Don't even know where to start with the raves for this little Jewel! For starters Grilled baby octopus Phenomenal! So many flavors popping. Wagyu Beef Carpaccio delicious. Curried Grilled Lobster incredible Murder Point Oysters absolutely on point! Sautéed Halibut simply lovely Last but not least crème brûlée out of this world! Service was amazing! Could not have asked for a better night out with friends. Highly recommend read more

Zasu - Chef Susan You're the best! Thank you for such an amazing dinner. With VIP service. - New American Near Me - New Orleans, Louisiana

Best dinner in NOLA! Sophisticated, subtle, multi-layered flavors. Serving from a cute little house on Carrollton, it's sexy, comfortable and unpretentious. The bartender's specialty, the Old Fashioned w Absinthe (!) was smooth as butter! Agnolotti appetizer was the best I've ever had! Beef Bourguigone and Red Snapper were stand-outs! Olive oil corn cake dessert was light and delicious. Chef Sue has created a welcome alternative to the big, bold NOLA flavors! You must try! read more

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Going to this place first for my NOLA trip just ruined the rest of my trip. Because no where else could compare! First off the decor and the hospitality is 10/10. I love the green and everyone was the best at getting people served and at the same time turn tables fast enough to get people in and out (very small space). The entree dish I had was the goulper and I keep dreaming of this fish. It was so moist and flaky and the sauce that accompanied it was heavenly. Must get this!! Also they had a special of corn soup and it tasted like corn potage I was so amazed. Thank you again Zasu for setting my expectations too high for the rest of my trip. Nothing else compared. read more

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One of the best meals I've had in New Orleans...ever. The chef was fantastic and she stopped by the tables to greet her guests. The staff was charming and the decor is beautiful and lush even in its simplicity. (The Jason Horton painting was perfection) However, it is ALL ABOUT the food! The lobster curry app and the grilled octopus app were incredible. The radish, parsnip, and hazelnut salad was something totally new for me. For our mains: the potato & mushroom pierogi was killer as was the grilled snapper with white beans. Yummm! Lastly, the passion fruit creme Brûlée, and the chocolate pot was the best way to end the meal. read more

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Charming, intimate place a couple of miles from the French Quarter on the Canal Street streetcar line. Friendly and efficient service. The menu is creative and very well executed. We had octopus and scallop starters, followed by short ribs for me and a trout special for my wife. All delicious, with ample assorted vegetable garnish. Wines by the glass were well matched. For dessert, we shared a rich chocolate almond budino. Two thumbs up. read more

Delicious! Short ribs were out of this world. Love the monochromatic interior. Cozy and cool with great service. All the food was good. Probably the best meal we had in New Orleans, highly recommend. read more

Good food. Terrible price. The staff is friendly and the interior decor is up to par. Bring a full wallet and leave with an empty stomach.

Zasu has been on my list of places to try for quite a while. I was excited when they started doing their to go meals, however the majority contained some component with meat (which I don't eat). I was thrilled when I saw this past week's menu did not! The star of the meal was definitely the local drum wrapped in a banana leaf! I also loved the poached shrimp dish! The instructions were easy to follow and quick! I also want to add in that they are doing curbside delivery and when I arrived they were so fast! Everyone that we interacted with could not have been nicer! I'm already looking forward to future menus (which they do post to Instagram each week)! read more

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Cool space, great food with fantastic flavor and artful presentation, enjoyed by locals read more

Zasu - Cod special - New American Near Me - New Orleans, Louisiana

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Incredibly creative dishes that took advantage of the seafood from the gulf (one of the best red snappers I ever had). Great drinks. Waitress was meh but other servers pitched in and made up for it. Great deserts too! read more

An absolutely delicious and Fantastic spot! I went for my birthday dinner and enjoyed the food, the atmosphere, and the delightful cocktails. read more

Omg! What a totally unexpected delight. Cannot wait to return. 1st class from arrival till departure. Only gripe was my reservation time was not honored. It was nearly 30 mins after before we were seated at this restaurant that 'charges' for no shows??? read more

Last night was yet another reminder of how a poor first impression by the front end personnel can sour even a James Beard winner's cuisine. And it did. What should be a welcoming greeting came off as a condescending roadblock. Did we appear to be out of place? As 60-something foodies, with a reservation, I would say "no". Inappropriately casual? Again, no. So we were both at a loss for the frigid greeting. I could address the food and this chef's ability to create a symphony on the palate, but what's the point? With all of the choices this city has to offer, and as natives who can afford to enjoy as many as we like, we don't need to endure leathery behavior in order to indulge in the culinary delights of our home. read more

May be the best meal I have ever had in New Orleans. Outstanding service. Phenomenal food. Unbelievable!

Amazing dining experience. Cocktails were great, food was excellent and the ambiance was just right. Would recommend to anyone coming to visit. Some of the best food I've ever had. read more

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I really wanted to like this restaurant but it just fell flat for me. It definitely gets a 5 for drinks and ambiance -- it's a nice little spot with dim lighting that would be perfect for date night. However, the prices are too high and the portions are too small. Normally I can get behind this if the food is incredible, but considering we were paying $30 per plate the taste was pretty mediocre. We ordered the grilled octopus appetizer and I think there were maybe 5 pieces of octopus in the entire dish hidden amongst the potatoes and peppers. I also ordered the short rib and the butternut squash soup and neither of them really wow-ed me. I hope this restaurant will either improve its dishes or increase their portions to make the price worth it! read more

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My grouper was delicious and the appetizer tempura mushrooms are so good. Short ribs with goal cheese polenta amazing. Friendly wait staff! Good wine selection! read more

The food is absolute perfection. The service staff offered impeccable service. The chef is a James Beard award winner and you can sense that fact by the innate desire to lick your plate. I highly recommend you order each course...it will save you time when you order more food in the middle of your meal. I will be back! read more

Man this place was SO BOMB. I eat at a lot of restaurants of this caliber, a lot. Most of which have been in Austin (where I've lived the past few years) but, I've definitely been around. This was my first experience at a nice dinner here in Nola and man it couldn't have gone better. We were a party of 3 and sat close to the back corner of the dining room. Our server I believe was named Allie, though, I'm not entirely sure on that. Our reservation was for 7:30 on a Monday night. Not gonna lie it was surprisingly dead at that time, but picked up later on in the night. I guess that's just the city? Y'all a bunch of night owls huh. We ordered quite a bit, I'm going to rattle off most of it here; the octopus, fettuccine, pork cheeks, soup (miso butternut squash with shrimp), the Pierogies, the short rib, and the off-menu special for the night which was a halibut dish. Oh yeah and we got all 3 deserts, the tart, the semifreddo, and the Budino. The starters were good, the white anchovy butter, I think that's what it was, on the fettuccine was awesome but I would have liked more on the dish just because it was so good, ended up scooping the bottom of the bowl to get all the last bits. Octopus was great, obviously very spanish but, that's only a good thing, and the pork cheeks were good too. I always like seeing turnips on a menu but, and I've even had turnips on some of the menus of restaurants I've cooked for, they're pretty hard to make a player in a dish. They went a bit unnoticed? Okay on to the soup. Fantastic. The texture was perfect, super smooth but thick enough to have substance if that makes sense. Sometimes they (other places) over blend and make it too thin or even watery in an attempt to smooth it out, or they run it through a chinois/China cap like 80 times and you loose a bit of that goodness along with it. Not this soup, it was perfect. And miso is kinda tough to balance too (obviously not for the pros in the back). Sometimes it's not noticeable enough, yet it can also very easily overpower something. Nah this was amazing though. The service was awesome too, the timing of all the courses were spot on, except the mains came out a touch touch late but that's just because the soup was gone in 30 seconds tops. And the server was there exactly when we needed her while still maintaining a good distance to not feel overattentive, which is all too common when a restaurant is having a slow evening. Ok so for the entree my mother and I both really wanted to order the halibut but felt as though it would be a waste since we likely won't come back to Nola for a very long time, so we wanted to order more variety and just share everything. Halibut was undoubtably a great call. Love me them mushrooms. Braised beef short ribs are braised beef short ribs. I don't want to take any credit away from the chefs but, anyone classically trained knows what's up with that kind of dish. And yeah, it too, was very well done. The pierogies were a last minute decision. Of all the items on their menu, this was the one I thought had the highest chance of being a miss. Dear god was I wrong. The PERFECT level of... crunch? Crisp? That texture was exactly what I would have wanted it to be. And oh my god that preserved lemon creme fraiche?????? That dish was crazy, we were fighting over those damn things. I don't want to write too much on the deserts because I'm a lightweight and the Oaxacan heat and glass of sauv blanc were enough to make anything taste good. Also, once you get into the groove of a really nice dinner with good company and a good general restaurant vibe, that's enough to make anything taste a bit better. I already think maybe this review is a bit too positive lol, not that I have any reason to say that, Zasu is awesome and deserves the praise. Check this place out for sure. Wish we could have seen the rest of their menu. Hamachi crudo is super trendy right now and where I'm from it's on every menu ever so we passed on it or else I would have been interested. Seeing how they did the halibut, and just based on what I've read of this kitchen, I somewhat regret not trying the snapper or the king salmon. And as I always say, salads are for regulars. They have their place, and they're a testament to a kitchens ability to get creative and make something so common, interesting and new (or prove how well they can execute the classics). But again, I'm an out of towner so, I'm aiming for the big hitters. Okay I need to stop typing. Eat here. read more

PHENOMENAL! The food was top notch. Our waiter was excellent. Haven't had a meal this outstanding in a while. We will be back. Everything we ordered was amazing. So happy we chose Zasu for date night! read more

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Zasu was absolutely incredible From start to finish. The entries rotate often but the octopus starter is a crowd favorite and I couldn't wait to try it during my visit! It. Was. Incredible!!! The space is inside is also beautiful so it makes for a great date night. read more

Zasu - Octopus - New American Near Me - New Orleans, Louisiana

We visited many fine dining establishments during our 2 month stay in New Orleans. Zasu was our favorite overall. The inventive combinations of flavors, attentive service, and intimate atmosphere were unique among the places we visited. Prices were high but not unreasonable for this type of meal. Wine list was excelkent and diverse, and the meal itself included tender baby octopus and a gem lettuce with tahini ranch dressing that were delicious and unusual. Dishes were gently spiced and sauced to emphasize the flavor of the food, not the inventiveness of the chef. read more

I picked this spot for my annual visit to New Orleans after seeing it on Eater 38's hottest list and hearing about the James Beard award winning chef. The service and wine was absolutely fantastic -- but the food was a solid 4 stars, not 5 -- perhaps because I expected more based on the reviews and being in New Orleans. Everything we ate -- from the octopus, to the poached shrimp, to the crusted grouper with crawfish, to the snapper with Indonesian curry -- was perfectly prepared. But it was just missing flavor and wow factor. There wasn't really any spice to anything, including the curry, which is surprising for New Orleans. The crawfish on the grouper could have had more of a decadent étouffée consistency, so I wouldn't be missing the hot dog sauce at Dat Dog. The curry could definitely use a bit more of a kick, even though it was very good. The shrimp were tender and very good, but not memorable at all -- which I think sums up the meal: very good, but not memorable. read more

This meal was a favorite of ours on our short stay in New Orleans. Zasu came highly recommended by the owners of Revel Cafe and Bar next door and it did not disappoint. The food was not heavy. The oysters were fresh and clean and so delicious. The mushroom appetizer was out of this world. The main courses - a wonderful red snapper and a beef filet mignon - were delicious. And the pot du creme was lovely and not too much. Chris, the maitre'd was such a darling and really took care of us. This was a real treat! So happy we came out this way! read more

While searching for a place to treat ourselves, Zasu came at the top of our choices. The menu seemed interesting and location not too far away from where we were staying. Getting the reservations to it was the most challenging part. When we got ourselves a spot, we were extremely pleased. We arrived earlier than our reserved time and seated in 10 minutes of waiting. The restaurant is very small and the noise as every other reviewers point was loud. After we gave our drink orders, we scan through the menu one more time. It was hard to choose with so many great options. We ordered salad, grilled fish and a vegetarian ravioli. All of the flavors amazed us. To top it we wanted to give a try to desserts. Pavlova was so good, fresh and crunchy. The service was attentive and accommodating to few of our requests. We were pleased with this dining experience. read more

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I actually thought the food quality was very good, but I'm sorry the portion size for the cost was somewhat laughable. I have been all over including fine dining in much more expensive cities such as NY, and I've never had dishes cost this much for the size. The pierogi entree was THREE vegetarian pierogi and some tomatos for $35? I literally left hungry and had to go across the street to Walgreens for protein shakes. I loved the flavor of the food but the cost and portions are out of control. We literally laughed when the main courses were placed down. Also, if a bill for two people to have baby sized appetizers and entrees is going to be $150++ do you think they could maybe put some fresh baked bread on the table?? Literally no bread service?? Could have easily been 5 stars if they would just 1. Add housemade bread service 2. Increase portion sizes by about 30% and 3. Reduce pricing by about 20% read more

I had the most delicious meal last Friday night. It was my first time at Zasu and it was memorable. The building remodel is very quaint. We started the meal with two appetizers. The first was a mushroom appetizer which was very savory. The other appetizer was a shrimp appetizer. It too was very pleasant. I had the snapper with eggplant in a curry sauce. The fish was cooked perfectly and the sauce was very tasty. My girlfriend had the flounder special. It was amazing. We finished the meal with homemade sherbet and ice cream; very satisfying and delicious. We will be back! read more

Full disclosure: I am acquainted with chef-owner Sue Zemanick and have known her husband for nearly 20 years. I am unabashed about my admiration and affection for her, so if you think this will be a biased review, I understand. I estimate my wife and I eat fine dining meals 10 to 12 times a year and we went to Zasu four times in 2019. When you consider all of the wonderful choices we have in N.O.La. and Paige & I have to go to Lilette on average two times a year, that is as ringing an endorsement as we can make. But wait, there's more. With each visit to Zasu, we witnessed a restaurant that was excellent out the gate get better and better. Three of our visits were shared with different couples, all avid diners and they concurred: spectacular food, warm & efficient service in a lovely atmosphere. Last part first: if you were following chef Sue on Instagram, you could witness her painstaking redesign of the space formerly occupied by the much-beloved Rue 127. Her hard work & patience paid off. There is clean modernity to Zasu that avoids the cold or sterile pitfalls of the mid-century modern redux genre. From her work at Gautreau's, we knew Ms Zemanick was a stellar chef, but Zasu proves that she & her team are also fantastic at hiring the perfect staff for her restaurant. The amount of charm and affection one receives from the bartender to waitstaff to Sue herself on her forays to the dining room reinforce that happy tingle one experiences during a delicious meal. Since this review is based on 4 visits over 10 months, I'll not dwell on too many individual dishes, but suffice it to say Paige & I have sampled almost everything on the menus over that period. Some of the dishes currently available that really made an impression were grilled octopus with charred eggplant, pickled peppers & pepitas which may as well have been designed in a lab to please me since those are some of my favorite things brought together for one of my favorite bites of food in 2019. The tempura maitake mushrooms are bar food at its most elevated: crispy, delicately earthy and the yuzu-sriracha aioli is sumptuously tangy. The dukkah crusted halibut was by far the best fish I had in 2019 and I had quite a bit of delicious fish dishes. Finally, while every dessert I have tried at Zasu was wonderful, the coffee semifreddo haunts my dreams and makes me want to make my own version sometime soon. Zasu is still a tough reservation (it is small and chef Sue has a devoted following) so plan ahead-for my money, this is the best restaurant in New Orleans right now. read more

Great service with one of the better Sazeracs I've had in New Orleans. Had starters of Tuna Tartar which was delicious if slightly salty and Potato & Mushroom Pierogis which were phenomenal. The main course of Beef Bourguignon was also fantastic. Would absolutely come back read more

Hidden gem. We went to this restaurant pre-Covid and had great experiences (not sure why we haven't rated it before). Fast forward to October 2020. After re-opening for only a few days, Zasu well exceeded expectations. Every bite of the meal was thoughtful, flavorful and complex. We started with the grilled shrimp, which upon initial review seemed basic, but the dish had layers of complexity which I cannot even put into words. Then we each had salads (Romaine, Kale/Spinach), which were phenomenal. Next, I inhaled a short rib with fettuccine, whilst my spouse had the halibut - we both inhaled our entrees with great joy. Finally, we had no intention of eating dessert, but we were drawn to the Semifreddo. O M G. The end. If you have any doubts. Dismiss them. read more

Very inventive. We started with cocktails, all excellent. I had a rum drink that had an Earl Gray flavor; yummy and unusual. One of us had a salad, slightly sweet and creamy with lots of ingredients, that we all loved. I had sweetbreads that were fine, but my favorite was the melt-in-your-mouth boneless shortribs. read more

Small portions but worth it - best meal I've had in NOLA since I moved here in August

The menu was creative, the food was delicious, and the service was good! I'm only giving three stars because of the small portions; I left hungry and ate a bag of potato chips when I got home. I'm sure the owners must have read the previous reviews commenting on the small portions, but apparently they don't care. I asked the waiter for some bread (to supplement), but they don't have bread. Come on, Zasu, do better! read more

Everything is amazing, I've never had anything bad or even average here, they always hit it out of the park. Service, ambiance, food all impeccable. read more

Food was great. Service was on point. The bartender, a young blonde girl, was top of the line. Every drink in the restaurant was being made by her--each with care, craft, and quickness. She not only maintained composure but also she smiled every time eye contact was made with a customer. We ordered the two specialty cocktails with bourbon--both tasted amazing. Having worked in the industry for over 15 years, I was extremely impressed with everything she brought to the experience. I usually don't give the highest rating possible to a place because, as a teacher I feel there is always room for improvement. However, the bartender's work ethic and the product she put out inspired the bonus so Zasu gets 5 stars. Food was so exceptional that I can think of only a few restaurants that can compete as contenders. We ordered the mahi mahi and saltine crusted grouper. It's also pretty cool the way the light outside of the front door shines through casting a shadow of the 127 address number on the dining rooms far wall. I highly recommend this place. read more

This was a disappointing experience. While the food was very good, I was very surprised with the level of service in this restaurant. We went for dinner immediately following an engagement. When we informed the server, he seemed very indifferent about it. When you're spending $30-$40 per plate, I'd expect the server would go out of his way to make the night special. Unfortunately, that was not the case. Further, when I asked another server to take a photo of us, she visibly got annoyed and told me to wait and then asked another person to do it for her. Who goes to a restaurant post engagement and doesn't get offered a glass of champagne? For a $200+ dinner, this restaurant missed the mark. read more

Incredible food, fantastic environment! Don't blink you will miss it, so keep your eyes pealed for this delish dinner spot

Booked a special occasion for a very mundane menu. Sure the food was good enough but the whole place was lackluster. Nothing exciting. Then there's the fire hazard bar and the long wait. How can that be code? Anyway, not our best dinner in Nola. read more

I could go in for a very long review but I decided to boil it down(!) to the essentials. Price: $175 for two. Shared a salad. Shared a dessert. Had one drink and one wine. The drink: ordered a classic Old Fashoined. I get carded in Costco. The bartender is decades younger than me (he should be carded) and I am certain he has never tasted a classic Old Fashoined. No cherry. At the price I expected a luxardo cherry, of course: classic! The room: 50+ seats. A third booths. High ceilings and no acoustic walls. It was so loud but it was a party. Not a dinner crowd for sure. Maybe we wandered into a hipster joint! Dinner: small portions. I don't expect Mandinas seafood platter but a piece of grouper ($28) the size of a small valentines envelope! We were hungry when we got home. Cooking: excellent. The ghost of Gautreanxs. Of course. I expected nothing less from Sue. She can cook! Dessert: let's deconstruct it. 4 raspberries probably from Costco. Good and fresh. A teaspoon dollop of whipped cream. A half teaspoon of caramel sauce. Ten crystals of kosher salt. All on top of a very small ramkin dish of nice chocolate pudding. It was promoted as shareable at $11. Not really. Well, you get the picture. Driving home we listed five great New Orleans restaurants that we would give 5 stars and come home with $50 and a leftover box. You ask which ones: ok: Brigstens. Station 6 and Gabrielle's. There are others. Zasu needs to step up in this town. We take no prisoners! Enjoy! read more

Small menu, but everything was delicious. It can get somewhat loud in the restaurant.