Zest Kitchen & Bar

We wanted to try out the new vegetarian and vegan joint, Zest, as their cocktail menu looked intriguing and they bill themselves as offering "globally inspired seasonal cuisine featuring organic, local, sustainable ingredients, when available".  That sounded like it had potential.  Zest is located in the spot that used to house Acme Burger.  The decor has not changed too much - but about 1/3rd of the space is now evidently a dance floor complete with DJ booth.  

We thought we'd start with a couple of small plates and drinks.  I asked for some ideas and we were told that the parmesan stuffed mushrooms were the most popular item on the menu.  We also ordered the sweet potato fries.  I ordered the jalepeno margarita as well.

We thought that the staff at Zest was friendly.  Unfortunately the food was really, really bad.  The mushrooms really had zero flavor and we had trouble finding any parmesan in them.  The baked sweet potato fries were a stack of baked sweet potato devoid of seasoning.  Off!

So they can't cook - but maybe the mixologist at Zest could save the day?  Restaurants that turn into night clubs perhaps trend towards drink-focused, so I had hopes for the "bar" half of the menu.  Unfortunately, the jalepeno margarita tasted like you had muddled some jarred peppers into a glass of Cuervo margarita mix.  Just a sugary bomb.  Given the skills that are on display lately in the SLC bar scene at places like Pallet, Finca, The Wild Grape and Bar X - it's impossible not to come down hard on Zest.

Given that it was St. Patrick's day, I decided to have a Jameson and call it good.

The Verdict? I like to be constructive with my feedback but sometimes you gotta hope that restauranteurs will just cash it in and make space for someone else.  The space currently occupied by Zest is such a nice location that I'm hoping we'll eventually see a tenant that lives up to its potential.