• 5
• Beautiful and Delicious

I was really worried that we wouldn't get to eat at Zest during our short stay in Leipzig when I called to make a dinner reservation for a Saturday and found that they were completely booked, but luckily they had room for us for brunch on Sunday. We got there at 11:30 am, the time of our reservation, and there was only one other table occupied for most of the time we were there. Someone came in at one point and got turned away, even when there were lots of open tables, so make sure you make your reservations!!! I ordered a special spring smoothie that had mint in it, which was amazing. My boyfriend's fresh juice was as one would expect. We shared a pastry-wrapped soy appetizer, which was pretty tasty. He tempura seitan with beets and avocado risotto for a main course, which had tempted me as well. It was pretty good, but I was glad that I ordered the BYO Brunch. The jalapeño whole wheat bread was incredible, and I couldn't get enough of the vegan blue cheese. I need to figure out how to make that cheese at home!! I also had the smoked paprika tofu balls, the seitan with sage and fennel, and the shiitake sesame salad, all of which were excellent. I really loved my meal, and it was too bad that my boyfriend wasn't as enthusiastic as I was. I was tempted by all of the vegan desserts, but we decided to just share the coconut lime cake with blackberry cream cheese frosting. I was surprised at how simple and homey it looked when we got it because their other food looks so fancy, but all that mattered was how delicious it tasted. I don't think I saw anything on the menu that wasn't vegan, so it was really hard for me to decide, but I was quite happy with what I ate and was full and happy when I finished. I definitely recommend Zest to anyone!