Zen Steak and Sushi

So let me start with the positive. The food was really good.
The negatives.
Possibly the worst service I have ever had. After sitting down ordered drinks and appetizers. Drinks stayed empty most the night. Appitizer took 45 minutes to come out. After ordering our Appitizer it took approx 15 minutes for the waiter to come back to take our food order. When I asked for a second round of drinks he completely forgot and I had to go to the bar to order myself. My meal came with a cesar salad which if you have worked in food before you know the waiter or waitress normally preps the salad. Looked sloppy and might have been 5 or 6 bites worth of salad. Took a long time to find him again just to receive the check. Took about 2.5 hours for the entire experience.
There were only 3 other tables so it wasn’t busy. If I go back and the same waiter is working I will take my business somewhere else. If the kitchen is also as slow next time I’ll be walking out.

As a new transplant to the area, I was excited to see a Japanese steak and sushi restaurant. The crab cake appetizer was delicious, but it went downhill from there. The soup I ordered was lukewarm and the server took so long to come back that I ended up eating it. The steak I ordered was just ok. The sauce was too sweet. I asked for silverware and that took the server so long to deliver. I saw him stop at 4 other tables to ask how they were doing and then deliver a few drinks to two tables. I only needed silverware, that should have been something the busser could deliver or that the server could bring while before delivering drinks. It is annoying to sit there and watch your food grow cold. I don’t think I will be returning to this restaurant.

One of the worst places I’ve eaten on the road. Ordered 2 rolls of sushi that were just ok. Spicy tuna tasted off. The dinner meal that I ordered came with soup or salad. I chose soup and I guarantee it was well under required temp. My buddy ordered a cesar salad and they brought out the wrong dressing. When I got my dinner it came with the wrong sides and I’m certain the steak was frozen before hand and tasted like it was microwaved. Definitely not worth the money and i ended up throwing up shortly after leaving. This place has mostly good reviews and I don’t know if I was just the odd one but I’m definitely not coming back.

I am so pleasantly surprised by this gem. Excellent sushi. It is also served with miso soup, a nice touch. I Enjoyed their oolong tea as well. This is one of the classiest dining experiences I have had in Gallup. My server was very friendly as well and everything came out incredibly promptly. The restaurant is very clean and comfortable. Quiet too. I definitely recommend this if you are looking for a break from green chilies.

This place looks great inside but a little confusing. As you walk in, there is a motorcycle on display in the foyer, no signage, and no one at the front desk. Our server was overwhelmed. There is no tempura plate which is a little odd in a Japanese restaurant. I am highly suspicious of fresh fish this far into the desert. If they advertised fresh road kill, I might believe it in this part of the country. But to their credit, things seem pretty fresh and the customers were happy with their sushi and sashimi choices. I’ve had fresh sushi in different parts of the world. Maybe I’ll try the raw fish here next time. So, I had cooked sushi, Salmon and cream cheese and tempura shrimp rolls. The drinks were delicious and well-​mixed, nuts and berries and a Long Island iced tea. I will try it again and give the steaks a chance. It seems to be owned by a Chinese family, who run both Zen and the Chinese restaurant next door. I was told by one of the staff that fish was flown in fresh every week. I’d like to find out which day of the week that is and when they start serving it. Everyone is pleasant but if something is amiss, see the manager right away. Don’t trust the Unilocal coupon for the free desert. The management hasn’t fixed that with Unilocal yet and won’t honor the coupon. It’s a bit dim in there but there is an unused stage and limited bar space used for the sushi. If they could expand their bar counter space and a full-​time bartender and karaōke once a week, it could be an upscale place for Gallup. Sorry, I had a hard time saying upscale and Gallup in the same sentence.

The food was amazing. I ordered the ahi tuna. This restaurant is definitely better than any restaurant I have eaten at in gallup this week. Thank you for the wonderful food. Will be back for dinner tomorrow.

The spicy tuna rolls were awful… told them and was offered nothing in exchange. …not spicy and tasted like a poor grade of canned tuna. the calamari was great but couldn’t make up for the bad taste that tuna left in my mouth. .nice building but no wonder why the place was empty

The sushi here is probably one of the best I’ve ever had. Some might find the prices a little high, but the quality of the food is totally worth the price.
The restaurant is large with plenty of seating at booths, tables, and even at the bar. It also has a stage although there wasn’t any type of entertainment happening when we visited.
The service was painfully slow. When we arrived we expected to be greeted at the door to be seated but this was not the case. We waited for a few minutes and when no one came we headed into the restaurant and sat down at a table. At least 20 – 30 more minutes go by until the waiter pays us any attention. He apologized for the wait saying that it was a really busy night. Quite funny since there were only 2 other tables beside ours.

I’ve eaten here in both contexts: ordering off the menu and eating at the buffet. I have been thoroughly unimpressed in both instances. To be fair, I eat neither steak nor sushi, and the remaining options are generally noodle– and grease-​based. The food that I have eaten (again, not meat) is generally unremarkable or not tasty. In Gallup, it’s really your only option for sushi.
The service is fine but not remarkable. The waitstaff are attentive and generally competent. The restaurant has a large venue that can be rented out for celebrations and parties, and it is probably one of the most elegant spaces available in Gallup.
This place is not good for vegetarians, gluten-​free folks, or puppies (indoor seating only).

I am from LA so I am a sushi snob. And this place is in the middle of the desert. And yet it’s some of the best sushi I have ever had. Not kidding. The yellow tail sashimi was fresh and fantastic. The seaweed salad was delicious and the spicy salmon and avocado roll were amazing.
Also. Unrelated. The sushi chef michael just made me do a saki bomb. Nice.
I was in town on business and wasn’t sure if I should just get something from a chain restaurant to be safe. I am SO GLAD I DIDNT. THIS PLACE IS AMAZING!!!

I had the Ahi and my wife had some sashimi and sushi. First time in my life I’ve had a serving of Ahi that was almost too much to finish, the sauce that came with it, however, left a little to be desired. Thank goodness for soy sauce. The sashimi was fresh and tasty as well. Would definitely recommend.

I generally have to go to a metropolitan area to get some good sushi, however this place surprised me. The sushi is quite good and it seemed fresh. I would like to see Ikura added to the menu, otherwise the selection is decent. As for the customer service, they are very polite. However, it did take awhile to get water refills and a drink menu, but it was due to only one server working. Perhaps they can hire additional servers so the customers do not have to wait too long for their waiter or waitress to attend to their needs.

We were craving some sushi after spending a week on the road. Found this place (the ONLY listed sushi place around) and gave it a shot. The décor, entering the restaurant, was authentic enough — like what you’d expect with an «Asian-​themed» restaurant. Service was a bit slow considering there weren’t that many tables taken.
Upon checking in, the Unilocal app pops up a message for a «Free Dessert» — just show it to the waiter to redeem. Well, the waiter was quite confused and went to get the manager (owner?). She came by, saw the Unilocal message and was completely dumb-​founded. Said she’d never seen that, never told Unilocal to do that, didn’t know how that got on there. Needless-​to-​say, we did not get a free dessert which I wasn’t too upset about but I would think, as a restaurant owner/​manager, what would it hurt to honor it until you got it straightened out?
Aside from that, the sushi we had was very good albeit being served in «stages» — not all dishes arrived at the same time. Again, service was VERY slow. My iced tea never got refilled and we almost got up to find that owner/​manager just so we could get the check to pay (we could’ve just walked out — no one seemed to be paying attention).
So, yeah, good sushi for the location. Service and management needs work.

I lived on the reservation for a year and would sometimes drive the hour to go get sushi at Zen. I always had a wonderful experience there; the waiters were attentive, the sushi was fresh and delicious, and the owner was welcoming and friendly. I can understand why some people might have reservations about getting sushi in a town of 20,000 people but, as someone who eats a LOT of sushi, I can assure you that it is fairly good quality. I went there probably about 25 times and always had a great experience. While I don’t miss having to drive an hour to get food I like (I now live about 3 minutes away from 2 or 3 sushi restaurants) I do miss the appeal of Zen Steak and Sushi.

In from Denver and came here with local friends. Who knew you could get successful sushi in the high desert?! Great food in a beautiful building. Chinese on one side and upscale sushi and steak on the other. We had a large party and were taken well-​care of. They are ambitious with some of the special rolls but they all turned out very tasty. Jalapeño roll was great. Steaks were well-​cooked and generous and the side dishes were good.

In my opinion, this is the best place to get a steak in Gallup. I am always partial to a rib eye, and theirs is the best in town. It’s seasoned a little differently, as it is served with eel sauce. I love eel sauce, so it’s perfect. If you don’t care for that, I suggest the New York Strip.
Their steaks are cooked to a consistent doneness. The cuts aren’t quite as consistent, but I’ve never been displeased.
In regards to sushi, I’m nothing close to a connoisseur, but I think it’s decent. Husband eats sushi more than I do, and he says it’s comparable to places he’s eaten at in bigger cities and California.
As for desserts, I like the banana wontons.
This restaurant has ample seating and can easily seat extra-​large groups. They do take reservations and are occasionally closed for private parties. The middle section, including a sushi bar, is sushi only and has generally smaller tables. The two side sections have small and large tables, including some booths. Tables in these sections are set with white tablecloths and cloth napkins (at least for dinner, I can’t remember how it is for lunch). Ambiance is good and reasonably quiet, making it a good choice for comfortable conversation.
This, along with King Dragon that shares the building (and owners), is one of our family’s favorite places to eat in Gallup.

There are two ways you can review a restaurant in Gallup, NM. You either ask — is it a good restaurant? OR, you ask — is it a good restaurant for Gallup?
Zen is a great addition to Gallup. On a national scale, it would be so-​so. But to have a decent sushi restaurant in Gallup, it truly is a miracle. We are in the middle of the desert, and about 2 hours from a big city. My girlfriend is practically in love with the crunchy wrap. I like things with a bit more fish. I can’t comment on the steak. It’s Gallup and it’s sushi, so in this rating I have forgiven a few snafu’s — such as one time they ran out of rice and we had to wait longer to have them cook more… and also one time they forgot to give us miso soup with our dinner. Overall though, I really love it and will be a repeat customer as long as I’m in Gallup.

Dinner with my sister, auntie, and niece tonight was grand. We ate, we laughed, and then some. Lovely dinner and nice waiter. Didn’t catch his name but left his a nice tip. Love it at Zen Steak and Sushi.

People from other places seem to like this sushi, and personally I don’t have an issue at all with it. Maybe it’s slow and your table will get it’s meal in piecemeal. I have yet to try the steak, and their lettuce wrap comes straight from PF Chang’s cookbook. It’s not my preferred place in town, but my philosophy is this: look in any direction for hundreds of miles and you will only find sand and rocks, no ocean.
Maybe this means in light of the impossibility to get the ingredients as easy as say San Diego, and the fact the town is hardly over 20,000 people that we should be quite pleased that Zen is even here.
Zen on and off acts as a night club.
The owner is LOVELY

Ate here this evening. I was really looking forward to sushi. I feed the fam at the buffet place and at the same time I ordered sushi. It didn’t taste good. I know I might be comparing it to 5star places in Vegas. But tonight it was really bad salmon. Wasted 15.00 in sushi. Buffet was decent, please try the General Chows chicken that’s good. Since it’s the ONLY place to get sushi in Gallup NM I will be back.