Zinna’s Bistro

Whenever I visit the area I always stop by this restaurant for some great food. However the last two times the service has been less than average. I belive the service is better during the summer when college employees are the waiters/​waitresses.

Five of us had dinner here last night and none of us were very happy with our food. The kale salad was supposed to have goat cheese in it, it had one little blob of goat cheese. Upon request more goat cheese was brought out but not very quickly.
My meal, the surf and turf, was a strip steak and supposedly colossal shrimp. The colossal shrimp were the size of my pinky including the heads so they were nowhere near colossal. they were also very cold and all dried up inside, uneatable. I asked the waitress if they were supposed to be cold and she said «no I’ll get you some hot». Then I cut into the steak which was supposed to be medium rare. It was not it was raw on the inside and also dead cold. It Was also grizzly I could not eat any of the meal. But the topper was the mashed potatoes. Eating a small bite I felt there was a 3 inch long piece of something in my mouth. I fished it out of my mouth and it was a piece of plastic about 3 inches long and a quarter inch wide. We told the waitress (who was very nice) and she took the dish away. there were no apologies just asked if I wanted something else instead. No, thanks!
The Eduardo Chicken my friend had was as described in other reviews, very little crabmeat, and too expensive for a chicken dish. The Bronzeni (sp) fish was oily, the short ribs were disappointing. The sauces were less than tasty…
Then the check came, the returned dinner was still on it, there was a charge for a dinner we didn’t have which was 3 or 4 dollars more than the one we did have… There’s more but how much can you read?

It was a nice evening so we sat outside for our first visit to Zinna’s. The patio was quite nice and will be great for summer dining.
Service was good and our waitress was pleasant. Three of us ordered the Bronzino (called Seafood Delight) and one ordered the Short Rib Ravioli.
The garden salad was very nice with a good amount of extras added to a generous helping of crisp lettuce and was a bargain to boot! I’m glad I tried the polenta fries.
Unfortunately, the Bronzino was a complete letdown. It was a small overcooked filet and four small shrimp that were even more overcooked than the fish. It was on a bed of kale and tomatoes and it was barely warm and cooled quickly.
Next time I want Bronzino I’ll go to Capuano’s in West Windsor. But, I liked the patio seating enough to give Zinna’s another try. Three stars.

Went last night with my brother and sister-​in-​law and enjoyed our meals. We started of with an order of the Polenta Fries (wanted the Mac & Cheese) and they were awesome! Came with three dipping sauces which were quite tasty.
Both the wives ordered Risotto dishes which, while very tasty, were too dry. Not creamy at all. Dennis and I went with the Pasta Bolognese and the meat sauce was very good. My pasta was fine but Dennis thought his could have been cooked a little longer.
The restaurant is BYOB and also offers wines from a local winery (Working Dog). The restaurant itself is decorated nicely, with outdoor seating. Definitely worth a return visit.

I came here with my boyfriend for a date night and my mother kept telling me «you’re going to love it, the food is so fresh». I didn’t know what to expect until I walked in. Very beautiful atmosphere and very clean. They held open the door for us and pulled out my chair as well! (Bonus points)! We sat by the signature cork portrait on the wall (very cool btw). I browsed the menu and the homemade pasta with meat jumped out at me most while my boyfriend ordered the salmon. Every bite of my pasta made my mouth water. It was cooked perfectly along with the meat. It was like it was melting in my mouth! On top of that the flower was edible so of course I had to eat that too. Our waiter was very attentive and answered all of our questions. The bread, was so yummy too! Next time I come here I want to try the dessert!

Nice atmosphere. Indoor and outdoor seating. Had the goat cheese and beet salad. Was surprised by the heavy breaded coating on the cheese but overall it was good. Had the pasta Charlie I think it was called. The Italian sausage was so so and the vodka sauce was very average. The service was really good. Though Italian is supposed to be the specialty cuisine, I think I’d try other dishes.

Went here with groupon so low expectations!
Waiter was nice enough but way too busy!
We ordered 2 apps and the first one came and we never got the shrimp! They were very apologetic and when we finally were served our shrimp it was mushy stuck in the shell and many seemed uncooked. So by the time the manager got around to us we were already eating our entrees. She offered to take it off the bill, which was nice but since we had the groupon what were our choices?
I asked to take the Mac and cheese to go because I was already eating my pork chop, then after awhile she came back and said because they were running out I couldn’t have it and we were taking it to go. Which I feel is a moot point especially after the shrimp fiasco!!!
Atmosphere is nice people are pleasant. Host was sweet.

Started with goat cheese beet salad which was good and the meal went down hill from there. Polenta fries were very bland, all three dipping sauces were bland and tasted the same. The hubs got Braised short ribs which, while tender, were (you guessed it) bland. The cavatelli that came with the short ribs was a mushy texture and would have been better served on the side. (My husband commented that it looked liked the worms used in Star Trek, wrath of khan.) I ordered the pork chop which was TOTALLY overcooked, dry and tasteless. I sent it back, which I never do, and got a grilled chicken salad as I had given up on the meal at this point. The chicken was not marinated and it lacked any originality. If it were not for the groupon we would not have gone to zinnas and after the meal, we will not be back.

Classy menu, little pricey, friendly staff, vegetarian options. Try the burger or the risotto!!! Great place to stop by for a formal meal. Will come back for brunch or lunch!!!
Update: Came back to poor service and bad food on the second try. The spinach manicotti was mushy, the balsamic vinaigrette was brown colored sugar syrup. Server and manager were disinterested.
Guess you need to roll the dice before coming here… :(

Not a great first experience for the following:
1. The bread was dry and didn’t have much flavor.
2. It took nearly 30 minutes for my entrée to arrive.
3. The food was too cold to make it through the entire dining experience.
4. I had the Meatloaf and Mash. The peas were too hard and cold. The potatoes were a bit dry and too cold. The sweet tomato sauce was too scarce to share between the mash and meat.
The service was good though.
I might visit again, as they may have had an off night.
— — — — — — — — — — — -
So I decided to give them another try.
Second experience was much better. I had the ⁵⁰⁄₅₀ burger with Polenta fries. Great combination. The burger was a home run! Seriously! I highly recommend it.
Cat (I’m assuming a family member of the owners) stopped by my table to see how everything was. I shared my thoughts regarding my previous visit the night before and she was very receptive and open to feedback.
It was a great dining experience overall. The service was spot on.
I’m definitely a fan now and intend to dine there again.

Honestly one of the best salmon salads I’ve had! Little pricey but worth the $ 17 Mediterranean Salad with Grilled Salmon! It had red peppers and mozzarella pure deliciousness and super fresh! Nice eat in restaunt I did take out!

I came here with a group of 11 and they offered us our own private room. We were surprised to see that they had separate tables set up for us. They did allow us to push the tables together though.
Overall, I really enjoyed Zinna’s. It is BYOB which is great. They start out with giving you toasted bread to dip in olive oil. They continue to refill your bread bowl throughout the night which is awesome.
We started to with sharing some appetizers that included the black garlic mac and cheese, cheesy kale and artichoke dip, eggplant rollatini and caprese stack. All appetizers were fantastic but I highly recommend trying the black garlic mac and cheese. It was so unique tasting but extremely creamy and delicious.
I ordered the seafood fra diavolo as my main course. The waitress suggested I make the meal mild instead of asking for the spicy tomato sauce since it can then be too spicy. However, the meal ended up not being spicy at all. I added some red pepper flakes and then it was perfect. If you love seafood than I suggest this meal. It was not stinky at all.
We then all ordered desserts and basically had one of every dessert to share. I recommend the tiramisu and the cheesecake! But all are fantastic.
I give the restaurant ⁴⁄₅ because it is a little expensive. However, you save a lot since it is BYOB.

Best Italian place ever! So good and so inexpensive considering I came with a Groupon. Décor is beautiful and the food is great. If you go there definitely order the pasta and/​or the garlic appetizer.

By far the best BYOB in central NJ with great service and an awesome menu. One of a kind food combos, always delicious, great portions, wonderful service, and elegant atmosphere. Definitely recommended!

A party of 6 dined here tonight.
We presented Group-​On coupons for 4 & 2 of us. The restaurant was virtually empty, yet we were told by the server, then the owner that we couldn’t use both certificates if we were sitting together. The dinner for 2 cert. expired in a few days so it was suggested that we use it vs. the dinner for 4 which would have been our preference.
We asked for water from the get-​go, yet it took 20 minutes after having reached out to the owner, once again to get us 6 glasses of water.
I ordered the seared Pork chop. Upon arrival I could see that the Pork chop looked extremely over-​cooked. A few bites confirmed for me what I 1^st thought. It was well done & tasteless.
When I informed the server of such, he asked if I would want it cooked the way it was ordered (medium). I said no and asked to speak to the owner. She never showed, however, I received my small serving of kale.
I asked the server at that point if he communicated to the owner my displeasure re the main course and if she was going to come address it. He said he had.
Eventually, our party finished their meal. No sign of the owner. I went to the pizza area where the owner was about to depart from. When asked by the help what I needed, I explained the need to talk to the owner. Instead the manager appeared a few minutes later asking how he could help. I repeated my request to speak with the owner. He left the area and returned soon-​after to inform me that the owner was «tied up» and couldn’t see me.
Needless to say, the evening was tarnished for us all by this sequence of events and the apparent lack of caring by the owner as to her customer’s experience.
Based on this, I strongly recommend NOT patronizing Zinna’s Bistro. Any other respectable restaurant with the owner in-​house would ever ignore a customer’s dissatisfaction the way this was.
PS — I would hope that the fact that we were using GROUP-​ON as our payment didn’t have anything to do with this experience.
PPS — A week or so after, I visited Brio Tuscan Grill at Quakerbridge mall. They offer a double broiled pork chop dinner ($ 22.95) which was incredible, especially, when compared to above. A picture is worth 1,000 words:

My fiancé and I were dining here (on a Thursday night) for the 2^nd time. We enjoyed our first visit so decided to come back, this time w/​a Groupon. Our voucher stated:
$ 29 for an Italian meal for two, valid Sunday-​Thursday ($ 79 total value)
$ 55 for an Italian meal for four, valid Sunday-​Thursday ($ 158 total value)
Each pair receives:
One appetizer ($ 13 value)
Two entrees ($ 66 value)
There were NO other restrictions or exclusions listed under the «Fine Print» of the Groupon. This was obviously a great deal, as we went there believing we could order just about anything we wanted to on the menu! Unfortunately, we learned this was NOT the case.
I wanted the Veal Ossobucco and my fiancé wanted the Ambassador steak (both on their menu at the time), which were $ 32 and $ 33, respectively. Both entrees added up to $ 65 and therefore fell within the $ 66 value. Upon ordering and announcing that we had a Groupon voucher, the waiter immediately informed us that those were the only two items on the menu that we could NOT order because they decided to recently «change their policy until the end of deal» (AFTER already promoting this so-​call deal on Groupon). So we had to look through the menu for another 5 – 10 minutes and were forced to choose meals that we didn’t really want. Needless to say, we were extremely disappointed that Zinna’s chose NOT to honor their own Groupon!
I was very tempted to give just one star but decided to be «fair» and give this establishment 2 stars, as we did like the food that was served and did not absolutely hate our meals, even though they were not what we wanted initially and wouldn’t have ordered otherwise. I also have to say that the waiter, although nice and friendly, was not especially attentive. I really was hoping to revisit this place again in the near future because of the good food and service, but after this experience, I have to sadly say that I will never go to Zinna’s Bistro again!
For a business to NOT honor what they’ve clearly advertised is a major deal-​breaker for me. Either Zinna’s was losing money from this Groupon and so decided to stop honoring their own deal or this was some sort of tactic just to get customers in the door. However, even if you’re losing money from a deal that YOU are offering, you still have to honor it until the end or expiration of said deal (which was only a month from now). Then either change the offer (or value of the offer) after that to whatever you see fit… or NEVER offer the deal again! But a business should NEVER go back on what they’ve advertised! That is simply false advertisement, and it takes away and ruins anything that was good about the business in the first place!

I came to Zinna’s Bistro with a group of colleagues while we were in the area. When we got to the restaurant it was fairly empty and got seated right away. We placed our orders and the food came out about 15 minutes later. The restaurant also has a patio area and would be a great place to eat, weather permitting. As for the food quality, it is good The issue i have with this establishment is the location. It is somewhat difficult to get to. I would recommend this establishment to anyone in the area.
I would rate Zinna’s Bistro as follows: Food is 3 Stars, Price is 3 Stars, Location is 2 Stars and Atmosphere is 3 Stars.
The views expressed are of my own and are my true personal experience at this establishment. My personal experience may not reflect this actual establishment, their quality or someone else’s experience at the establishment.

I came here with a few friends for lunch. The ambiance was very cozy. I loved the cork wall art they had.
We ordered a bottle of wine, which was from a local winery. It was delicious. I wish I could remember exactly what it was called, but I can’t.
I ordered the Penne Caramellato. I loved this dish. It was penne with shrimp and prosciutto in a garlic alfredo sauce. It came with a piece of toasted bread.
I was the first to finish my plate, and I actually wanted more. I would definitely recommend this restaurant as a cute lunch date with friends and definitely try the penne Caramellato!

This place was decorated very nice. I liked the décor a lot and how everything was set up. The food came out quick and the service was very pleasant. This place was also a BYOB.
The bread was alright. It was a little too fluffy for my liking. There was a lot of air inside the bread. The dipping oil was decent at best.
For an entrée, I ordered the chicken risotto ($ 19). There were roasted tomatoes and asparagus as part of this dish. The dish was too small for the price. I had about 7 small strips of chicken and only 3 spears of asparagus. The dish tasted solid, but I was just disappointed with the size.
For dessert, tartufo ($ 7) was ordered. I did not taste any cinnamon which was mentioned on the menu. I was also not a fan of the dark chocolate shell. The presentation was nice as well as the flavor of ice cream.
Will I go back? I might, tough.

Good food, décor, and friendly service made this a winner for me. Located close to a client’s office we came here for a dinner meeting as it’s pretty much the only restaurant around in this sleepy part of town near an industrial park area.
Nice joint with an attractive décor and smooth music playing from Sinatra to old standard classics. More like a Euro-​Italian bistro setting. Outdoor patio too for al fresco dining during nice weather. They even have a mobile food truck that looks like it can handle large events and parties.
More than enough Italian options on the menu and I found the prices to be reasonable overall. I had the Chicken Eduardo — Chicken Breast, Jumbo Lump Crabmeat, & Asparagus Points in a Pink Brandy Sauce over Homemade Penne Pasta. Pretty damn tasty and filling plate of food. They also place a basket of housemade bread and small bowl of oil to dip it in. Mmmmm…
Of course, the gluttonous pig in me used almost the whole basket of bread to sop up the remaining sauce on my plate. Even after I dipped it in the oil. Hope my client didn’t notice.