Zensai Bar

I came here for a friends birthday party on a Saturday night. I’m glad I got there early as the music wasn’t too loud and the happy hour was only till 8pm. (Which as a shame as no one else turned up there till about 10pm! (Extension please!)
Although I enjoyed the night because I was with my friends… I don’t think I have anything positive to say about the place.
Small. Cramped. Expensive. Hot. LOUD! (Literally No one could hear a word I was yelling!) We booked a table and were pushed out by the ‘regulars’ who were really rude. And early on in the night before the club filled I saw a female member of staff make a homophobic comment to one of their ‘friends’ or staff members I wasn’t quite sure.
But all of these things combined kinda turned me off the whole place really. I’m glad I was drunk.

Tiptoe-​ing on the shaky ground somewhere between upscale fusion restaurant and grimy cocktail bar, Zensai doesn’t quite nail it.
It’s the sort of place that does all the little bits right, but when you add them all together, you’re still not sure.
The food was mostly very good. Even better when you’re paying half price with a tastecard. The cocktails (again, half price thanks to happy hour) were hit and miss. The Moscow Mule is where it’s at. Took us 3 drinks to find that out though.
And you never know if it’s going to be heaving and thumping with untold craziness in here, or overly quiet (save for the loud music of course) and a little awkward. Neither of which are ideal settings for eating.
I like you Zensai, but I can list the reasons why I shouldn’t.

Walking along in Camden one day, I was thinking, ‘it’s Thursday night, catching up with an old friend, where can we go that’s cheap?’ A little fairy popped out of nowhere, flourished a wand and BAM, a sign that says Happy Hour til 10 pm at Zen Sai.
My friend and I drank to our heart’s content, all under a £20. The drinks were fairly decent and the price (2−4−1) was very good, the place wasn’t tooo loud on a Thursday night, and seemed very chilled. To me, the place is a nice partner to Bar 55, when you want a cocktail, cheap just without the booming music at 55. I’ll totally come back and try the food sometime!

Wowzers! Why has it taken me this long to discover the rockabilly happy hour at this place on a Saturday afternoon?!
Ok, so I would have probably said that anywhere called ‘zensai’ would not be synonymous with rockabilly… but as I left the Mixer on Saturday, I was drawn into this bar by the flash of neck tattoos on well-​dressed boys and the sounds of a three chord change playing on the speakers outside the bar. Throw in a cocktail happy hour and hey presto, this is where to find me for the next couple of hours…
So for the music, people, outfits and idea of 2−4−1 cocktails, this place would get 4 – 5 stars, but for the bar itself — meh. The cocktails — double meh — too sweet and too weak.
Plus, once it hit 8pm the music turned to crap and all the cute people made a swift exit — including me :-P.

Me and friends went to the upstairs part of Zen Sai, the restaurant bit, due to the fact the prices of the main courses were appealing (6 pounds) cant go wrong.
I like the decour of upstairs with the latern chinese style lights. It was small upstairs but intimate with the little candles in a bowl on the table. At the back of the restaurant they had long plants, so assume they were trying to go for a jungle look, but it was lovely and brought a different feel to the restaurant.
The customer service was surperb! And was good eye candy for my male friends.
Unfornately my Green thai currey was not the best in the world, actually it was bland and tasted processed, but I ate it because i was not prepared to throw six pound down the drain. I knew my friends meals were tasty because i had some of the barbercue ribs and some fish and it was devine.
Overall nothing wrong I will come back again, defiently for a different meal.

This was exactly what I needed for a Saturday night! Special thanks to Linzi, who chose this spot. When I arrived at 8:30pm the 50s night was wrapping up. I wish I had known about it, woulda been fun to join in for the afternoon. After the 50s crew left, they started playing some mellow hip hop and R&B at a reasonable volume, which allowed for conversation. After a while things got louder though, a bit too much for talking, so I think that’s when they expect you to head for the dance floor. They were playing some good stuff though, even the bouncer was dancing! That just doesn’t happen, does it? It was great to see someone making the most out of his job.
There wasn’t a great variety of drinks, but they had my white wine staple, so I wasn’t too turned off by the lack of beers on tap. The dance floor was small, but so was the crowd, so it didn’t feel like the place was empty, it was just enough! I will be back to check out this place again.

Rockabilly on the stereo, big skirts and ladies with upcurled hairdos… this is not what you expect when you show up to Zensai on a Saturday night. But from 2 – 7, they host fifties and sixties night… I’d love to come back and join in the dancing.
We snagged a table by the door, all the better to meet the lovely Katie, and also to avoid permanent ear damage — it is loud in Zensai. Despite this, we had a great night of laid back drinks and chatting. The DJ spins a bit of pop, R’n’B and the usual dance club fare, so we joined the scrum on the dancefloor for a bit of a bop.
The only complaint we had about Zensai was that they don’t serve pints, such a boy thing, and the toilets are scary!

Zensai is a great little Asian themed bar that runs a happy hour 6−8pm every day. They have a little restaurant and a dance floor so they can morph between decent eatery and decent club in a flash.
The drinks and food are of a good standard and the décor is dark and intimate. The music is mixed and so is the crowd. There never seems to be a cover charge for any of their DJ nights which is another plus.
Although nothing special, I cannot help but like Zensai.

According to their website they have hosted many celebrates including The Rolling Stones, EMI, Red Hot Chilli Peppers and Reeves and Mortimer. Therefore I was expecting something more special.
The layout is split on two levels, and has some lounge type leather sofas which I could imagine would be fun to kick back with some cocktails from the well equipped bar. At the back of the restaurant it boosts an interesting fountain at the far end. All in all the décor is pretty impressive and very Asian.
We got here early on a Thursday after some shopping and we were staving. My girlfriend ordered a vegetarian curry with tofu and she thought was very good. I got a chicken curry but to be honest I was not that impressed. The sauce was not very spicy even though it was supposed to be a hot dish. As it was early (just after 6pm) I did get a 2 for 1 beer offer so I took advantage of that.
They also have a good range of domestic and imported beer, cocktails, sake and even champagne. The staff here were really nice, accommodating and helpful.
Apparently Zensai has a DJ playing live soul and funk at the weekends so it might be worth a visit back to experience the change of atmosphere from just a restaurant.

Inverness street is full of choice when it comes to eating and drinking. From the outside, Zensai looks classy and the menu looks as though it’s going to be very, very tasty.
Overall, the surroundings were promising. The setting was very «asian» with oriental furniture and the restaurant decked-​out in mostly black.
We started our evening with a few cosmopolitans, these were slightly disappointing… The starters were OK but nothing special — you could get this kind of food anywhere in London.
I had spicy seafood rice for my mains. It was literally fried rice, seafood and er… spice! The food wasn’t overwhelming and I could probably get better in a local take away — it’s not worth sitting in here or going out of your way to visit this place… It’s nothing special at all.

Zensai is located in the inverness street in the heart of Camden town. The street is full of nice bars and restaurant and we ended up picking this place just because it looked nice. It is a Asian influenced cocktail bar restaurant that turns into a club in the evenings. So like have it all in a one package.
It was a early Saturday evening and we had to queue for a table for half an hour, but that was no problem as they had a happy hour in the bar. The cocktails were nice, the typical mojito’s etc. For food they had noodles, woks, fried stuff, spring roles. dishes were rather small and nothing special. Also the music was so loud that it was impossible to have any conversation! So go there to enjoy the happy hour (every day from 6pm till 8pm), the drinks, the bar, the music, and maybe some snacks but not for dining. Just my recommendation!

Very nice food, although it is unsure of it’s idendity. Music bar or eaterie? Music is very loud even when it is not busy.
Pricey food, helpful staff. Nice place to meet for an after work cocktail.

Cool Thai restaurant and DJ bar in Camden. Like other places on Inverness Street it’s more lounge-​y up front. The back splits, with an open-​plan restaurant tables above and more bar area below. Classy and dimly lit, there are some water features to add to the Asian vibe, I guess.
The food is mostly Thai, but there’s also Japanese and Malaysian items. It’s all pretty tasty, though not as cheap as your local take-​away, likely. Still, you come here for the vibe, to listen to the DJ spin some groove and have a couple of extra drinks up front after you’ve eaten.
The word is that celebs like to book Zensai to host their private parties.
Full details on menu items and prices, plus club nights for the bar, are on their web site.

Nice bar situated in the heart of Camden. Well decorated with nice lighting and atmosphere. Friendly bar staff present a vast array of tasty and original cocktails. They serve really good food too. There is a good selection of DJ’s most nights, particularly on Sunday evening where they play Hip Hop, Reggae, Soul, Dubstep and Drum’n’Bass. Definitely worth checking out