The Zouave Restaurant

I finally had the opportunity to check out this restaurant. I never had chicken Marsala that tasted so good. The sauce was amazing!!!
The meal was topped off with what I imagine home made Tiramisu really tastes like. Nothing fancy but absolutely delishhh!
By the way, the chef/​owner is so friendly and a blast to chat with! Thanks Abe for a super fun night and incredibly tasting food!

I am from out of town. We happened on this restaurant by looking on Unilocal.I would recommend this place to everyone. The staff is friendly. The chef is fantastic. He made a special meal for me after discussing the type of food that I like. I had a bouillabaisse with some extra pasta, my wife had the lobster ravioli and my friend had the lamb. This is my first Unilocal review and I can’t think of a restaurant more deserving.

My wife and I frequent this place and the chef (Abe) always goes above and beyond to make us happy. He even makes entrees that are no longer on the menu which used to be there in the past. Really lovely neighborhood restaurant

Incredible meal! Very cozy restaurant. I was thrilled they had several mouth-​watering vegetarian options to choose from, and my partner was thrilled by the delicious meat options.
Dinner did not disappoint –I haven’t had food this authentic in a long time. Service was quick, wine was yummy. Chef came out and talked to us personally! Will be coming back!

Italian food is one of my all time favorites. This place goes way above and beyond the usual dining experience. We had multiple courses and every one was its own unique and wonderful dining experience. This place is small and quaint. The service is very personal and the staff, including the chef were more than happy to answer all our questions about their wonderful foods.
We happened to go on Valentine’s Day when the place was full and even then the service was wonderful.
The food is amazing and the price is very reasonable for the quality of food.

This place is much better than you would expect so be prepared. The chef takes his job very seriously and in fact will show up to your table and talk about different flavors across Europe, Africa and the Mediterranean. If you live in the neighborhood and want some good food and wine, this is a great place to go.

The food is fantastic. It’s worth twice what they charge. The staff makes you feel like family. You couldn’t ask for a better neighborhood restaurant.

Warm and nice service. Clean environment. The food is super good. The best pumpkin soup I’ve ever had. Chicken masala is no doubt very delicious. Will have a second visit for sure!

My family went to The Zouave Restaurant this evening to celebrate my grown twin daughters’ birthday. There were 7 of us there. We had two appetizers (a special with mozzarella cheese, basil and tomato — and also one with mussels). For entrees, we had the Seafood, Chicken Marsala, Beef Roulade, Gnocchi Genovese, and a lobster filled Ravioli with Tiger Prawns special.
The portions were generous, but most importantly the food was absolutely delicious! We were all sharing and every single one of us loved everything.
We are so happy we discovered this little gem. The atmosphere is very relaxing, the staff is wonderful, and add to that the fantastic food and the result was a great experience. We are all looking forward to our next visit.

I just saw this place a few days ago while walking on 65^th to get to PCC. The chef is Italian, from a place called Zouave, but they serve both Italian and French dishes here in this restaurant. It is very cozy and has a family feeling into it. Once the food is ready, the chef himself serves the food at the table and provides a brief description about it which feels very noble. The staff are extremely polite and nice. I ordered a lamb osso bucco which was supposed to be served with gnocchi, but I saw on the photos of Unilocal that it can be served with Risotto, Asked the server and she kindly told me that it is ok to order it with risotto instead of gnocchi.
The osso bucco with Risotto was served shortly and it was very well cooked. The meat fell off the bone immediately, was cooked with garlic and tasted insanely good. The risotto was very good too. The portion was huge and even though I finished the whole thing, I was literally on the verge of explosion when I was done.
This cute little restaurant so close to my home can be my go to Italian place.

Extremely mediocre food — I could make this as good but probably better at home! Very friendly, albeit slow, service. Had several pasta dishes — do not live up to the price ($ 12ish+/dish). For whatever reason, they sprinkle grated mozzarella cheese on EVERYTHING. I ordered the special — a very dry risotto. This is not French/​Italian. It’s a warped (Mediterranean?) interpretation of French/​Italian. Bit of a bummer, very cute patio, and I was hoping for a great Italian place I Ravenna. Servers were very genuine and sweet, though. Have a kids menu. Wine is cheap ($ 6/​glass), but not great.

I think the people who own this restaurant served us. If I was reviewing them I’d give them 4 stars. They were both very kind and welcoming.
The food, however, is another story. We started with the antipasti appetizer, which consisted of a couple of different types of cheeses, some cured meats, peppers and crackers. It was average. Next we ordered a green salad which was very fresh and cream of artichoke soup which was average. My main course was a beef roulade and my husband had the polenta with chicken (sorry, can’t remember the name). The beef roulade was too salty and tasted (and looked) like it had been precooked and reheated. My husband says he would rate his chicken dish a 3 out of 5. We will not be returning.
I normally only review when I have a good experience, but like some of the other reviewers, I believe there have been false «good» reviews given to skew the ratings in favor of this restaurant. It is very hard to believe anyone would give this restaurant 5 stars.
By all means, if you wish to try this restaurant please go check it out for yourselves.

So great! Food is fantastic. I had the Chicken Marsala and it’s one of the best I’ve had. Highly recommend this place. Fast and friendly service. Great experience overall.

What a great place! Abe, the proprietor and chef is a welcoming and worldly man. Having studied and worked around Europe, he shows off his knowledge and acumen in his menu and, of course in the food he cooks.
There are no dishes or sauces that he takes out of the back to heat up and serve, rather each dish is made right there, at the moment it is ordered. Quick with the food, wine, and great stories, I am so very happy to have found Zouave.
I’ll be back, for sure.

Extraordinary food! Well worth the wait. Kick back with good friends and share a pitcher of sangria and you will be well rewarded. The owner and chef is exceptional in both kindness and cooking.
I will absolutely be returning! Loved the food and the people.

Went here for a late lunch and it was awesome! The owner/​chef opened early just for us and was very friendly. The three of us got the special (salmon with gnocchi) and the regular gnocchi entrée and it was plenty of delicious food. The bread was warm and house-​made and flaky.
The service was leisurely, but not slow enough to be outright frustrating. The meals were a little expensive for me, but compared to a lot of places in the city, it was reasonable. Would definitely recommend.

I’m so happy to have found this cozy little Restaurant in the Ravenna Neighborhood, that they call Zouave. The owner and Chef (Abe), is so enthusiastic about his chosen profession, it makes me feel special and honored to have him make my meal.
Abe prepares each dish fresh and from scratch. This is not a fast food restaurant but a place to enjoy having someone with a passion for delicious and healthy food, make you a delicious dish.
I not only eat Vegan, I also eat a low fat diet. Often when I go out, there is nothing on the menu I wish to eat. Abe has always been able to make me a meal that I enjoy, each and every bit of.
This small business is what made America and we need to support it. Zouave is not a Palisades or a Canlis, but a small neighborhood business that will make you a very healthy, enjoyable meal at an amazing value.

I pass this restaurant everyday and I finally got a chance to try it out. The restaurant has a casual/​cozy feel to it and the staff are all very friendly. The prices are reasonable and portions relatively big. It seems like they always have new specials. If you live in the neighborhood, I would recommend trying this place out!

John C’s series of 5-​star reviews and updates is falsely boosting this place’s ratings. Fix it, Unilocal.
I wanted to like this place. The space is quaint and intimate but unfortunately the open kitchen also means it’s muggy (boiling water) and there was a strange, unpleasant smell throughout the dining area. The owners are very friendly and apparently this is their first restaurant. I could tell the place has potential but it’s mostly miss.
We had a series of dishes. I had the pesto gnocchi and it was just okay. Certainly not what I’d consider good. Two of us had the chicken marsala and thought it was good. The remaining pasta dishes were mediocre to bad. One was sent back and we got credited for it. The antipaso plate was plentiful but thrown together and included run-​of-​the-​mill crackers. Very sloppily presented and only decent at best.
We were a party of 6 and other smaller groups showed up while we were there. Maybe they struggle with too many orders at the same time. There’s only one chef who doesn’t appear to have much help. The meal wasn’t just forgettable, it was bad enough that we won’t return any time soon. In fact, I picked up the tab for all of us because I recommended we try it based on the aforementioned falsely inflated Unilocal rating. Next time I’ll look closer at the ratings and not just the stars.

I like this place. I had a most excellent meal here. If you have never been here and are looking for a new place to try some slightly different food then look no more.
Zouave is set in a very residential neighbourhood. Judging by the area, a restaurant named after a city in North Africa is the last think you’d expect.
The service is quite phenomenal. Our water glasses were never empty and the chef made it a point to check up on us.
My wife ordered the capellini with seafood. It felt a little lacking on the sauce but tasted quite okay.
I ordered the Osso Bucco with the couscous. The lamb was beautifully cooked. The sauce lacked spice. I suspect it may be the cuisine, I cannot imagine really spicy food in the heat in North Africa but it needed some more woomph to be mind-​blowing.
So yes, three stars is perhaps unfair. It is more three and a half stars. It is unfortunately not four stars — the food is not in the league of Stumbling Goat or Café Munir for instance. I will go here again though, this time with a better understanding of the cuisine and the flavours.