Let me first tell you that until last Saturday I didn’t know Roselands was a suburb. I just thought it was a shopping centre.
There is plenty of street parking in Roselands, and I was able to park right outside ZIA. This was both a blessing and a curse as I then felt the need to sit at an outside table so that I could keep my eye on my car and make sure no shenanigans happened to it. I’ve never felt the need to do this before but this time the need overwhelmed me. I would come to realise, while writing browsing their website for this review, that there is significant room inside, as well as a nice garden.
Service was pretty bad! It took a long time to be seated, and an even longer time still for a waitress to come and notice that we hadn’t been given any menus. Table water was a precious resource, with only small Duralex cups being offered, and no bottle or jug of water to pour from ourselves. We were only offered water twice during our lunch, and I also saw our fellow diners sit with empty glasses of water for significant periods of time. This was complicated by the fact that it was an extremely sunny day, and that we were directly under some outdoor heaters.
There were a few other service related problems that were too small to mention. I know I’ve spent a lot of words on the above, but I’m not normally a service-oriented guy so to be so put out by the service was a new experience.
The Braised Wagyu Beef Rib ($23) with zucchini smash, truffle, greens, hassleback potato, poached egg, beef jus was very good. The waitress asked me how I wanted my beef which I thought was odd because it’s really only a small amount of beef rib. The beef was tender and the zucchini and greens were a welcome addition to my mostly meat based diet. I could not identify any physical truffle, perhaps it was just oil, but I cannot confirm. The potato to other-food ratio was a bit high. My girlfriend asked me to bring her home a serving, which she didn’t enjoy. She said it was too truffly. I disagree.
My vegetarian friend/colleague had the Wild Mushroom ($18) with whipped goat’s cheese, truffle pumpkin puree, pine nuts, sourdough toast, served with a soft poached egg. I had some of the goat’s cheese and mushroom, which were both good. I can’t tell you if the cheese is whipped in house or if it comes like this. My friend was satisfied with her meal but also hypo-hydrated.
At the end of the day I thought that ZIA served a pretty good meal. I just wish that we they weren’t so stingy on the tap water. I think I’d go again, and I think that I’d recommend ZIA to a friend or colleague. Maybe ignore the concerns about the car and just sit inside though.
Z.I.A Kitchen
+61 2 9750 5122
62 Canarys Road, Roselands NSW