Zengo

Last night I went to Zengo for L.'s birthday and was seriously unimpressed. We split dishes, so I was able to try a few things — potstickers (lobster, blue crab, shiitake mushroom, and wasabi plum sauce), won ton tacos (charred ahi tuna, sushi rice, pickled ginger, and mango salsa), chile ancho grilled prawns with pozole gouda fondue and won bok, and Angry Zengo sushi (spicy yellowfin tuna, avocado, sesame chipotle rouille, and wasabi tobiko). Dessert was the highlight — churros y chai, with a chocolate chai mousse and whipped cream.

The lobster overpowered the potstickers, which are much better when they have a delicate blend of flavors. The tacos were the best dish, and the accompanying guacamole was actually pretty good. The prawns were too tough, and while the gouda fondue was a bit too heavy, the dealbreaker was the pieces of pineapple thrown in. The sushi was good, but not better than I could get elsewhere. The churros, however, were delicious — soft, cinnamon-y, and perfectly complemented by the light chocolate chai mouse. I had a mojito, which was decent, but nothing special.

Zengo aims to be a modern Mexican tapas restaurant, and it doesn't work – there aren't a enough dishes to share. As a result, dishes were brought out one at a time as they were ready, and L. and I had all our food before others at the table even got one dish.