll start with the positive … great location and atmosphere. But that’s all that’s positive that can be said about Zoe Café. Frankly, Me not like this place! The food was rank. So bad that I was sick all night long. Uuuugghhh. Who thought you could go wrong with a Chicken Gyro. Clearly these folks aren’t Greek and they are chefs.
Don’t be deceived by the glamour shots of their dishes on their website. Take it from a big city girl… this joint ain’t the real thing.

This is a fun place with a very nice patio! No the service wasn’t anything to write home about, but the food is quality and what I would expect. I’ve had the brunch here and I do think it’s pretty reasonably priced and satisfying. It’s perhaps some place I wouldn’t be willing to wait for at their busiest, as I could see that as becoming a lengthy meal, but I’ll be back between 2 – 4 to try something new.

Order then find your seat, they also have a bar. I had the soup special (Italian sausage w/​kale) tasty and chopped salad very good, plenty of chicken. Other dishes were well received; French toast topped with bananas, egg salad sandwich, and pulled pork
Noise level wasn’t too bad and crowd was happy. Heard some start up issues but our service and food delivered promptly. Bexley needed this… but nothing can compare with another east side landmark «grill it and skillet».
Check it out l

I typically place a higher value on service over food. My reasoning is that I would likely come back to a spot with great service and average food over bad service and good food. Zoe, as you may have guessed, is the latter.
I can’t even begin to explain their attempt at logic. Three of us at our table were seated after waiting at the bar to sit outside. Once seated, our server came, introduced himself, and took drink orders. That was the last we saw of him until the bill was asked for. The rest of the time the assistant manager worked our table. The place wasn’t that busy. We watched as multiple tables had 2 – 3 different servers working them while our table was left without water refills, no one asked if we wanted another drink (my beer order was forgotten), no one check on how we liked our meals, one of our meals didn’t come with the salad that is included.
Shame, really. It is a nice enough place and the meals were not too bad. I will not be back until I see some consistently better reviews of the service. In as competitive a market as Columbus, you’d think service is the price of entry…

This is a circumstance where reading the Unilocal reviews ahead of time would have helped me. I came here with my fiancé and future in-​laws after walking around the Bexley community yard sales. I had checked out the menu online earlier, and liked that they offer a nice mix of salads and healthy options, as well as more traditional fare. When we drove by, I did a double-​take, and almost said out loud ‘I didn’t know that Bexley had a Northstar?’. The inside décor and ordering system are exactly the same as Northstar, but that’s where the similarities end. The way you order is not clearly marked, so if it’s your first time here, you’ll be standing near the door scratching your head.
The food here is a decent price for what you get, but nothing noteworthy to mention. One of us ordered the chopped salad which comes with chicken, and it was missing the chicken. With not having a server, this made it a bit difficult to track down someone to help. While apologetic for the mishap, it still took an extra 30 minutes to get the chicken delivered to the table, and at that point we just asked for it to go. Also, what is up with the drink situation here? There is a beverage station where you can pour your own water (which is fine by me) but it also has hot coffee and iced tea. I wasn’t sure if I had to order the iced tea, or if it’s considered free? I poured myself a glass and figured someone would let me know if I was stealing. There are no non-​alcoholic beverage options listed on the menu.
Positives? The bar and patio here looks really cool. I liked that the bar area is shared between the inside and the outside– aesthetically pleasing and a cool open concept. If I lived in the area, I would totally walk here and hang out on a nice day. Other than that, I can’t think of anything special that would bring me back. Oh, btw, I had two glasses of iced tea and no one said a word.

2.5. Atmosphere and décor is nice but they need a lot of work on their service.
We ordered and sat at the table for over 30 minutes before we got our food which is not acceptable. The food itself was decent, the egg salad sandwich was very good and the portion was generous. The house chips it came with were greasy and nothing special. Also got the tomato basil soup and couldn’t have been more disappointed… it tasted like marinara sauce which was disgusting. Considering they have lasagna on the menu, it’s more than possible that they reused the sauce and called it soup.

Zoe Café is owned by Tasi. We knew about them opening in Bexley months before.
I have brought my previous crews to Tasi in the short north many times and I liked their breakfast. Actual one of the few cafes that serve good breakfast.
Zoe however is different. I feel like it is more an upscale bar and that serves food during the day. Don’t get me wrong, they do have a good selection of food but I think I still prefer Tasi.
The upscale ambience, the food and service should draw you in.

It was just OK for me. Not too busy when we walked in, so we ordered fairly quickly. I got the Meatloaf and mashed potatoes. What I received was Meatloaf and a side salad. OK, I guess. I really like mashed potatoes, though. Nobody really stopped by to see how things were until the plates were clean, so my passive self didn’t really have the opportunity to mention it to anyone. The meatloaf itself was pretty good it not a little greasy. The greek rice pudding is interesting and a nice finishing touch.
Overall, an OK experience that needs a little improvement.

My experience here last week wasn’t great, but it may not have been as bad as everyone else’s I’ve seen. The ordering really is the issue here. Not that it was all that confusing for me, but it seemed to be incredibly confusing for the servers. No one seemed to have designated areas to serve people and were running everywhere trying to find the celebrity flags they give you when you place an order. After you order, they are quick to get you the drink you ordered, but after that, don’t expect to be helped until they come out with your food. In this case, that was about 40 minutes later. Honestly, if you’re going to do it this way, you may as well put up a fountain spot where people can refill their own drinks.
As far as food goes, I went with the Cubano Panini with a side of fries, and I tried to order the Galaktoboureko, but they didn’t have it yet. In fact, they didn’t have any of their desserts yet, which I thought was weird. The sandwich itself was decent. I really liked the roast pork and pickled vegetables. They were tasty. The fries, however, were pretty average, and it seemed like they just gave me the bottom of the barrel, because almost every fry I had was less than a couple inches long. Maybe that’s how they serve the fries? I don’t know, but I felt like I was eating the bottom of the bag.
Overall, I probably would try Zoe again if I had the time, but as far as lunch options go, I just don’t have the luxury to get there and back on my lunch break. Hopefully things pick up for them, and the next time I try it, I can get in and out (and get some dessert), or else I’ll just have to wait to go back on a weekend.

Y’all, I am all kinds of sad to write this review…
Zoë, from the same owner as Tasi, is at the end of my street! I’ve been patiently waiting for about a year for this place to open – since the food scene in Bexley desperately needs some better options. Well I’m bummed to report, this was my biggest food disappointment of 2014.
I very rarely dole out two-​star reviews; in fact, at the time of writing, only 4% of my reviews were the same rating. But I truly had such a bad experience – I can’t chalk it up to newbie jitters, and I can’t with good conscience say it’s «A-​OK.»
I’ll break up the rest of the review into: layout & décor, food, and service.
**LAYOUT & DECOR**
At first glance, the space is beautiful! It does have the same look that’s super trendy right now. Without knowing, I would have guessed this was a Northstar.
But once you start to dig deeper, that’s when things get a little crazy. The style is fast-​casual, which I was not expecting. But there’s only one register, which easily gets backed up. This station also REALLY looks like a host station. Super confusing.
Once you’ve placed your order and paid, they give you a table number – but instead of a number, it’s a famous actor. We had Laurence Olivier. While this is clever, I think this is one of many examples at Zoë where style was chosen over function.
If you ordered a soda, you have to walk over to the random corner where the cooler is; then be prepared to hunt down an employee to open your bottle since there aren’t bottle openers anywhere. If you want water or coffee, you have to wander over to the self-​service table that isn’t abundantly clear that it’s actually self-​service. (I’m still not 100% sure of this.) And if you ordered an alcoholic drink, you go sit at your table and wait – there’s a full-​service bar that’ll send over your bevvy.
I know this sounds nitpicky, but they have the most awful silverware I’ve ever used in my life. The knives have giant curved handles that make them almost impossible to use. The forks are super curvy and hard to handle, and the spoons (that you’re supposed to use for SOUP!) are teeny tiny and must be designed for magic elves.
**FOOD**
The Mister ordered soup and meatloaf, and I ordered a steak with poached eggs and roasted garlic potatoes. He got his meal at least 10 minutes before I did. The manager (I assume was the manager?) came over and asked what I had ordered. I told him, and he said he would be right back.
Several minutes later, he brought over my meal, but my eggs weren’t poached. I mentioned the mistake to him, and he kinda condescendingly put his hand on my shoulder and said, «Oh, we can’t do poached eggs this late in the evening.» I told him that nobody told me that when I ordered, and he simply offered a brusk apology.
My steak, which was supposed to have been medium, was purple in the middle. It was also super fatty and gristly. The eggs and potatoes tasted okay, but the over easy eggs clearly weren’t what I wanted. Of my 6 oz steak, I ate about half.
I won’t write too much about Keith’s meal – he can write his own review. I know his food was better than mine, but not outstanding.
**SERVICE**
The service is nice enough. When we first walked in, the ladies working the front were understandably a bit slow (still working out the kinks, nbd). But when I asked if the meatloaf had bread in it, one of them answered shortly, «I don’t know.» End of story.
After I probably gasped with my jaw dropping to the floor, one of the ladies pretended like she was going to look up in a magical book the answer to my gluten question. After several awkward moments had passed when I realized she was just kind of shuffling things around and not really looking, I decided on the steak and non-​existent poached eggs.
Halfway through our meal, one of the ladies did stop by our table to ask how everything was. I was very polite but very honest. I gave her open and direct feedback on the spot. I didn’t just run home and write a bad review – I am a big believer in letting a restaurant try to make the experience better first.
Well, she apologized and said she’d pass along my feedback. But that was it! I saw her tell a manager, but nothing ever happened! Nobody ever tried to make things right with me. This is the single reason why I’m writing a two-​star review. I genuinely wish things had gone differently. I’m a pretty easy customer to please – if things aren’t great, just come give an apology and attempt to make things right. That’s all I ask.
I sincerely hope this feedback is taken in the manner it is written. I’m not trying to be mean or hateful… I’m really rooting for Zoë to be the amazing spot I know it can be. I’ll probably go back, but it’ll most likely be a while.
TL;DR: Zoë is a new fast-​casual restaurant in Bexley (think: Northstar or Tasi). The layout can be awkward and hard to navigate, and the service isn’t quite up to snuff yet. The food is also not a standout.

Man, where do I start with this one? I simply do not like starting anything on a negative note. Unfortunately expectation postponed lead to disappointment as I arrived at Zoe Café during their opening week. I hope if anything my review will prepare my fellow Unilocalers and help the business to make a few modifications to aid in the future success of this establishment.
After waiting well over a year for the Tasi of Bexley to arrive, I was over the moon with excitement when I found out it was go time! I love Tasi (downtown) but parking sucks, especially if you have a big booty car like mine.
I digress… so as I entered into the building, I was immediately drawn to urban décor and thought «Bring it on Zoe, but uh, you know this is Bexley right?» I just don’t see how the masses of this area are going to appreciate the silhouettes of half naked ladies on the walls. Maybe I’m not giving Bexley enough credit. The college crowd might love this but 80 year old Betty and her gal pal Sophia that sat next to me, weren’t having it.
Speaking of Betty and Sophia, the amount of confusion surrounding how/​when to order seriously killed my vibe. There were so many confused people running amuck. Folks were table diving and visibly disgruntled when servers walked by and never offered them a menu and cool glass of water. I found myself hearing the same words over and over «you have to order at the front register.» Betty then replies «why do I have to wait in that long line! Why can’t you take my order from the table?» The seemingly bored server then replies «Because that’s not how it works.» I think a sign similar to Tasi’s would alleviate some of this confusion business owners. *obvious hint, hint*
At this point, I am once again reminded that I am in heart of Bexley and that this cool «we look, act, and think like a restaurant but really this is like a fast food restaurant except we only have one register in the front and we are still learning how input orders so bear with us» mentality is falling faster than a house of cards on a windy day.
Alright, now all certainly isn’t bad here otherwise I wouldn’t be at three stars on this review. The food was cooked perfectly fine. I sat at the bar and had a Moscow Mule that was excellently made. My steak, egg, and potatoes did me no wrong although I could dispute that I was actually served two eggs in my portion size. I was happy that I was finally brought a steak knife after struggling a bit with my «butter knife» and fork. Side note, the utensils here are really cute. I know, that’s completely random, but what can I say, adorable cutlery deserves recognition. My ladies — there are purse hooks under the bar! Welcome to the third star. Also, I must say all the employees were all quite kind to me, and with the chaos that surrounded us all, I applaud them all for keeping their cool.
My suggestion — and it pains me to say this — adapt to your audience. Capital University is not going to sustain this place although the look and feel of it is simply perfect for an affluent collegiate area. Too bad Bexley is prominently full of old school money bags that crave linen napkins, sweet smiles and a waitress asking if they want to see the dessert menu.
*drops mike and walks out*