Zely & Ritz

My husband and I received a gift certificate to this restaurant and it was totally worth the drive from Durham. Even my husband, a die-hard ""Meat and potatoes"" kind of guy, was pleased. The food is fresh and flavorful and even a little exciting. If you eat a full-blown meal here, it can get a little pricey, but the experience is totally worth it. The service was helpful, friendly, and very pleasant. The wine selection is outstanding and the servers we've had (we even went back without a gift certificate) steered us toward the perfect wine to complement our meal. They have a wide selection of delectable homemade ice creams too. more

This place was great! Believe the positive reviews: The goat cheese and lentil starter was excellent, as were the sweet and savory desserts. I took a family member who came into town here and we all had a great dining experience. Quality organic food doesn't come cheap, but this is a great place for a treat! I've never left a review on citysearch, but this place has compelled a review. I'm looking forward to a second trip! Pros: Food, Ambience, Service Cons: Leave your kids at home, small space more

I must say that the ambience was delightful with hand-crafted beaded lizards sneaking down from the light fixtures. It is a cozy and unique atmosphere. Our waitress was very attentive and friendly. As for the menu, I will say that we were surprised. While the menu is technically tapas, I would refer to this restaurant as a la carte. There are entrees (sea scallops) and then you order your starch and salad separately. An entree plus side and salad would run about $35. Pros: Ambience Cons: Food more

I feel compelled to write about the amazing meal we had at this establishment recently. Truly, every dish was wonderful and we loved the fact that everything came from local vendors and farmers - that is a big plus! We tried many different entrees and we were not disappointed once. While we are not big wine drinkers, the offerings looked extensive. After recently returning from a buying trip in Europe, we have been used to amazing meals and flavors. We were not disapponted in this regard. We highly recommend this restaurant. Pros: Wonderful, fresh & unique locally grown flavors. more

I travel a lot and am always looking for a great meal that uses fresh local and hopefully organic ingredients. If I could dream a restaurant, this would be it. The dishes were very unique with lots of local fresh items including very hard to find pasture raised meats and even heritage breed pork chops. Try the pork chop here and you'll never look at pork as the other white me again. I came with a small group and we got to sit at the big communal table which was jsut perfect for us because it let us talk easily and share the many small plates that we ordered. We had the pampano wrapped in garlic leaves, pork chop, osso bucca, cheese plate, and a risotto with sausage that is probably the best I have ever eat anywhere. They also had an amazing wine list an then to top it off the desserts were very unique and incredibly tasty. When you go, save room for the pine nut tart -- its different, but just out of this world tasty. I saw some other reviewers say it was expensive. I disagree. Food this good in other cities can cost twice this much. If you think paying $9.00 for a delicious organic ingredient appetizer is expensive, then you're not used to eating top quality organic food. For most of the dishes we had, I would not have been able to buy the ingredients at Whole Foods for the same price, much less cook it that creatively and serve it in such a friendly environment. This is my new favorite restaurant in Raleigh. Pros: fresh local organic ingredients, very friendly service Cons: bar was a little small more

Being a connoisseur of fine dining and a newcomer to the RTP area, I decided to check out Z & R based on a colleague's suggestion. I've been fortunate to have lived on the west coast and have eaten at some outstanding tapas orientated restaurants over the years, and would consider myself familiar with authentic tapas and fine spanish cuisine. Unfortunately, nothing on Z & R's ridiculously overpriced menu is even remotely anywhere near decent tapas- both in quality and price. Pros: Small, Quiet, Intimate Setting with Outstanding Wine List in Downtown Raleigh Cons: Overpriced, Under Proportioned, Over Salted, Over Seasoned and Over Cooked Food more

Outstanding place to go with a girlfriend. I was impressed from the moment I sent foot inside this place. Great food, great atmosphere, excellent staff and service. Very unique menu, which makes it enjoyable to share. I went with a friend and we decided we'll make it a regular visit. You won't be sorry. Pros: excellent menu, service more

This is not a traditional tapas restaurant - I think it's only resemblance to tapas is the style of eating - which is several different small plates to share. However, the food is REALLY good - inventive, flavorful, different combinations of ingredients, and lots of organic produce. BUT, be prepared to pay a lot more money than you are used to for tapas. For two, with a bottle of wine, our bill was over $100. Unlike other reviewers, we definitely left full. (C'mon most other restaurants serve portions that are disgustinly large and really not as good). Despite the price, I love coming to this restaurant - friendly and warm atmosphere, good service, and flavorful food. Also, the wine list is interesting and reasonably priced. Definitely check out their ""wine dinners"" which they host with a winery and pair 5-6 entrees with different wines - a really great deal. Pros: Tasty food Cons: Price more

We had a wonderful experience last night at Zely & Ritz. We found the menu inovative and very satisfying. I am bewildered by the last few negative reviews. Any restaurant using fresh ingredients would not be able to offer pages and pages of menu items. I would take a limited number of choices over a ""can opener/microwave oven"" kitchen any day. It's the price you pay for quality - otherwise you may be happier at Applebees. This is not your typical tapas restaurant - I consider it much more upscale with a lot more character. I found the pricing to be in line with any good restaurant. I highy recommend Zely & Ritz. more

I'm very rarely inspired to write a restaurant review, be it positive or negative, but after paying 82 bucks (before tip) for a sub-par dinner for two, I feel compelled to warn the general epicurean public of this poor excuse for a restaurant. Pros: nice paintings on walls, waitress was friendly Cons: Small portions, low quality food, high prices more

Our dinner at Zely & Ritz was my first tapas experience, and at the time I thought it was not bad. Two of the dishes we ordered were very good (the lamb and the creamy risotto) , most were alright, two were disappointing. Since I don't eat seafood my choices felt very limited, but I assumed this was representative of your average tapas menu. Our service was nice enough - our waitress was nice and helpful and not judgmental of the fact that we were tapas virgins. No complaints there. My martini was fine - nothing to write home about. But then a few weeks later, we went to a tapas bar in Savannah, GA, that puts Z&R to shame. The menu was pages and pages long, giving us so many choices that it took us over half an hour to decide which delicious dishes to choose. And every bite of every amazing dish was to die for. If you're paying so much money for such small portions, shouldn't the food be dynamite? We'll probably skip Zely & Ritz in the future and try Raleigh's other tapas offerings. Pros: Some of the dishes Cons: Some of the other dishes more

I brought The Triangle Singles Dining Out Group here for a dining out social... There were 20 of us... We were told we would be at a communal table, which I thought was great... I assumed it was a large restuarant, especially because they had this lg. table to accomodate our crowd... Pros: Drinks were good Cons: Tiny portions, expensive for what you got, rude staff more

After reading the positive ratings about Zely & Ritz five other friends and I decided to check it out but were really disappointed. After being seated at a table and handed our menus we were still in the process of deciding what to eat/drink when our waiter rudely came to us and said ""If you guys are not going to stay let me know so I can seat other people"" we were all in shock and lost for words. She never handed us a drink menu or made any recommendations as what to eat since it was all our first times there. We ended up going next door to Sushi Blues where we are regulars and you can never go wrong but were very disappointed to the way we were treated. It was probably for the better since the menu was way overpriced for a tapas bar. I still would have liked to try the food and the atmosphere was nice but I do not have much to say for the rude service. Pros: atmosphere Cons: service more

My girlfriends and I recently met at Zely and Ritz to eat and catch up. We had a great time ordering different things to share. Something for everyone, and the fresh produce makes it perfect for vegetarians! Pros: local organic produce, varied menu, atmosphere more

The dishes were very imaginative, but the selection was limited. I understand the whole ""organic tapas"" angle, but I was just looking for an enjoyable and filling meal. While the food was decent, the portions were petite (even if you follow the recommendations for ordering). Also, the fact that the food was organic meant very little to me, and the idea of ""organic"" seafood makes me laugh. However, the biggest problem for this place is the service. Part of what makes a restaurant ""upscale,"" is excellent service. In short, the service was far from excellent. Pros: Ambience, Wine list Cons: Service, Comfort more

One of the best organic restaurants I've ever tried. We are so glad to see a good restaurant in that location. We will miss them for lunch.... Pros: good parking, friendly owners, unique design Cons: sometimes crowded more

We dined at this restuarant recenty. I felt the value of this restaurant is very low. When I think of Tappas I think of a very large selection of items. This restaurant has 5-9 appetizers, 5-9 ""entree"" plates, and 5-9 vegetables. In order to have a reasonable you need to pick one from each .. but the pricing of the entree selections prohibits selection of 2 items .. so the Tappas feeling is lost. Pros: wine Cons: seating comfort, tappas selection more

Had about 10 tapas from the menu.Each one was unique and flavouful.Would def. return.Great cocktails as well. more

I love to eat here, I have been atleast 6 times since they have been open. Each time everything was perfect. The staff, atmosphere, food, and especially the food. LOVE IT! more

I've been for dinner and for lunch and always left very happy! The staff are knowledgeable and friendly. The food is *excellent*...the only problem at dinner can be trying to narrow down which of the small plates to try, since they all sound so good! There are plenty of vegetarian options, which is refreshing-especially in a tapas kind of environment. When you're dining out with a party of two or more non-carnivores, it's SO nice to have enough choices that all the vegetarians don't all have to eat the same thing! From what I remember, there are plenty of meaty options as well, so everyone can go home happy and sated. Great atmosphere, great wine, too! more