Zest 280

I think Zest280 is a great spot for lunch. Very fresh and cool menu items .I find myself stopping often when in the area …
AAAAA+++++

Generally nice fresh food. I ordered a take out noodle bowl and got no noodles. Needs improvement.

I wanted to love this place, but my Goat Cheese Spinach Portobello salad was the most expensive item on the menu at $ 12. I ordered it hungry, and it came pitifully small. I wish I had brought my camera to show it in its lackluster state. My dining companion ordered a cup of cauliflower cheddar soup, for $ 2.85, which had more substance, and was clearly a much better value. Hers came with a piece of focaccia bread, but when I asked for some, I was charged 50¢. Panera looks like a bargain comparatively, and you get much more and better food, and I am no cheerleader for it by any means. Also, no need to tip at Panera, and they have more choices, better hours, and parking. I don’t expect this place to last, as I spent $ 15 on lunch and was still starving. Defeats the point of going out to eat… Too bad. I also thought it was strange that all the beverages were served in paper cups. I have never seen this in a sit down restaurant with table service. Made me feel as if I were in a hospital cafeteria. Real cups, please.

Great service! Fresh ingredients! I found some of the combinations in sandwiches a bit incongruous but they are willing to let you edit a sandwich or wrap to your desire. I would go here again!

Was looking up lunch places in West Hartford and found this new place. Tiny little restaurant on Park Rd near Quaker. I got the pork loin panini and a brieLT. Was hoping the pork loin panini would bring me back to John’s Roast Pork or Dinic’s in Philly. It was not bad! The brieLT is missing one thing: TOMATO. Yes, they substituted sundried tomato aioli but it just doesn’t work. Brie = creamy. Avocado = creamy. Aioli = creamy. Entirely way too much creaminess in one sandwich. It needed a couple slices of tomato to balance it out. Homemade chips were good. I’ll probably eventually come back and try the bay of pigs and spicy chicken wrap. Not a bad addition to the area but still some work to do!

First time here. I had the pork loin panini. It wasn’t a panini in my book, more like a melt. The bread it was on was dry and kind of mealy and the pork loin was dry. I wouldn’t recommend. I tried the tomato tarragon soup which was very good.
The atmosphere is nice. I was a bit weirded out that the drinks came in white paper solo cups…
I’d try it again but won’t be rushing back.

I wanted to give them four stars — and if I’d tried one of their other items, I might have — but you rate by what you’re given.
I stopped in on a Saturday afternoon and got the pork loin panini, which consisted of roast pork, rapini, garlic, shredded provolone, and red pepper aioli. The description on the in-​store menu didn’t mention the bread, but I expected something grilled, as would fit the name «panini». What I got was a disappointingly ungrilled wheat roll. I hoped the rest of the sandwich would fare better, and for the most part, it did. The roast pork was tender and flavorful, and the other ingredients were clearly of quality. Their decision to use shredded instead of sliced cheese seemed odd. It looked good, but tended to spill out; it just isn’t the best choice for a handheld meal.
They have the foundations of a good sandwich shop, but working against that are flawed execution and what feels like a lack of ambition… at least in what I received. I’d like to see them do better, and maybe they can, but as it is, I’m not in a rush to return.

I had lunch here today as I happened to be in West Hartford and absolutely adored this place! The selection was great considering it was essentially soups, salads and sandwiches. I had a BrieLT and a tomato soup. Both were divine. It was a great atmosphere, too, very open and airy with non-​overbearing waitstaff. I highly recommend it!

Place is small but carefully & artfully conceived. Food is not out of this world but also creative. For us was a perfect patio break without breaking our budget. Thanks Zest 280.

It is restaurants like this that make me wonder, why cannot I select for six stars on Unilocal.This place has very high quality food at a very fair price. The wait staff is great and the menu is 100% delicious. Great lunch spot for someone looking for something a little different and very excellent.

Their menu boards are super cute and the waitresses were very attentive. However, we were disappointed with our sandwiches. The beef brisket was said to be served on a brioche roll but came out on some kind of whole wheat roll that had too much cornmeal on the bottom and was too soggy :(The Bay of Pigs Sandwich was tasty but both sandwiches were over sauced. Water is served in paper cups, which I thought was a bit strange.

Meh. My wife and I try to find decent gluten free places in the area. She has Celiac and I try to go ahead and eat GF so she can pick off mine. We’ve tried sandwich’s here a few times. The inside is fine, it’s tasty and plentiful. But the gluten free bread continues to be bad, really bad. Store bought GF bread is many times better than the «in-​house baked» GF bread. It tastes like they freeze and serve it just thawed. It has consistently been bad (cold and dry). On the bread I’d give the place one star, the rest brings it up, but nothing too amazing. The other recommendation for them is to have GF sides, there are none. This place makes us miss Hearty Kitchen (previous business in their location). If you’re not GF then enjoy.

Last week I came here for a business lunch. I was excited to try it out, but it didn’t live up to my expectations.
We sat outside — their patio is okay, it’s right on the sidewalk and people were literally driving right next to us (on the sidewalk), it was a bit awkward. The server was friendly and attentive. I had the coconut lemonade, and it was delicious. I must say I’m not a fan of coconut, & I was a bit skeptical about ordering this, but the girl I was with insisted. I actually really enjoyed it.
The food was nothing to rave about. I have some sort of eggplant sandwich which was loaded with some weird spicy sauce. In the servers defense, she did tell me it was a bit spicy but I agreed to it. I didn’t know it was going to be globbed with sauce. I literally picked it apart just to get the pieces of eggplant, but they were still smothered. the guests I was with seemed to enjoy their food, so maybe I just need to pick something different off of the menu. There were not many non meat options however.
It was not a bad experience, but I don’t see myself rushing back anytime soon.

I rarely write reviews of places, but Zest is amazing. Their hours are limited (11 to 2:30) but it’s worth making it a point to go… or at least get take out. I’m obsessed with vegetarian chili and theirs is better than any I’ve had before – including my own mothers, which I hate to say. It’s topped with cheese and guacamole and is entirely delicious.

Great variety on the menu, lovely little setting. I had the pork loin on a roll with aged provolone, rapini, and roasted garlic aioli. Good flavors, but the bread for me is too thick and takes away from the goodies on the inside. My wife had the BBQ brisket on a roll, and similar feelings about that choice too. Loved the hand cut fries we also had. The staff were lovely and I definitely plan on going back to try the many other mouth watering choices on the menu!

I discovered this adorable place through the write up in the Hartford Courant and I’m so glad I saw it!
The location of the restaurant is among many small businesses on the Park Road/​Street of West Hartford so street parking was easy to find and near by.
The restaurant is small with about 8 tables and a bright atmosphere. People can dine in or take out from their fabulous menu. The menu is easily visible on a chalk board wall along with a traditional print out menu.
The group I was with tried the BrieLT, ginger iced tea, kale Caesar salad, Arepa– veggie, sweet potato fries and eggplant fries. Everyone loved their entrees, we weren’t in love with the eggplant fries, they didn’t have much flavor and would choose the sweet potato fries when we go again.
Overall the staff was very attentive and the speed of the service was very doable for lunch time. I’ll be back soon!

Ordered 2 salads and soup of day to go. The salads were simple the soup of the day was garlic eggplant I didn’t care for soup at all.

My wife and I ate lunch here very recently. Aside from a forgotten item (which was eventually more than made up for), the service was fine. Our server was essentially running a one woman show, but managed to be attentive to all of the diners. It’s a small space, so unless more than half of the seating is occupied, one server is probably sufficient.
We shared a kale salad and a BrieLT. Although baby kale salads seem to be found on most menus these days, this one was a bit unique, albeit simple, with blueberry balsamic dressing. We added chicken ($ 1.98) for a little addition of protein.
The BrieLT was good. (How can brie, bacon, and avocado not be good?). Not sure where the «country white bread» came from, whether in house or locally sourced, but it was quite nice — thick slices, grilled in butter. It was served with Zest chips — very, very thinly sliced potatoes deep fried and lightly seasoned. They were more well done than I would have preferred, and as a result were very brittle.
I can see this restaurant becoming a regular lunch spot for us. The food is fairly unique, yet simple and elegant. Open only for 3 hours a day, I see this place becoming busy. They do offer takeout.
From a value perspective, this little place is heads above others on Park. Very good food at surprisingly reasonable prices.
Edit after 2^nd visit. Ordered the Soba noodles and Thai chicken salad. Both left us a bit disappointed after our first visit. The noodles were well overcooked and almost gummy while the serving was very small. My wife’s salad was rather bland. It contained very little of the elements of a typical Thai dish — sour, spicy, salty, and sweet. As for the lone server mentioned in my previous review, she was still there trying to cover a nearly full house and was overworked. She was friendly enough, but definitely needed assistance. I never got a drink refill. It’s worth noting that I suffered from a serious case of sandwich envy while there. I’ll go back, but order the sandwiches next time.

I normally stay away from Unilocaling but my hopes for a good experience at this new spot were abruptly shattered. Everyone knows we need more casual dining non –chain spots in west hartford so I was excited about the new arrival.
I hope the owners read this and take my thoughts into consideration. Let me start by saying that your bread sucks, like really fu!%ing sucks. I couldn’t even eat my sandwich, threw it out… once again, so gross. It’s dense, dry and has a bad «I tried to make bread at home» nastiness to it… bleh. Good bread requires the right technique along with the proper equipment to make a good product. I can assume that this establishment has neither. Quickly figure out the bread making or work with a local company for a steady supply of good bread. Considering sandwiches make up the majority of your menu, you need to get there on the quick.
I was going to start with the bread, but I think I’ll just stick with the criticism of the bread because it really was that bad, but your other items weren’t that good either… just sayin’.

Zest280 is off to a great start. They have taken the very cramped space located on Park Road and found a way to rapidly serves delicious affordable meals. The menu consists of fresh sandwiches and salads.