Zed 451

I wanted to buy a $100 gift card as a gift to my parents for their anniversary, and the process was rather complicated and frustrating. The website says to call either your nearest location or a specific phone number to purchase a gift card, so I called my nearest location. I was told to call the alternate number on the website. I called the number and the person who answered sounded like he had never received an inquiry about a gift card before. He said, ""Um.... I think you have to call the restaurant - I'm in California. I don't really know how that would work."" I told him the restaurant had directed me to call him and he still told me to call the restaurant. I asked if the only way to buy a gift card was to go to the physical location and he said ""Maybe the restaurant could fax you a credit card authorization form, you could fill it out, fax it back to them, then they could mail you a gift card."" I told him that process would take too long and I don't own a fax machine, and his only suggestion was to call the restaurant again. A few days later I went to the physical store to buy my gift card, thinking it would take 10 minutes at most. I walked in and the manager greeted me and walked me to the bar to purchase the gift card. He got the attention of a bartender and she said she would handle it. I ended up sitting at the bar for 20 minutes, waiting for someone to help me. The bartender never asked anyone to get a gift card and continued to make drinks while I sat there. After 10 minutes she said ""Are you still waiting for a gift card?"" and I said ""Yes, the manager said I could buy it from you."" She said ""I have to get a manager for that,"" and continued to make drinks. Another bartender saw that I had been waiting and asked if I was waiting for a gift card. I said yes and he said something to the female bartender before walking away. 5 minutes later a different manager brought me a gift card. I was less than enthused to be handing over $100 at this point. It was too late to change my parents' reservation to another location - but I would have if I had the option. It would be in the restaurant's best interest to make it as simple as possible for customers to spend money there. more

I have eaten dinner here a couple times and the food and look and feel is outstanding. I love everything about Zed 451. Had a guest in town and decided to try it out for Sunday Brunch and the food was great from the salad bar to the all you can eat table delivered meats and brunch items. Pros: Amazing selection and great service more

My boyfriend and I took his brother who was visiting from out of town. We had the best time ever, he was impressed and said there were no brazilian stake houses like that in California. Food, ambiance, and drinks were amazing and worth the price! The one con is it was packed but as busy as it was they still managed to give great service! Pros: beautiful, excellent service Cons: busy more

So get over it people, it is a beautiful place with crazy views. Pros: Beautiful, stunning views Cons: Spendy, Surly, Snippy more

Oh my gosh! If you enjoy beautiful architecture and delicious food, you have got to go ZED. I love, absolutely love, the cranberry spiced old fashioned. And I can't begin to describe the food. I mean fresh grilled fish, perfectly medium rare meat (just the way I like it), perfectly moist cornbread. I really couldn't get enough...I even had to help myself to some dessert, which I have renamed chocolate heaven. This is the perfect place to come if you are in the mood to indulge in a great meal. Pros: Food, cocktails, architecture more

Went to Zed451 to celebrate my wedding anniversary and was EXTREMELY disappointed. The service was lousy at best as our waitress not helpful at all. When we began our meal, the servers seemed to all flock to our table at once. After about 10 minutes of that, they rarely came back. We asked our waitress if she could send some servers over who were carrying the meats that we enjoyed most. They NEVER came. The salad bar was OK but pales in comparison to other Brazilian style steak houses. We dropped $150 and were COMPLETELY unsatisfied. If your looking for a similar style restaurant in this area, I'd suggest Brazzaz. Don't go to ZED451 if your looking for quality service and a wide variety. Pros: decor and ambience Cons: service, salad bar selection and value more

I had a business meeting at Zed tonight and the service and food was horrible. I would not recommend this place to anyone. There are so many other great place to go in Chicago with much better service. Drinks and food are way over priced for what you get. The management is out of touch with what is needed for good customer service. We had an issue with food /drinks after spending $1000.00 and they were unwilling to discuss or address our issues. If you want a good dinner in the city avoid ZED the food/management is out of touch!! Pros: nice roof top Cons: service and food is way over price for what is delivered more

The service was wonderful, and the shuttle bus makes you believe your'e a celebrity! It very spacious anc cute! Pros: You are sure to have a good time. more

The food was ok, atmosphere nice, but the rude service was too the extreme. Made people in our party feel awkward. The upstairs staff was so judgmental after our party dropped over $1000 on our bill...they wouldn't let them go upstairs on the deck. There wasn't a line at this time and the deck was not full. They will find when the summer ends, their hotspot will be a new spot. Too bad they didn't treat the locals nice enough to want to go back! All around disappointed! more

First of all, there is a free shuttle bus that picks you up if you are staying at a hotel downtown (something to know). There was a group of 6 of us (were expecting 9) on a Friday night and everyone was accomodating: from the hostess, to the chefs and wait staff. My friend was about to leave because we were late to join her, and the staff took notice of her waiting by the entry and when they saw she was leaving, they talked her into staying and gave her a free drink (she was impressed that they even cared). The downstairs lounge was busy yet service was still exceptional. The rooftop lounge gets crowded early, so if you're not a part of the after-work crowd, be expecting to wait an hour or two. We were seated in the upstairs dining room in our own little area (thoughtful for our large group). The hostess wasn't even tiffed that 3 of our guests were no-shows. Pros: Service, free shuttle offered by the restaurant, fix-prix menu Cons: crowded more

I dined at Zed 451 on a recent trip to Chicago and while a beautiful restaurant, the experience overall was, EHH! The concept reminds me of Brazilian Style dining, however, the food offerings didn't excite me - nothing was super delish, just a dressed up salad bar and meat. The bar and upstairs scene was very cute and good for people watching although a little crowded. Pros: Pretty Restaurant and Scene Cons: Food is weak more

I don't recommend this as a destination as much as I recommend it as a ""stop along the way"". This place has a gorgeous rooftop terrace (be prepared to wait as much as an hour as they only allow 2 - 3 people in at a time, based on capacity) and the specialty drinks are delicious. The scene is great and there are always good looking people coming to relax after work. During the cold months, head inside to the bar on the 1st floor to sample the nice cheese and meat platter near the fireplace. As for the actual dinner - underwhelming. Pros: good looking crowd, delicious drinks (blackberry mojito) Cons: unbearably long wait to sit on the rooftop terrace (come early, you can't make reservations upstairs) more

I have eaten twice at the Zed in downtown Chicago and both times had a disapointing experience. The ""head"" waiter was young, inexperienced and completely untrained...the rest of the dining room staff was much better.. on both occasions, the hostess at the front desk told people in my party that we had not been seated and directed them to the bar, where they sat waiting for us for 20 minutes. the only problem was: both times we had been seated. is this some ploy to get people to spend more money at the bar?? not good policy.. as for the food, the first time we were there, our server never told us about the salad bar area... while the meat was plentiful, it was just passable and way too salty. with so many great restaurants in chicago, there is absolutely no reason to dine at zed. more

I've never been to a churasceria and I don't even actually eat red meat or pork but I still think Zed 451 is a great place to go on a date or with a group. The atmosphere is cool and the roof deck is impeccably designed for relaxing and socializing. As for the food and drinks, the cocktails are refreshingly made with fresh juices and fruits that are delectable. The harvest bar has so many salads, fresh charcuterie, cheeses and vegetables that you need to be careful not to fill up. As for the meats, my date loved them all and the mediteranean chicken was awesome. For the price that incudes amuse bouche, salads and all the meat you can eat is a steal. My one complaint is that the clientele needs to dress better. T-shirts and jeans are inappropriate for anywhere but McDonald's. Pros: Great food and drinks Cons: remember to confirm your reservation or they delete it more

If you're looking for a new brunch spot, I would definitely recommend ZED 451. It's the perfect kind of food (and a lot of it) when you're making this your biggest meal of the day. Pairing it with a Bloody Mary is also the way to go. My friend had another ""brunchy"" cocktail and we both were in heaven. Honestly, this is the place to be to sit back, chill out and start your Sunday off on the right foot! Pros: space, cocktails, service and menu more

I came here with a friend the 2nd night it opened. We really were only going for drinks but the food looked so good we decided to eat there. All I can say is wow. Generally I'm the type to wait at least a month before trying a new place while they work out the kinks but I was seriously impressed. Not ony was the food ridiculously good and interesting, the service was excellent. The price for a churrascaria is generally about the same (here or anywhere else) in this city so I don't know why anyone would say it's overpriced. You can also just do the harvest tables for less money, I believe. Eventhough we were stuffed to the gills we still ordered dessert and again WOW. Who can pass up molten chocolate cake? I can't and glad I didn't. By the time we finished they almost had to roll me out of there. Loved the raspberry mojitos too. Can't wait to get up on the roof deck once the weather gets nicer. Pros: Great food, great service, great use of space, valet (parking lots are nearby too) more

My wife and I went to Zed 451 last night to celebrate an early Mother's Day. When we arrived at the restaurant, we were impressed with the atmosphere of the restaurant and the staff was very friendly. There was a slight mixup when we were looking for a table (waiter told us we could sit at a table that there were people already sitting, but were at the firepit area getting salad, cheeses, etc.). When we did get to our table, the waiter also failed to mention what the protocol was with the 2 stones in the middle of the table. Someone walking around (the owner?) asked us how we were doing, and explained that once we were finished with the ""buffet:"" part of the meal, we could place a stone near the corner of the table, and that's when the table service starts for the skewered meat. In all, I am not trying to complain about the service. I feel that we got excellent service, and everyone seemed very friendly and warm. The risk with any churrascaria type restaurants are that the meat is not warm when it comes to your table (not a problem here, meat was at right temperature) and that the quality of the meat is subpar. It's the quality of the meat that I had a problem with. It was either overcooked, or not as flavorful as I had hoped. In total, I rate the restaurant 3 stars, but there are other churrascaria restaurants in Chicago that I could visit before Zed 451 for the price. Pros: Service, Atmosphere, Temperature of Food Cons: Quality of Meat more

This place isn't perfect, but it seems like it's trying to be. I'd triedhis place based on a number of reviews I'd seen elsewhere and all of them seem to focus on the renovation. It's true it's georgous. No question. Though some of it's choices are odd to say the least. There is a really bad painting on one wall of a hick and a fire in the field in the backgroud that looks like it was painted by a high school kid. This place is the kind of place where I felt even the price though not really expensive was a little daunting, until I ate there. The value was phenominal. I found all sorts of new gourmet foods I'd never heard of before. one of my favorites was the red wine poach pears with gorgonzola and pecans. I was impressed. I could go on and on about all the different food choices, but that's really the point. I never had an issue with any of it, but even better, I wasn't stuck with any one thing.,.. And most of us who love food, have paid $80 per person for a high end steak meal, and even a few we weren't impressed with. This place adjusts to you, and offers you so many choices, that you can't really go wrong. The even had Venison and Duck to offer. I don't love duck or lamb personally, But I tried them anyway, why?, because it didn't cost me anything more to try them. Best parts of the ""chef selections"" in my opinion were the Parmesean crusted pork loin, and the Mahi that was tempura dusted with the mango salsa. Now, I'm not a professional reviewer, and have no intention of ever being one. But this place opened only a week ago, and it's kind of daunting, so I thought I would clue you guys in. Also if your interested in a summer coctail. The bourbon ginger lemonade was awesome. I ended up drinking 3. So crisp and clean, and refreshing. Also the Dessert was great too. We split the Butterscotch bread pudding. Man that's what butterscotch should taste like. Our servers name was Andrew, we're going to request him again next time we go. Pros: Complex flavors, Geat service, Great Coctails Cons: Parking kind of expensive, but not for the area more