Zesty’s

We were very disappointed in the new Zestys. The food was not as good and the service was just fair. On a Saturday night at 7:00 it was empty and our overall experience was for 4 of us to say we will never go back.

Fair at best
I really really wanted to like this restaurant experience, but it fell short. Our waitress was new and didn’t get the feeling she had very much training. Food was overpriced for what you got. Vegetarian casserole dish looked like a compaction of pressed vegetables the size of a large deck of cards served on a plate — not even a sprig of parsley as garnish. The Bronzino fish was filleted and served with head/​tail, but it was the thin side of the fish with a ton of bones. Had to carefully bite and chew to remove bones in every bite, plus it was over cooked and dry. Hummus appetizer was fair; can get better tasting ones at supermarket. It was squirted into a pile that reminded me of a particular emoji! To top it all, the wine list is given to you on an iPad in a heavy, clumsy and DIRTY case. Had to go to restroom to wash my hands after handling it and swiping thru offerings. (Wipe it clean! There was gunk on the glass. Eew!) Many better dining options out there.

I went to Zesty’s for the first time in over 15 years last night and had a wonderful dining experience. Friendly staff, cool atmosphere, well rounded menu, and the best octopus I’ve ever had. I highly recommend a trip out to Manayunk to see for yourself:).

Went out to a nice date night dinner with the man, this place was wonderful. We ordered saganaki for an appetizer, it was cheesy goodness with a yummy zing of lemon zest. We also got spanakopita and gnocchi al gorgonzola. Although the gnocchi was really rich and delicious, the spanakopita was the all star of our dinner. We finished with the almek dessert pudding and it was delicious.
The service was wonderful, fast and friendly. We accidentally ordered a dessert wine and our server exchanged the bottle with the Maximo Tempranillo. It was very gracious not to charge us for our own mistake. The owner also stopped by the table to ask how everything tasted and was very pleasant. Overall a wonderful dinning experience.

I don’t usually opt for Greek, but it’s been a while, and a hookup from Living Social sealed the deal. I dined there early Saturday evening at around 7pm. There were only a couple of other small tables occupied when I arrived, but by the time I was done, the restaurant was maybe 80% occupied.
Whenever there’s octopus on the menu at a green restaurant, it’s always a must. Also tried the mussels and a combination platter consisting of Moussaka, Spanakopita, and Pastitsio.
The menu listed grilled, baby octopus, but the one we received was definitely not baby. I have no complaints because it was great. It was accompanied by olive oil, bell peppers, oregano, onion, lemon, fennel, and chick peas. It’s difficult to get just the right texture and char on octopus, however, Zesty’s did it well. The octopus was neither chewy or mushy, but the char was just a tad overdone. I still enjoyed it very much.
The mussels were in a white wine, mustard sauce. I felt like I got the variety pack on this one. They were assorted sizes from small to huge. I didn’t mind that at all though, and they were cooked just right. The mustard sauce was rich and thicker than most white wine sauces. This dish was just as good as the octopus.
The combination platter was not on the menu. It was written on a chalkboard outside and came out to be $ 25. The Moussaka and Pastitsio were pretty similar. Both had ground meat and bechamel, but the Moussaka had eggplant and zucchini, while the Pastitsio had pasta. The Spanakopita was very light and flakey. It was nice to be able to try a few different dishes without the commitment of multiple entrees.
It was a solid meal and better than expected after reading some of the recent Unilocal

Dropped by Zesty’s after going to Helium for a comedy show. Purchased a groupon and had a great dinner. Was surprised to find street parking. Was greeted right away and seated. The waiter was so nice. Ordered mussels which were big, juices and the broth was delicious. I asked to take the leftover broth home and the waiter gave me a soup container and extra bread. I ordered the side Greek salad and it was big enough to share. I also ordered the grilled calamari which was outstanding. My date ordered the chicken dish and he said it was awesome. I would return to Zesty’s for the Sunday brunch. I can’t wait to return.

My boyfriend and I had a Groupon for this place and considering my love of Mediterranean food, I was super excited to try it. However, I don’t think I will ever be going back there.
It was a Thursday night and we were the only people at the restaurant save a couple bantering with the bartender. I asked our waiter about what one of the specials were, and he had no idea so he went back to ask the kitchen. Then we were informed that they were out of spanokopita (which is the main reason I came). We placed an order for calamari and were told that they were out of calamari and baby octopus. Later, another table came in and I heard our waiter tell them they were out of white zinfandel. They have a limited, pricey menu so I just do not understand why everything was out of stock.
Service was as «meh» as meh can be. It took a significant amount of time to get our drinks because the bartender was busy chatting. And we were almost done our appetizer by the time our waiter made his way over to take our entrée order (at this point, there were only TWO tables filled in the restaurant).
We got mussels as the appetizer and admittedly those were amazing. I got the meatless moussaka and greek salad which I mostly enjoyed, but for $ 24 my boyfriend got a small sad rice pilaf with three «extra jumbo» shrimp which were really quite average and just butterflied. I seriously almost laughed when they brought out the shrimp dish. It was pathetic and I had to share my moussaka with my boyfriend so he wasn’t still hungry when we left.
Ultimately, there are MANY better restaurants on Main Street in Manayunk. Even with the Groupon, this place is WAY too expensive for the sub par service and food. Also, I’m not sure who decorated the place but it’s nauseatingly garish. I’ve been to most of the restaurants on Main Street and by all means this is the absolute worst experience I’ve had.

I went because I had a $ 50 Living Social deal. I remember this as being a really great place years ago. We were the only table. It took 20 minutes to get our drinks. The appetizers of hummus and octopus were actually good. The entrees and service were terrible. The salmon was over cooked and my stuffed chicken was inedible as it was over cooked and stuffed with canned spinach. I took two bites and pushed it to the edge of the table. It took another 20 minutes for the server to approach and ask
If I wanted to bag it to go. I would not go back and now I see why they have a living social deal. This place has really declined.

Ask Michael the server about this favorite Roseanne episode
The octopus is great, they offered us complimentary drinks.
The owner is friendly — introduced himself to us.

Great food! Must have: Ravioli (veg)!! Even the egg soup is delicious. My friends shared a Lamb dish and they couldn’t stop appreciating it!
The place is as such has a very pleasant ambience with hues of blue and red. Good place for group dinners and dates!
The service is good and the staff is very friendly.

Fantastic, authentic Greek food. We had the Octopus, Egg Lemon soup, and a Greek salad with chicken, all were excellent. The owner cooked our food and greeted us at the table following our meal. The service was attentive and very friendly. Overall, a better than great dinner. We can’t wait to go back.

So I have been craving greek food for a while. Stopped in here for dinner at 5pm on a Sunday. There were only three other customers seated at two other tables, which should have alerted me immediately. The server who was an older gentlemen that was quite confused with the new credit card systems and told us multiple times spent more time discussing his frustration with the new systems (which by the way seemed like it was most likely «square» for processing cc) then being attentive to our needs. Didnt know if they stocked any Retsina which is a typical Greek wine. We ordered Saganaki which is a flaming cheese appetizer. I have had this many times at about half a dozen resteraunts. He had the bartender serve it to us as he told us he once lite himself on fire. The saganaki was not cooked long enough therefore not melted. The ouzo they used to ignite it or the cheese tasted off. It was served without pita. When I asked for pita it took another 15 minutes to get some. The bread that was brought to the table was stale. The Octopus was good but had to much vinager in the. vegtables is sat on top of. Our Greek salad took well over 30 minutes with nothing on it that needed to be cooked. The olives on it tasted old and canned. It was very stingy on the feta. Overall I would not go back ever, nor would I ever recommend this place.

Zestys is my favorite place to go for date night. The atmosphere is romantic and the food is always outstanding no matter what you get. The seafood is always very fresh and you can taste it. My personal favorites include: the best crab cakes (hardly any filler and I can say this being a Marylander), the Greek salad– it’s the homemade dressing, the mussels krasata, the calamari, the hummus, the spanakopita, the filet (with mashed potatoes) and the baklava. This is the only place in town you can get authentic Greek Wines (the owner Tom orders them directly from Greece)! It’s also a good spot to come and grab a martini with friends. The owner/​chef Tom really knows how to make his customers feel welcomed here. Truly an underrated gem in Manayunk. So excited to hear they will be offering delivery through grubhub/​postmates soon!!!

The online menu does not reflect current prices. Everything was decent and the serving sizes were large.

Overall Zesty’s was okay. Interesting retro-​ish décor that I was not expecting. But my kids liked the fish tank, globe light fixtures, and slow changing color lights behind the bar. The random flashing lights on the ceiling seemed a bit out of place though.
Food — definitely been to more authentic places for Greek and/​or Mediterranean food, but wasn’t bad. Was pretty salty (but many places are).
Service was good, nothing to complain about. We were there super early for dinner with young kids though. Fairly pricey for a middle of the road restaurant with only medium portions.

I’ve been to Zesty’s twice now and thoroughly enjoyed myself each time. Went last night during Manayunk Cocktail Week and had a vanilla russian cocktail, SO good. Tasted like an iced coffee with a kick. Also had chargrilled calamari, very yummy. Service was awesome, we sat at the bar and the bartender was very attentive and gave solid recommendations.

The food here is really, really good but the service could be vastly better. Only two servers were working on a Friday night during restaurant week and frankly, they weren’t really that busy. Unfortunately, the great food could not overcome the depressingly slow service. I can’t imagine that I would return here.

Came here for restaurant week. First timers.
food:
Tzatziki and mussels were awesome appetizers. The moussaka was fabulous, the shrimp and rice entrée was just okay. The dessert, baklava, was BAD. way too sweet that it actually burned our throats. It was also hard and seemed old
Service:
Slow
I would go back, but this place is not as good or authentic feeling as other Greek restaurants in Philadelphia like Kanella, Estia, Dmitri’s, or Zorba’s.

The food has always been great, but since they’ve re-​opened, the menu has changed slightly, which is disappointing. I am allergic to gluten, and they used to have rice with my favorite dish, the lamb arni souvlaki. Now it is orzo. They also use iPads to place orders, which appears cumbersome for the waitstaff to use, at least each time I’ve been in. Also, and this is nitpicking, but the new menu had embarrassing spelling mistakes. How hard is it to spell-​check before you create your menu for the public?

Two of us wandering Main Street Manayunk thinking about food are greeted effusively by Zesty’s hostess. Clearly this was to be the place. We took outdoor seating as it was reasonably cool for a summer’s evening. The Hostess explained the menu and took drink orders. I had the house Merlot. Not bad for a bottom of the price range house wine. My wife had Spanikopita and I had the Ravioli Verde. Served promptly and tasted great. The owner or manager came by several times during our meal and the waiter, Shahab, checked the water, wine, etc. frequently but not obtrusively. There are quite a few things on the menu we’d like to check out so we will be back.

Loved the atmosphere. The server was nice and kept apologizing for the food taking so long. The kitchen was short staffed. The hummus appetizer was great and so was the jazz band so we didn’t mind our lunch taking a while. That being said, when the entrees finally arrived my order was wrong and the meat was over cooked. We had waited so long we didn’t want to send it back. Might give them another chance the next time we’re in the area.

This is more like a 3.5 because we had some truly delicious plates here but some pretty weird aspects to being here.
We came at 6 on a friday night for dinner and to get a few happy hour snags. We were the only people in the restaurant for a while. The happy hour specials were not hard to remember (half off apps, and two drink specials) but our server had to yell to the bartender across the room twice to figure out what they were. There were quite a few people on staff who were just standing around and kept looking at us since we were the only people there. it was pretty uncomfortable.
As a designer I had a bone to pick with the menu and logo too. The menu was very hard to read, on very poor quality paper and organized pretty oddly. Also an insane amount of spelling mistakes (that may have been the spelling the owner grew up with), but being on a poor quality menu it just added to the thrown together feel. It just seems like one of those single-​owned places that have been doing the same thing for 50 years (odd new renovations aside).
The food did happen to be pretty good. I got the moussaka that was a big win in the authentic flavorful greek entrée department and my boyfriend’s chicken with feta/​spinach was done very well. Our apps weren’t as fresh with the tomatoes in the bruschetta tasting over-​ripe and the hummus through the pastry bag thing with random large garlic cloves in there didn’t make for the freshest taste. It was still good but did not win us over. The entrees seemed premade as well (of course for the moussaka being that lasagna style) but luckily the flavors made up for it.
If I’m in the mood for greek, this is the only game in town around manayunk, so I would be back to try a few other greek classics knowing the flavors would be there, but overall just an odd experience.

disappointing service, food was really not that great.

First of all, I was in love with the atmosphere. The entire restaurant was closed during the winter for renovation and the result was stunning! I can’t believe it was all done by the owner who was over 70 years old!
The service was exceptional. The waiter was super friendly and very open to give us suggestions on what to order. He also showed that he was in love with the place himself so it just made the entire experience more positive.
Finally, the food is super delicious. We ordered the baby octopus dish as an appetizer and it was the best octopus I’ve ever eaten. Give the fact that octopus is my most favorite food, that was definitely quite a compliment.
Overall, I loved the entire experience and would definitely come back for a lot more times. Highly recommended!

The atmosphere is cool. They did a nice job decorating. We sat at the bar and had drinks and wood fire pizza. Bartender, Joe, was nice and friendly. Pizza wasn’t very good and they forgot one of my toppings! Had a lot of fresh fish on the menu– seemed pricey for what you get.

I have become quite fond of this place. The staff has always been super nice, especially the man at the bar. I always go for their avgolemeno soup for carry-​out. It is a must-​try. It’s loaded with rice and chicken and has a nice lemony kick to it. It is absolutely delicious to me. One time I ordered three of these things and they gave me an entire load of bread to take home as well — which was awesome for soup dipping by the way. While I’m waiting for any carry-​outs, they always offer me a glass of water (which a lot of places don’t think to do) with a slice of lemon — fancy!
I talked to one of the regulars at the bar and apparently they have this beet small eats that’s not on the menu, but if you ask for it, they can make it for you. And it’s supposed to be amazing. So if you like beets, apparently this is a good starter for you!

Completely unexpected five-​star experience. As we walked by the restaurant, I just thought it would be average Greek food. But there was a lot more in store inside…
Every single dish we ordered was outstanding. The hummus was seasoned perfectly and served with piping hot, fresh pita. Grilled calamari in balsamic reduction and grilled octopus with lemon and olive oil also got high praise! But best of all was my salmon entrée. The salmon was cooked perfectly… juicy and able to cut it with a fork only. Even the rice pilaf served with it was perfect. How many times do you hear people rave about the rice pilaf?!
But even better was the outstanding service! If you go there, please make sure that you sit in Italian grandmother Carlin’s section! She cracked really funny jokes with excellent delivery, made sure our glasses were always full, and even gave us free second helping of hummus.

Great Greek food! Highly recommend anything with spinach or eggplant. Got the fish once and it was a whole fobs which I want prepared for. But it was very delicious.
Overall another good manayunk option