Absolutely! Here's a polished version of your review:
Highly recommend! Great service and an excellent atmosphere. When you visit, definitely try the Lychee Martini and the Tuna Tartare — both are delicious and a must-have!
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4
Del Car
Yes, Zen and Now can be very tasty, almost authentic. But they need to maintain quality control and take their time preparing dishes. It’s such a popular place it can get frenetic and this is when preparation can miss. Service is fantastic, we have never experienced anything but sweet professionalism and just nice people. My only real gripe is the music is TOO loud - what happened to conversational level volume, that means - in the background! Also, what happened to playing Japanese music?! I’m from San Francisco - the best Japanese food and style…never loud, pleasssse.🙏
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 4
Service: 5
Tatiana Loarca
The food is always good here but was not quite pleasantly surprised by the food item pictured below (Oyakodon) It might have just been my misunderstanding of what it was (chicken & egg rice bowl) but the egg was still very slimy, the chicken was surprisingly sweet as was the egg, and the rice tasted like the rice I ate at school but with better texture. Overall a decentish dish. The sushi I did order though was delicious. As for the atmosphere, I unfortunately got seated right in front of their a/c unit so I got cold air blowing towards me the entire time I was eating which wasn’t particularly pleasant. It also took a long while to get a spoon (hands arent strong enough to use chopsticks for a long time) and since no one checked on me after I asked for a spoon I had to wait for the server to face my general direction to get me a spoon - he did actually forgot and I didn’t want to shout for him since I had ppl sitting next and behind me😅
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 4
Service: 3
Justin Margerum
Food is always good so.ill start with that. Staff is immensely rude and I dont think there is any leadership there...a lot of management but definitely no leadership. Owner ( I think she's the owner) is rude. Typically the wait staff is slow and awful, however I did have someone for the first time surprisingly pleasant last week. If you ask what's taking so long it's almost as if they intentionally move slower. Keep an eye on your receipt because sometimes they'll throw in the automatic 20% gratuity without telling you. They demand you leave good tips for their staff, but with the comments and statements they make to about it just shows the owner isn't paying them enough, not that it should be a salaried position. My teenage, 15 yo dauggter went there with her friend, left an 15% tip for horrible service and as they ate walking out the waitress had the nerve to say "is that all you wanted to leave for a tip"?
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 4
Service: 1
Brett Bober
This place has amazing sushi for such a good price. The service is always great and the wait (which isn’t super long) is worth it. Especially if you’re a vegetarian, there are so many great choices!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
David Graham
Incredible vegetarian options!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Jaylin Laurel Margerum
I have been here over a dozen times. Their food is very good and the cheapest high quality sushi in Charlottesville! But unfortunately their bad service has gotten out of hand. They like to publicly display their poor wages for their staff and, are not only rude but will straight up be disrespectful if you don't tip 20% or more. I am a firm believer that if you can't afford to tip you shouldn't be eating out. In the spring I left 15% and I was told "that's it?". I'm sorry but I don't belive rude behavior needs more then 15%.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 4
Service: 1
Patrick Donahue
The avocado and tuna salad was incredible, huge and great value.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Pat Stouffer
Amazing experience including best sushi, attentive waiter, and intimate atmosphere. Can't wait to return.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Sushi Sampler
David Mays
Delicious sushi rolls that were very sizable even for the normal size ones. I couldn't finish three of them. Looking forward to seeing how large the big sushi rolls are advertised on the menu.
Our recent dining experience at Now & Zen offered a delightful mix of dishes, highlighting their strengths with a few areas for potential enhancement. Here’s a closer look:
The Pokebowl was undoubtedly the star of our meal, featuring impeccably fresh ingredients that blended harmoniously to create a truly enjoyable dish. Each component was well-balanced, showcasing the restaurant's commitment to quality and flavor.
While the California Maki showcased creativity by using avocado instead of mangoes, it provided a creamy twist that, while enjoyable, missed the usual fruity sweetness we expected. It’s a unique take that might appeal to those looking for a different flavor profile.
The Tempura Roll, while not as standout as the Pokebowl, still offered a decent crunch and flavor. It complemented the meal well, though it didn’t leave as strong of an impression as some of the other dishes.
The Beef Gyudon pleasantly surprised us with its flavorful combination of tender beef and well-seasoned rice. It was a comforting and satisfying choice that showcased the kitchen’s skill in preparing traditional Japanese dishes.
The only disappointment was the Spicy Ramen, which lacked the depth and richness we anticipated. It resembled instant ramen more than a gourmet bowl, missing the mark compared to the other offerings.
Overall, Now & Zen excels in delivering delicious dishes like the Pokebowl and Beef Gyudon, highlighting their ability to create satisfying flavors. With some adjustments to dishes like the California Maki and Spicy Ramen, they could elevate their entire menu to consistently impressive levels.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 4
Service: 5
Rohan Nagarkar
Portions are large, but there was a disproportionate amount of rice on the rolls. I also found the food to be rather bland.
Food: 2
Betty Jackson Truax
The sushi was amazing (and huge). Plenty of vegetarian choices. Service was super! Will be back (over and over again!)
Lee K
First off, it's very tight getting in. People cannot come in while others are leaving, the tables are very close, so much so it's very easy to hear the other tables conversation and easy to tip their drinks over with your butt when leaving. The restaurant itself was dirty. The windowsill had grime and dirt and I noticed many other spots that were in need of cleaning. They never asked if we wanted to order drinks, they just gave us water. We ordered appetizers before our main entries, and well in advance but some came out first while other's came out after our main dishes.... we ordered 2 types of dumplings and those were the appetizers that came out at different times... why? Many of the sauces were horrible and the yakisoba was the worst I've ever had. Additionally the chicken in the yakisoba was very large and clearly needed to be cut. I'm a huge dumpling and gyoza fan and both were not great either. The harumaki was very large and not constructed well, it seemed sloppy and the taste wasnt very good.... sauce was horrible too. This place is definitely a fusion because it doesn't taste like Japanese. Service wise I had to ask two different people for a fork for my mother in law, and that took a long time to accomplish. Taking a break from my complaints, I will say their Salmon Saviche was very good and the dish was elevated, wanted to at least give that a compliment. On leaving I took several mints and noticed some were in the jar without packaging, yuck! Overall I would encourage people to avoid this place, it's definitely not worth the 4.3 stars it was rated when I looked them up.
Absolutely! Here's a polished version of your review:
Highly recommend!
Great service and an excellent atmosphere. When you visit, definitely try the Lychee Martini and the Tuna Tartare — both are delicious and a must-have!
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4
Yes, Zen and Now can be very tasty, almost authentic. But they need to maintain quality control and take their time preparing dishes. It’s such a popular place it can get frenetic and this is when preparation can miss. Service is fantastic, we have never experienced anything but sweet professionalism and just nice people. My only real gripe is the music is TOO loud - what happened to conversational level volume, that means - in the background! Also, what happened to playing Japanese music?! I’m from San Francisco - the best Japanese food and style…never loud, pleasssse.🙏
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 4
Service: 5
The food is always good here but was not quite pleasantly surprised by the food item pictured below (Oyakodon) It might have just been my misunderstanding of what it was (chicken & egg rice bowl) but the egg was still very slimy, the chicken was surprisingly sweet as was the egg, and the rice tasted like the rice I ate at school but with better texture. Overall a decentish dish. The sushi I did order though was delicious. As for the atmosphere, I unfortunately got seated right in front of their a/c unit so I got cold air blowing towards me the entire time I was eating which wasn’t particularly pleasant. It also took a long while to get a spoon (hands arent strong enough to use chopsticks for a long time) and since no one checked on me after I asked for a spoon I had to wait for the server to face my general direction to get me a spoon - he did actually forgot and I didn’t want to shout for him since I had ppl sitting next and behind me😅
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 4
Service: 3
Food is always good so.ill start with that. Staff is immensely rude and I dont think there is any leadership there...a lot of management but definitely no leadership. Owner ( I think she's the owner) is rude. Typically the wait staff is slow and awful, however I did have someone for the first time surprisingly pleasant last week. If you ask what's taking so long it's almost as if they intentionally move slower. Keep an eye on your receipt because sometimes they'll throw in the automatic 20% gratuity without telling you. They demand you leave good tips for their staff, but with the comments and statements they make to about it just shows the owner isn't paying them enough, not that it should be a salaried position. My teenage, 15 yo dauggter went there with her friend, left an 15% tip for horrible service and as they ate walking out the waitress had the nerve to say "is that all you wanted to leave for a tip"?
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 4
Service: 1
This place has amazing sushi for such a good price. The service is always great and the wait (which isn’t super long) is worth it. Especially if you’re a vegetarian, there are so many great choices!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Incredible vegetarian options!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
I have been here over a dozen times. Their food is very good and the cheapest high quality sushi in Charlottesville! But unfortunately their bad service has gotten out of hand. They like to publicly display their poor wages for their staff and, are not only rude but will straight up be disrespectful if you don't tip 20% or more. I am a firm believer that if you can't afford to tip you shouldn't be eating out. In the spring I left 15% and I was told "that's it?". I'm sorry but I don't belive rude behavior needs more then 15%.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 4
Service: 1
The avocado and tuna salad was incredible, huge and great value.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Amazing experience including best sushi, attentive waiter, and intimate atmosphere. Can't wait to return.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Sushi Sampler
Delicious sushi rolls that were very sizable even for the normal size ones. I couldn't finish three of them. Looking forward to seeing how large the big sushi rolls are advertised on the menu.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 3
Restaurantji Recommends
Our recent dining experience at Now & Zen offered a delightful mix of dishes, highlighting their strengths with a few areas for potential enhancement. Here’s a closer look:
The Pokebowl was undoubtedly the star of our meal, featuring impeccably fresh ingredients that blended harmoniously to create a truly enjoyable dish. Each component was well-balanced, showcasing the restaurant's commitment to quality and flavor.
While the California Maki showcased creativity by using avocado instead of mangoes, it provided a creamy twist that, while enjoyable, missed the usual fruity sweetness we expected. It’s a unique take that might appeal to those looking for a different flavor profile.
The Tempura Roll, while not as standout as the Pokebowl, still offered a decent crunch and flavor. It complemented the meal well, though it didn’t leave as strong of an impression as some of the other dishes.
The Beef Gyudon pleasantly surprised us with its flavorful combination of tender beef and well-seasoned rice. It was a comforting and satisfying choice that showcased the kitchen’s skill in preparing traditional Japanese dishes.
The only disappointment was the Spicy Ramen, which lacked the depth and richness we anticipated. It resembled instant ramen more than a gourmet bowl, missing the mark compared to the other offerings.
Overall, Now & Zen excels in delivering delicious dishes like the Pokebowl and Beef Gyudon, highlighting their ability to create satisfying flavors. With some adjustments to dishes like the California Maki and Spicy Ramen, they could elevate their entire menu to consistently impressive levels.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 4
Service: 5
Portions are large, but there was a disproportionate amount of rice on the rolls. I also found the food to be rather bland.
Food: 2
The sushi was amazing (and huge). Plenty of vegetarian choices. Service was super! Will be back (over and over again!)
First off, it's very tight getting in. People cannot come in while others are leaving, the tables are very close, so much so it's very easy to hear the other tables conversation and easy to tip their drinks over with your butt when leaving. The restaurant itself was dirty. The windowsill had grime and dirt and I noticed many other spots that were in need of cleaning. They never asked if we wanted to order drinks, they just gave us water. We ordered appetizers before our main entries, and well in advance but some came out first while other's came out after our main dishes.... we ordered 2 types of dumplings and those were the appetizers that came out at different times... why? Many of the sauces were horrible and the yakisoba was the worst I've ever had. Additionally the chicken in the yakisoba was very large and clearly needed to be cut. I'm a huge dumpling and gyoza fan and both were not great either. The harumaki was very large and not constructed well, it seemed sloppy and the taste wasnt very good.... sauce was horrible too. This place is definitely a fusion because it doesn't taste like Japanese. Service wise I had to ask two different people for a fork for my mother in law, and that took a long time to accomplish. Taking a break from my complaints, I will say their Salmon Saviche was very good and the dish was elevated, wanted to at least give that a compliment. On leaving I took several mints and noticed some were in the jar without packaging, yuck! Overall I would encourage people to avoid this place, it's definitely not worth the 4.3 stars it was rated when I looked them up.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 3
Best sushi I've ever had.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 5
Service: 5
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