As we stepped into the glass doors of Zen Bowls, popular hit tracks by Taylor Swift like Shake It Off and Blank Space were playing in the background. The white walls, aqua blue, and baby pink sofa chairs, and the greenery and planters make the space perfect for cosy and serene dates. The 90-seater, which also has hints of gold and copper on its wall décor and hanging lights, aims to serve the city with healthy and nutritious food. They inform us that they don’t believe in crash diets and hope to make the concept of a ‘rainbow diet’ popular with their meals. For the menu, they offer everything from soups to salads and wraps.
After exploring the restaurant, we began our tasting with the Apple Pomegranate Salad, prepared with pomegranate, iceberg lettuce, and apple slices. Seasoned with pepper, the salad was flavoursome. The bowl also came with roasted almonds and walnuts, which gave the salad a nice crunch. We also sampled their Lebanese Falafel Salad, a tabbouleh salad made with falafel, cucumbers, lettuce, bell peppers, and chickpeas. Served with tzatziki sauce (a yoghurt and herb-based dip), the bowl offered a burst of flavours.
Next up was the Hummus with Fresh Veggie Fingers, which came with a hummus dip prepared with chickpeas, tahini, and roasted garlic. The hummus paired well with the vegetables like carrots, cucumbers, and sweet beets that were cut into neat little sticks. The Green Shakshuka offered an interesting take on the traditional egg and tomato-based dish. This one came with a freshly-prepared spinach and kale saag and was topped with poached eggs. While the poached eggs were decent, the saag elevated the entire dish.
Those who enjoy rice can opt for their Thai Basil Chicken, which comes with a serving of coconut rice. Speaking of the chicken, it oozed a delicate aroma of basil with every bite and the chilli-based sauce added a nice edge to the otherwise mild plate.
Finally, we ended the wholesome meal with a slice of Carrot Cake. The cake, made with fresh carrots, and dry fruits, reminded us of a festive plum cake. They’ve used pineapples as the sweetener and we admit that we thoroughly relished this plate of goodness down to the last bite.
Rs 1,000 for two. At Manikonda.