Zen Garden

April 9, 2025

Zen garden is a scenic restaurant located in the lush Spring Valley neighbourhood. I hadn’t been back here in very many years so my visit a few weeks ago was a nice refresher. Zen Garden is exactly as the name suggests - a zen garden. There’s a great tranquility that covers the place so you already feel zen just upon entry.

They have a most beautiful garden with stunning florals, gigantic succulents that line up the pathways and vibrant pockets of hydrangeas that add pops of colour amongst the greenery.

They have an indoor and outdoor setup so you can choose to have something small and intimate inside or something casual out on the terrace or a grand dinner out on the terrace too. Zen Garden has some of the most stunning roses I’ve ever seen and how they display them makes the place come alive even more. There’s huge vases with tall stems of roses which they change on a daily basis, and they have cute mini oriental style vases on the tables with a mix of pre-cut rose buds and blooms of whatever colour theme they choose to go with for the day. Stunning! The garden makes for a great event space and photo backdrop for my IG girlies.

The menu is pan-Asian themed with a mix of oriental dishes inspired by Japanese, Chinese and Thai cuisines. I came here for a birthday dinner with my bestie and we tried a few dishes namely: spicy pork gyoza (KSH1400), duck spring rolls (KSH1900), prawn and garlic chive dumplings (KSH1500), chilli garlic bamboo noodles (KSH1500) and dry chilli garlic pork (KSH1800) and a berry cheesecake.

The spicy pork gyoza was not as spicy as stated… That was a bummer but the dumplings were still very tasty! I was starving that day so really scoffed those down quick! The duck spring rolls were fantastic, no notes there at all. I highly recommend them.

The prawn and garlic chive dumplings were a miss for me… They looked real cute but didn’t taste as cute to me. The highlight for me was the bamboo noodles and the dry chilli pork, excellent! The portions are more than enough for two people so these work great as a sharing main course. The flavours really came out and the dish was very filling.

As for dessert - the berry cheesecake was nothing to write home about. It was just okay. For the price, I would not recommend it. They do have a fantastic pina colada cake though that I tried on a different visit (forgot to take a pic) and that cake was superb! So fresh and so moist and you can’t miss that fresh pineapple taste.

The service here is on point, the place is usually busy esp on weekends but the service doesn’t waver. I’ve come back here for work meetings and workshops and even on the conferencing side the service is excellent.

I’ve already gushed over the ambience so much above so you know it’s a win for me already. This is a great place for family lunches and dinners especially on weekends. I’d suggest you make a reservation beforehand if you have a big group. It’s great for first dates and consistent date nights too, it’s a place that really makes an impression. Also you can see what the prices look like so this is a place you plan for before just showing up unless your wallet is taller than most then you should be fine.

It’s also great for events like birthdays, baby showers as well as conferences and work trainings etc. I love that it’s a multifaceted venue and can accommodate so many different dining styles.