Zest! Exciting Food Creations

We love the environment for brunch and their many options. My top picks are the Crème Brulee french toast, stuffed tortilla, and BLT. The mac and cheese side is delish. If you saved room check out their brownies.

Love this place. The food is always top notch. Friend had the Urban Omlette w sausage gravy and I built my own chicken, Asiago, artichoke Omlette with greens, rye, & orange marmalade. The omlettes were hearty with fillings, a little on the runny side but good. Plates were nearly licked clean! Coffee was okay, would’ve liked it to be bolder but that’s a personal preference. Also, wanted coconut or almond milk as creamer, but that’s rare to find.
This time we sat at the bar for Easter brunch since hadn’t made a reservation. Bartender was reserved manner but very likable and great service. The bunny ears contrasted the quiet personality. Thanks for a tasty enjoyable brunch!

Admittedly [again] I am not much of a bruncher. But I do enjoy the occasional fabulous breakfast and mimosas with friends and family. I have heard & read nothing but great things about Zest, so I was excited to try it out. I was floored by the amazing food and mimosas, a little disappointed though in the portion of the crème brûlée French toast and service.
My French toast expectation was bread slices soaked in whatever, not a small smushed square of delicious stuffins. Kind of disappointing to pay $ 6 for a little square & 2 pieces of bacon. I ended up doubling the order to fill me up.
Our service was pretty bad from the get-​go. We waited almost 15 minutes for someone to acknowledge our table’s existence and pour us water. WATER, people. Waiters buzzed around us but seemed to not give a hoot about us. It appeared to be another 10 minutes before he returned with our drinks. Then another 10 minutes went by to take our order. The only thing that appeared to not take forever was food. It wasn’t busy, so I’m not sure where the disconnect was. Terribly disappointed that a highly-​regarded place like this had a time for our small 3-​top. Thank the Lord we had mimosas and crayons to try to distract us.

After as many times as I’ve eaten at Zest, I was shocked when I logged in today to find I had never written a review, so here goes…
Simply driving by, one might not even notice Zest, let alone think to go in. However, they would be seriously missing out. Zest is one of our best finds in Indianapolis so far.
When we go, we always go for brunch on a Sunday. It’s very helpful to call ahead to get your name on the list. If not, this place is so popular, you could be waiting a while once you arrive. However, while you wait, they do have a nice coffee station set up.
The interior is very interesting, with concrete floors, bright colors and local artwork.
The staff is wonderful; attentive and knowledgeable and the chef/​owner is always running around the restaurant keeping things in order.
We usually start our meal with one of their delicious Bloody Mary’s or their unique twist on a shandy (they use pink lemonade). It’s always noteable that they try and use local ingredients as much as possible (i.e. the Upland Wheat beer in the shandy).
As far as food goes, their menu lives up to their slogan of «Exciting Food Creations.» My personal favorite is the Green Eggs and Sam, consisting of a bed of greens and asparagus, topped with a salmon filet, topped with poached eggs and drizzled with hollandaise sauce. If you prefer sweet, the crème brûlée french toast is a winner. After a long night, you may want to consider the Hair of the Dog, a heavy breakfast of
poached eggs on sourdough, with bacon (you can upgrade to include sausage gravy as well) and a side of beer and tomato juice.
The menu changes from time to time as well, so keep an eye out for changes and always take time to hear the specials.

Came here for my sisters birthday. We had an awesome experience. The drinks were amazing. Food was great. We ordered the short ribs and the Asiago chicken both of which were amazing. Brussels sprouts were great worth the trip alone. Great server Michael was attentive and a wonderful server. Worth the trip to broad ripple.

Not my first time to Zest! Exciting Food Creations… and I know it won’t be my last after having the Crème Brulee French Toast last Sunday.
The sweet chunk of challah bread made into french toast is perfection. I don’t even like sweet items for breakfast and I LOVED this! It isn’t overly gooey, rather just the right amount of moisture to make the challah very cake like. The fact that it comes with two thick slices of Goose the Market bacon definately adds to the appeal. My only regret is not ordering the full size. Half just wasn’t enough! (I had the breakfast bacon sammie as my other half… it was just ok).
As for the rest of the menu, I am sure most normal diners would be impressed. For me, as someone that is very lactose intolerant, it is sort of a nightmare. About 85% of the menu items are doused in gravy or a lime sour cream sauce. I cringe! But mostly I cringe for my body’s inability to process dairy.
The service is always very decent, but for a busy brunch place you should never expect a quick in and out dinning experience. No complaints.
I will say that the Twist Lounge side of the building has a better ambiance about it. Hopefully they will get around to a remodel of Zest to be on par with the other side. It’s looking a very dated.
The location is convenient and near other shopping. So if I want to pop in to Nicole Taylor’s pasta and the florist shop in the same complex… it’s a triple win kind of day. All the businesses along 54^th are quaint and adorable. Can’t wait for summer when I can eat my french toast outside and watch people pass by.
I will mention this one little tid bit that helped in my four star rating decision… Roy Hibbert was sitting 20 feet from me last Sunday!
Boom!
Zest, brunch for the stars, people!

Ambiance: ⁸⁄₁₀; Service: ⁷⁄₁₀; Food: ⁹⁄₁₀
Some friends and I stopped by here for lunch on Sunday and I will definitely come back again.
Zest is a great place to have awesome comfort food without breaking your bank. The restaurant is broken up into 2 sections, the main dining area & a bar/​lounge area. It’s free seating in the lounge area and music is poppin’ in there. We couldn’t find an open table in the lounge so we opted to sit in the dining area. Service could’ve been a tad better but it’s understandable considering how we were there for lunchtime on a Sunday.
The 4 of us ordered and shared the Crème Brulee French Toast, Shredded Beef, Billy’s Big Bowl, and Asiago Chicken Sandwich. The portions are generous even for half orders. My two favorite dishes would have to be the Crème Brulee French Toast as it had the perfect amount of sweetness to it and the Shredded Beef. The bleu cheese mousse and house onion jam went perfectly with the braised pot roast and to top it off, it was served between a pretzel bun. Yum!
Needless to say, we all left very full and very satisfied. I will be back to check out their dinner menu.

I’ve never had VIP bottle service at a club but my experience at Zest was all I would imagine such an experience would be. The high backed white leather booths that lined our dining room really set the mood. My King Pin burger was the second best burger I’ve had in this city. The mac and cheese side was the perfect mix of cheese and a small slice of heaven (my burger also had Mac and cheese on it). You know a meal is good when the entire room goes silent because everyone is so focused on the plates in front of them. Tasty. Exhausting. Worth it. Delicious. Innovative. Wonderful. Inviting, yet confusing. FYI — our server (Michael) was tremendous and dealt expertly with my group’s antics. Also, as expected, infants are not allowed in the bar.

I’ve been here probably 4 or 5 times over the past three years or so. Zest is a great place to have a nicer dinner but not have to sacrifice your money. We went here for NYE 2015 where they had the very selective menu. I had the vegan option and it was one of my all-​time favorite vegan options mainly because they didn’t just assume a salad would be suitable.
The drinks are good as well– I’ve had the one with the cucumber vodka in it.
I’m giving this a four stars instead of five just because it’s not a place where I’m dying to go to. It’s a good place to have a small group of friends and family gather and to enjoy yummy, creative food.

Great: ambiance, décor, food, drinks (Bloody Mary is a little spicy which I love, but not overwhelmingly so which the bf likes) biscuit gravy (gravy unique flavored-​I prefer Bob Evans or cracker barrel’s but commend them for making a unique gravy-​has cheese, cream like quality. Staff very nice and you can sit on very swanky twist lounge where full menu is available or morr traditional dining area good for kids, those who don’t like hanging beads and unique décor.
Bathroom was clean and updated/​huge trough sink outside bathroom in twist lounge-​unique but did not love washing hands outside of bathroom
Not so good-​my smoking goose bacon on my biscuit Sammie not very good, biscuit Sammie sorta small and served on tiny plate

Where can I start? Thoughtful creations on traditional classics are propelled to new levels of zesty tastefulness. From local craft beer selections, bar creations, unique and flavorful appetizers, and stellar main menus items are the corner stones of this #SoBro find. Featured on Diner, Drive ins, and Dives, this Valerie Vanderpool creations is something to talk about. Great place to mingle over drinks and conversations as well. I especially enjoyed the 5-​Hour Braised Short Ribs, tomato bon bons, and the mac and cheese. See what else we have to say on The317Live.

Meal this weekend big disappointment. Brought some classmates from
Modern Home Ec here, for lunch Saturday, said I’d never had a bad meal.(Eaten here more than ten times.) Service horribly slow. Pomme frites brought stone cold. Burger dried to the point of crumbling – also cold. Bun soggy with pickle juice. I was embarrassed I’d recommended. Did not have time to send back. Nearby store owner says she has had too many bad experiences there, and so steers customers to «Good Morning, Mama’s»…

Great local atmosphere for a fun adult night out. We had a table of six and we’re seated within 10 minutes of arriving on us Friday night at 8 PM. we tried something different for our entrées but the consensus was that the mac & cheese was definitely the best. I tried to mac & cheese as a side dish to a brussels sprout po’boy. The brussels sprouts were sautéed along with some onions a cream sauce and served on a pretzel roll. The brussels sprouts had great flavor as well as the onions and I will admit the pretzel roll was a lot of bread so I only try to piece of it. Will definitely be back to try some of the other favorites at the table like the fish tacos, veggieburger, etc.

Overall: Zest is a great mix of comfort foods that will leave your heart happy and warm and clogged with goodness.
The good: Great tasting comfort food. The apps were great and came out quickly, and there’s a decent amount of them. The main courses were great and large in portion, and a decent amount of cocktails.
The bad: The service was iffy at times, not terrible. The atmosphere is interesting with art, but some of it is odd, and the walls are drab. The music in the background was crackling all dinner.
Atmosphere: ⁷⁄₁₀
Service: ⁷⁄₁₀
Food:8.5/10

I love Zest, I really do. The food is always delicious. I can’t get enough of the biscuits and gravy.
However, the last few times I’ve been here have left a sour taste in my mouth. And that has everything to do with the hosts at the door. They don’t know how to manage a wait or give accurate wait times.
I appreciate that they will be busy on a weekend for brunch (means the food is good) but I also don’t appreciate being told it will be a 15 – 20 minute wait and waiting almost 45 minutes to be seated. Parties that were coming in much after ours were also being told 15 – 20 minutes. A lot of people seemed unhappy, some left. This has happened the last two times I’ve been here.
However, once seated, my waiting worries were back of mind as I indulged in yummy biscuits, gravy, cowboy potatoes and I’ll admit it, the macaroni and cheese.
Bottom line: I’ll keep coming back because the food is great but they really need to improve their hosts or train them better to accomodate busy weekends.

The fact that Zest is close to my home is not what makes it one of my favorite places to eat. Their meals are unique and familiar at the same time. Comfort foods like meatloaf, mac and cheese, and cherry pie can all be found on the menu. But they’re all way better than versions you’ve had before! So tasty, so fresh, so Indy! Draw on the table, share some yummy stuff with your friends and family, and enjoy a relaxing time in SoBro.

Zest is very unique — the inside is a mix of casual café style + fancy uptown décor (ie my table had a flower in a repurposed glass bottle and you could color w/​crayons on the tabletop. But there was a chandelier above us and very artsy paintings everywhere.)
The food was great! It was so hard to make a decision. I will have to return for breakfast. I got the veggie burger (the spices!) and the mac n cheese as a side (so gooey!) and my mom’s salad had salmon on top that would literally melt in your mouth. I felt my dish was a little too rich and savory by the end but it was well worth it!

I loved this place. I went for brunch, and I can almost never drag my husband out of bed, but this time it only took four words: «crème brûlée french toast.» Now I have a trick in my back pocket should I desperately need a hangover brunch.
The service and food were great. I had a scrambled omelet with cowboy potatoes, my husband had a half order of huevos rancheros and a half order of crème brûlée french toast. We also threw in a side of their mac n cheese, because we heard it was legendary. EVERYTHING was delicious. If you go on a Sunday like we did, you may have to wait, but there is a cute farmers market next door that you can have a look through. All in all, hungover or not, this is a great dining experience.

Food and service: 5 stars
Drinks and comfort: 3 stars
Pros: Good location in SoBro with nice parking, great flavor, great brunch
Cons: not the most comfortable seating/​dining area, drinks are a overpriced
My favorite Unilocaler Scot C. and I were jonesing for a little brunch. We’ve lived in SoBro for over two years and have never made our way to Zest! yet. What a tragedy! This place was hands down awesome.
Let’s start with the drinks shall we? Let me start out by saying that a $ 9 mimosa is pretty ridiculous in my book. However, I bit the bullet and got a hibiscus mimosa and my fiancé ordered a bro-​mosa (orange juice and beer). He liked his drink, but I regretted getting mine because it was not nearly worthy the $ 9 price tag. I’m a gal that rarely ever regrets buying alcohol– and I wished I hadn’t. It wasn’t exceptional which is what I’d like out of a $ 9 at a brunch spot in Indy.
However, the food makes up the difference here. It was one of those «too many things I want to try» issues where you stare at the menu forever wanting everything on it. I settled for a marinated chicken sandwich with gouda and mixed greens. The chicken was the most flavorful chicken I have ever had at any restaurant (ever!), and to have in smothered in a panini was unreal. Their chicken sandwich comes highly recommended. Paired with their pretty good mac and cheese, it was a great lunch. My fiancé went for the corned beef breakfast. He’s the type who usually takes his time to savor his food and enjoy it, but he wolfed this down so fast. It’s a manly man’s breakfast for sure.
All in all: You can bet we will be back for more delicious lunches and brunches!

My wife and I sat out to have a date night somewhere in broadripple before the colts playoff game. As we drove through broadripple, all the streets were full of cars from people preparing to watch the game at a bar. After about 20 minutes of circling and a lot of frustration, I headed to SoBro.
This was our first visit to Zest, which had parking available right out front. It looked crowded based on the number of cars, but the inside is quite large and they had plenty of seating available. We were seated quickly and the waiter brought us a bottle of tap water. I love that move because it meant: I’m going to be an attentive server, but I’m not going to visit your table constantly to make sure you have full glasses.
The menu is gigantic. It’s a magazine style book that is about 10 – 12 pages long. Some pages are drinks, some are appetizers, small plates, medium plates, large plates, and desserts. After about 15 minutes of research and reading, we decided on our meals: my wife got the Mac and cheese and I went with the chicken and waffles.
Shortly after ordering, while my wife and I were coloring on the paper they put on the table with the provided crayons, the waiter brought us a basket of bread. Apparently the large meals, like mine, come with it. Fresh baguette and pretzel loaf. I love pretzel bread, like unnaturally a lot. So I was thrilled. The bread was hot and delicious, and came with mustard butter, tapenade, and a red pepper oil. There was also a sprinkle of Just Pop In Twisted Sistaz Popcorn on top of the bread basket, which was a tasty treat.
A little while later the food arrived. The Mac and cheese had a potato chip crust, tasted delicious and had a wonderful texture. However, it was incredibly dense and thick. Not so much a bad thing with Mac, but I’d suggest serving it with a glass of milk. It also came with a surprise side of Brussels sprouts, which my wife enjoyed.
This was my inaugural experience with chicken and waffles. I don’t normally care for sweets or fried chicken, but the waiter sold me because he told me it’s a unique take on the dish: savory. A savory cheddar waffle, dijon gravy, roasted garlic mashed potatoes, and sautéed broccolini. It was absolutely amazing. The mashed potatoes were literally the best I’ve ever had. The only downside (and reason for 4 stars) was that about half of the small square waffle (an appropriate serving) was burnt and inedible. I didn’t mention it to the waiter because it was getting close to kickoff for the game and I had eaten most of the dish when I got to that part of the waffle.
Overall, great meal, great date night, and we will definitely be back.