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Zen offers classic Sichuan cooking in stylish and comfortable surroundings. Sichuanese cooking is one of the great unknown cuisines of the world. It is legendary in China for its sophistication and amazing diversity, but known in the West only by a few famous dishes and its "hot and spicy" reputation. Chinese people say the "China is the place for food, but Sichuan is the place for flavour", and locals claim the region boasts five thousand different dishes. The real Sichuan cuisine is quite unlike the Cantonese, eastern, or northern styles, and quite unlike any other outside China. Outsiders often forget that China is more of a continent than a country: its vast territory encompasses deserts and rain forests, high mountains and fertile plains, salt lakes and rolling grasslands. Sichuan is as large as France, with a population nearly twice the size of Britain's. It has its own dialect, its own operatic style, a unique teahouse culture and, of course, an outstanding culinary tradition. Restaurant Reviews Add Your Review » Your Say Joined Nov 08 79 Reviews 0 Hats Off! loading... Eamon07 (Guru) Credibility Score: 83% Visited: 01 Aug 2010 | Posted: 5 days ago Great food, terrible atmosphere... Visited here on bank holiday sunday nite with my partner. On entering the restaurant we were disappointed to see that only two other tables were occupied... This was a real shame for me as I really enjoy a good atmosphere when dining out. Moving past this, the food was quite delicious. I opted for the fantastic chilli ribs while my partner had the chicken and prawn dumplings which were ok. For mains I enjoyed the sizzling assorted meat platter which I definitely recommend if your a real carnivore like myself. My partner enjoyed the sliced chicken hot bean dish which was wonderful, the chicken was so tender it was literally falling apart. All in all, an very enjoyable meal but the atmosphere really let it down. Joined Apr 10 8 Reviews 0 Hats Off! loading... themunk (Foodie) Credibility Score: 29% Visited: 14 May 2010 | Posted: 2 Months ago Zen was fabulous. I really enjoyed myself here last Friday night. The boss was very friendly and pleasant. The waiters were efficient and attentive. The food was just superb. My two friends shared the Aromatic Duck Sichuan Style to start and declared them delicious, especially the Sichuan sauce. I had the Pang Pang Chicken and I loved it. Then we got different main cources for each other. They were all great and tasted fantastic. And the service was just very nice. I will of course return to Zen, not just for the excellent food but also for the service and atmosphere which was very good for a Friday night. '); //--> Joined Dec 07 33 Reviews 1 Hats Off! loading... tastychef (Guru) Credibility Score: 85% Visited: 14 May 2010 | Posted: 2 Months ago wat a great chinese restaurant in an old church. very spacious. service was a bit slow but great food great valu 4 money. 3 starters 3 mains one dessert 3 glassses of wine €60.00 def go bach Joined Sep 09 7 Reviews 1 Hats Off! loading... The Chab (Foodie) Credibility Score: 34% Visited: 16 Jan 2010 | Posted: over 2 months ago Zen - nice and spacious, quiet and not crowded. And quite a nice atmosphere. That's what I'm talking about! It's actually quite a nice restaurant. However, it's not without its pitfalls. The waitress, in particular, was very nice it must be said, but this was soured by the unfriendliness of one of the waiters. He was a bit short with us and grumpy. Food: The starter was good - dumplings in a spicy sauce - but I wasn't pushed about the prawns in sweet and sour sauce main course. While there was nothing exactly wrong with it, it was kind of tasteless, which was a shame. The grumpy waiter came back to tell me that they only had two flavours of ice cream for my three-scoop dessert - did I want one strawberry and two scoops of chocolate? (I can't remember which flavours they had remaining in actual fact). Not my thing at all, so I changed the order to three (different, please!) scoops of sorbet. He looked at me as if he held me personally responsible for the world's problems once I did this, before he retreated to give the new order! Having said that, Zen is great value for money - not expensive at all - and the cross waiter did say goodbye to us pleasantly enough on our way out. So, not bowled over; it hasn't become my favourite Chinese Restaurant as of yet and I am looking. However, I will return and give it another shot. '); //--> Joined Oct 07 43 Reviews 0 Hats Off! loading... lucinkaconejitka (Guru) Credibility Score: 80% Visited: 02 Nov 2009 | Posted: over 2 months ago Visited Zen last Monday. The menu they offer on Mondays is great. Take away prices all night long, we shared a starter, had two mains and ended up paying €25 for two people. The restaurant is lovely inside and the staff are really nice. We will be back again for sure. Joined Oct 07 6 Reviews 0 Hats Off! loading... teacher1 (Foodie) Credibility Score: 38% Visited: 07 Oct 2009 | Posted: over 2 months ago My mum and I went to Zen on the last night of her stay in Ireland. We were both impressed at how delicious the food was. The staff were very attentive and attended to all of our needs. The atmosphere was warm and comfortable and the value of the meal (we got the take out menu) was exceptional. I would definitely go back again for a nice meal with my friends, or at least with my mother the next time she visits.
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