Zephyr Grill & Bar

We’ve been to Zephyr twice before; when it first opened and about 6 months later. Both times we were very disappointed. But since it was the only place in town with available times for a Valentine dinner, we risked it.
We brought our own bottle of wine but didn’t need it. They had a Valentine Special for 2 for $ 99 that included a $ 34 bottle of wine. The Caesar salad for 2 was good & had a parmesan cheese crisp instead of a sprinkle on top; the entrée choices were varied — I had the grilled salmon (yummy!) & he had the medium rare prime rib (could have been cooked just a bit longer). Dessert was Chocolate Salted Caramel Crater Cake topped with a bit of whipped cream, just right for 2. It was to die for!
But what made this dinner special was our waiter, Marc. He was personable, knowledgeable, and absolutely genuine. He asked about the hubs’ bracelet; it’s in memory of his lung donor — a fallen police officer. Marc thought it was something like that and shared some of his personal history with us.
We will definitely be back.

Very good. Julia is excellent and never complains. Went for brunch and very reasonable. Cajun chicken sandwich was a hit.

Zephyr is one of, if not, my favorite restaurant in Livermore. Happy hour at Zephyr is maybe the best deal in town. The service overall is good and there are a few really awesome servers there.
The first time I ate at Zephyr I ordered the most expensive thing on the menu, filet with crab (medium rare). It was late in the night, but my steak was completely over cooked. I took a few bites (ate all the crab) and told the bartender that it was overcooked. He completely. Agreed and profusely apologized. Thomas brought me back a perfectly cooked steak and did not charge me for my meal at all! I was upset that my steak was overcooked, but the excellent customer service immediately hooked me.
Here’s my negative review on zephyr… They overcook their burger. I always have to order my burger medium rare.
Now here’s the awesome part about their burger… It’s 8 $ at happy hour, and there aren’t too many better burgers. I try and come in on Wednesday because they have a wine Wednesday, and they have this soup called mulligatawny (yes, Seinfeld/​soup natzi).
I would also say that the prices are a little high five it isn’t happy hour!
The food is very good, and I think it might be the best restaurant and best value in town.
Ashley is a great server… All the things you expect from a good server and she’s really funny!
Thomas, the bartender, seems like a great guy. Always takes care of us, and is super friendly.
Jennifer is also a bartender and has been really good. I didn’t originally get my happy hour price for my order at 5:59 and she made sure that we got the amazing happy hour prices.
Amber is my Wednesday server and she’s classic.
I highly recommend zephyr and especially suggest you take advantage of their happy hour.

My favorite restaurant in Livermore. Consistent great tasting food! The butternut squash soup and calamari are what I usually get but the sole and halibut are also always very good. I haven’t had all the seafood dishes on the menu but I’m sure they would be great to! I come here often enough that I always get the same thing! Service wise it does lack a little, but the food does make up for it!

The food here is reasonably good. I want to love it, but I don’t. I have thought a lot about it, and come up with a couple of reasons. The deal breaker is they are completely inflexible about sides– I mean God forbid you prefer not to have the combo of sides that THEY prefer — «what do you mean you don’t want potatoes…»
For a while we enjoyed going here, but I have had it with paying a premium price for food, but not getting the food I prefer. If I prefer spinach to potatoes why do you care? I much prefer have a list of entrees, and a CHOICE of sides. Tired of fighting about sides on a $ 25 – 30 entrée.
For a while we got around the problem by going to happy hour and ordering appetizers. But then they dropped the cider, my husband likes cider not beer…
The tables have the huge bases that can be annoying.
I wish the ale house would add steaks… Livermore needs a good steakhouse.

We live in Brentwood and Zephyr is opening a second location there in Feb. ’16, so we decided to try out the Livermore location. I didn’t realize this is not really a place to bring small children and we had the 3 ½ yr old and the 6 mo old with us.
Food was good and piping hot. I had the Ahi Tuna Tacos and my friend had the fried fish sliders. Both were very tasty.
The only reason I’m not giving 5 stars is because the service was slow. You know it’s taken too long when the 3 yr old asked where her food was.

Zephyr is just ok in my opinion and maybe not quite worth the price. I had high hopes considering it’s a somewhat upscale restaurant within walking distance that has an interesting menu and above average wine and beer selection.
I had the special Holiday Walnut Fried Brie as an appetizer as it sounded great and the bartender was raving about it. It was ok. It was kind of bland and goopy and I don’t think garlic crostini was the right pairing.
I had the Baja Style Tacos with the grilled shrimp for my entrée, which were good. I really liked the homemade salsa. The rice, which wasn’t mentioned in the menu, was bland and hard.
The bartender was fantastic — very friendly, helpful, and attentive.
To sum it up, Zephyr was ok and kind of expensive for what I got. The price for one person to have an appetizer, entrée, and glass of $ 10 wine came to $ 56 with a 15% tip. That wouldn’t be bad at all if the food was very good, but Zephyr falls short. Feel free to give this place a try, but realize that the fantastic menu descriptions don’t quite jive with the end product.

I’ve been here a few times. The first few times were a little uneven and the place seemed to be having a identity crisis.
Thankfully, those issues seemed to have resolved themselves.
I would recommend this place for dinner. Especially their happy hour menu and drink list. There is a early evening happy hour and a late evening happy hour.
Also, tips diablo is delicious and a perfect appetizer for two.
Wine and beer list carry a selection of local businesses, which is always a delight.

Appetizer — Mac & Cheese
Already super cheesy, but when it arrives at your table the waiter will carve out an X and pour gooey melted cheese into the center. Probably something you don’t want to make a part of a balanced diet or eat more than twice a year but when you do… it’s awesome
Dinner Entrée for Wifey– Chicken Marsala
Dinner Entrée for Me — Rib Eye medium rare
Both were delicious. On a busy Friday night, dinner was served within about 25 mins. Appetizer came out quick, and turn time was worth the wait as well as pretty standard for chef prepared meals. We brought our own wine, $ 15 corkage fee, and that made the time go by!
Dessert– Chocolate Ganache. Really really decedent and rich. After our meals I wish we had not ordered it because it was too rich but quite delicious. I wouldn’t recommend the Chocolate ganache, even if your eating light, because of its richness it was not as enjoyable. in hindsight we should have gone with the sundae… which they brought out anyways for wife’s birthday.
Reservations were easily made the day of. All in all, great experience and I would recommend it for a prefect quiet date night. It’s right next to the Vine if you want to check out a classic and not too far from downtown movie theaters as well. Parking isn’t fun, it’s pretty terrible actually because of the Buffalo Wild Wings next door. But I would still throw this restaurant in rotation between Wente and Patxis, obviously depending on if you want a nice high end pie or pork chop for a Livermore date night!

Delicious food with great service. Our first time and we order the red flight $ 16 for hearty-​filled glasses. As an appetizer we preserved the chicken-​finger-​style calamari which was typical, but delicious. For entrees we ordered the chimmichuri steak and the blue cheese medallions!!! Yum!!!
The tiny bite brownies were a cute mini dessert.
Definitely a must try in Livermore!

What can I say. This is our favorite restaurant for the last 5 years. Nuff said.
The mac & cheese is the best I have ever had. My wife and I are retired and most times we split a a meal. Some places change for an extra plate, they do not.

Can I say how much I love this place? I love this place!
It is a little gem tucked away in adorable Downtown Livermore.
The Hubzilla and I stopped in for dinner on a Wednesday night, the restaurant was fairly full, but we were seated immidiately. The hostess was friendly and our server was at the table almost immediately to take our drink order.
We started with the artichoke dip, which was amazing. It wasn’t overly cheesy or salty. It was delicate and refreshing. When we ran out of the little bruchetta toasts that came with the dip, our server brought us more immediately.
The Hubzilla had a Caesar salad, the dressing tasted fresh, the lettuce was crisp, and the delicious croutons were freshly made. I had the grilled pear salad, which was fantastic. The pears were just barely grilled enough to enhance the sweetness, but still crispy, and the dressing was subtle and tangy.
I had the potato wrapped halibut, but I subbed mashed potatoes for the grilled red potatoes. The fish was perfectly cooked and the potatoes were well seasoned. They went perfectly with the steamed spinach and YUMMY burre blanc sauce. The Hubs had blackened sea bass, which was incredible. So perfectly seasoned. His rice pilaf was savory and the veg was crisp and delicious.
We were so full, we couldn’t even LOOK at the dessert menu! The service was on spot, our server was attentive and friendly and kept our glasses full. Everything was so absolutely delicious. We were really, really pleased with the meal.
We will definitely return, I can’t wait to try the sacllops!

Arrived here on a casual Saturday night. Now, I wasn’t very hungry nor did I feel like spending a lot either. Don’t get me wrong, I’ll fork out some dough for some good food. I just didn’t feel like doing so this night. Outside I checked out the menu, and a lot of it looked way overly pricey! But why not relax at the bar, and give it a try!
We were happily greeted at the entrance, and I took a glance at the crowd. Everyone dressed casual, yet classy. Though I wore shorts, a cap, and my Incubus baseball shirt I thought it’d be best to sit at the bar. All good, no dirty looks. I didn’t mind sitting at the bar, as it seemed well taken care of and comfortable. The dining area in general looked nice and somewhat romantic, especially since the sunlight was on it’s way down. Only no white table cloths fyi. They even had a fairly large patio, but there’s only view of the street.
Our bartender was Thomas, and he was almost on-​point all night. One slight mistake, but no biggie. I can’t eat bacon anymore, yet the chef still added bacon. So it really wasn’t his fault, and for the most part he kept us entertained and had some good recommendations. We started out with the:
~ Ultimate Macaroni & Cheese ($ 13): Eh, pretty cool with the mini pitcher of melted cheese, but that’s about it. It supposedly has four types of cheese, but it didn’t have a buttery taste I was expecting. Somewhat of a clean type of mac’n’cheese with a creamy cheesy sauce. I did however like the toasted bread crumbs on top. Just wish there was more of the basil garnish. It added flavor to it’s blandness.
~ Potato Wrapped Halibut ($ 29): Whoa, now this was one damn good piece of fish! Cooked just right and easy to fork into. Each bite was soft, slightly buttery, and lemony… With an added plus of balsamic reduction. This plate was worth it! The halibut was sitting on top of roasted red potatoes and some braised spinach. If you don’t want a steak, get this!
~ Chopped Chef Salad ($ 15): Smoked grilled chicken breast with big cheddar cubes and bleu cheese, apple pieces, hazelnuts, and a tasty champagne vinaigrette. Oh yeah, and bacon that I didn’t want, but yet I still ate. «Fresh and crisp» is how I’d best describe this salad. The mix all together simply made for a fabulous combo! I would totally order this again next time.
~ Darcie Kent Chardonnay (Bottle — $ 38): Damn, I gotta visit this vineyard. Perfect pairing with the halibut and salad!
~ Bailey’s Kahlua and Coffee ($ 5×2): My dessert, nuff said!
~ Chocolate Almond Ganache ($ 9): Love that almond crust, and ganache is well, ganache! Chocolatey goodness!
Overall, I enjoyed my time here, but lets just say I spent more than I can chew. Excellent service and excellent food, but think about what I just paid for. Especially for mac’n’cheese and a salad, eek. Total was well over $ 145 for the night, even though I didn’t feel like eating much. Minus the bottle of wine, and I still paid over a hundred.

Great food and reasonable prices! Try their halibut or NY Steak dinners! The drinks are great too!

Shout out to the Tips Diablo appetizer although including a third crostini would be a nice touch. Enjoy the wine list, menu and service. The prices are about 10% higher than they should be though.
The reviewer here who said that the food is better at Buffalo Wild Wings is delusional. I had to say it.

A completely incredible place to have your rehearsal dinner. Amazing food and a private room to celebrate your special day.
As a restaurant, the ahi tuna tacos are incredible. Food is always fresh and full of flavor.

We came by for an early lunch on Sunday and had a good experience. The place is beautiful both inside and out. It was quite empty on this early Sunday with only a few tables occupied.
I ordered the Britts Chicken Sandwich; Cajun spiced chicken breast, avocado, bacon, Havarti cheese, chipotle mayo and all on a French roll. The sandwich was awesome. The chicken had that great Cajun flavors I adore, plus the breast was nice and juicy. The bacon was thick, the avocado added freshness, and the cheese was the tasty (and cheesy) cherry on top. The mayo was good but subtle.
I was given a choice of a side, and the one I was with already made up HER mind that I was going to have the pear salad, all so she can try it as well. Well she made an amazing choice because the pear salad was freaking awesome. The best part about it? The slices of pear of course, which were thick and juicy (like the chicken breast). Mixed with pecans, bleu cheese, and tossed in a raspberry vinaigrette, the salad is something worth talking about.
We passed on dessert, and instead we had two mint chocolate brownie bites instead. Tasted good, and was just the perfect size.
The service was good, except our waiter forgot that we also ordered glasses of water with our other drinks, and was too busy chatting it up with the cute bartender.
A great restaurant over all, and very much worth every penny.
All who come, try the pear salad!

All I can say is FABULOUS. Awesome. Mmmmmm good. Came here after the movies with my aunt. Omg it was so delicious, everything we had was delicious. We had appetizers for their happy hour. Artichoke and grueyere dip, seared tuna, calamari, coconut shrimp, and their Mac and cheese. Holy sh*t it was all awesome. My aunt almost had an orgasm as she ate the tuna lol, it was that off the hook. You gotta go here.

Pretty solid, thought it was going to be a bit stuffy (wine bar snootiness) but it turned out to be a well run casual grill. The place is huge and we actually sat in this room with a massive table in the center that 4 – 5 parties can share. There is sidewalk dining, a bar area and more dining through out. I was amazed at the space.
The menu looked great, first time in a while where almost everything looked good to me (good fit). The food though not totally upscale is executed quite well. The Double Cut Pork Chop ($ 21) is appropriately massive, over an inch thick, yummm! The mashed potato was spot on, just the veggies were a tad over cooked. But still a solid plate, especially at the price point.
Seafood Risotto ($ 21) which I got a taste from was quite proper as well. Perfectly cooked arborio, a wealth of seafood and a rich broth that was absorbed into every bite.
Got a red wine flight ($ 16) that was basic yet very distinctively Livermore. Barbera was lean yet fruity, Pinot was pretty good for the Livermore appelation, while the Merlot was luscious and smooth. A nice journey for one price.
Service was on point, way better than any casual dining chain. Server able to answer any question regarding food or wine, and none of it sounded rehearsed. The hostess even opened the door for us upon leaving and she did it with a warm smile (definitely don’t see that everyday).
Just an overall nice experience that I’d repeat in a heartbeat.

I love Zephyr. It is always excellent. Best happy hour in the valley. You have to try the French dip. It’s amazing. And don’t miss the coconut shrimp, or the great cocktails. Also
They serve a wonderful burger. Calamari is also good.