Dining with Natalie Zeste

As a native of culinary melting pot Malaysia and the daughter of a restaurateur, UG student Natalie Voo knows her food. Every other week, she reviews Groningen’s student-friendly dining scene. This time: Zeste.

This review is brought to you by my highly scientific restaurant selection method: wandering around aimlessly until I spot a cute place with a name that speaks to me. This time, Zeste caught my eye, because, let’s be real, I am a sucker for anything citrus-related. Also, who in their right mind says no to Mediterranean food and an aesthetically pleasing restaurant? 

Treat

We went all in and got the fried anchovies, the cod ibérico, the short rib with polenta, and the peach white chocolate dessert. Yes, this place is a little more ‘treat yourself’ than ‘Tuesday night student budget,’ but hey, sometimes you gotta splurge for the good stuff.

The fried anchovies were probably not for everyone, but as someone from Southeast Asia, they felt reminiscent of home. Plus, that lemon aioli was the perfect sidekick, cutting through the fishiness just enough. The cod was cooked beautifully (which is more than I can say for a lot of places that treat fish like a microwaved sponge). It paired well with the ibérico, but something felt like it was missing. Maybe some acidity? Some crunch? A tiny burst of existential clarity? Who knows.

The short rib was fall-apart tender, and that minty sauce paired so well. Also, fried polenta is always good. That peach and white chocolate dessert was a heavenly combo we demolished in record time.

Great vibes

Service was decent. The ambiance was adorable, I loved the colour scheme and the vibe was really cute. The whole experience gave me major flashbacks to Pachamama, except swap out the Nikkei flavors for a Mediterranean twist. For a place literally called Zeste though, there was a tragic lack of actual zest in the menu. Like, give me a little citrus action beyond the complimentary limoncello shot, please!

Overall, great food, great vibes – just missing that extra squeeze of lemony magic.

Dutch