Zoe's in Harvard Square

Zoe’s is in the heart of Harvard Square, close to my beloved Berryline, but not nearly as delicious. I had been to Zoe’s once before in 2007 and I remember enjoying it much more.

Zoe’s is a fifties-themed diner. When it is done well, I really love the fifties theme. However, loud colored tables and chairs and black and white photos doesn’t cut it in my book. Our waitress was busy; the place was packed, but she was nice and worked fast. We were seated and served quickly; I always appreciate that.

I ordered the Double Play: two eggs, two slices of bacon, home fries, and two pieces of French toast. (I am going to branch out with my order in later reviews.) The food was terrible, and I was displeased with my meal. We have established, in earlier posts, that I am sucker for home fries. What we have not established is that I hate ketchup. Zoe’s cooks ketchup into the home fries. After trying one bite, I ignored them for the duration of my meal. The French toast had no flavor, the eggs were dry and stringy, and the bacon greasy. Contrary to what having a blog in which I review restaurants, may seem to mean, it really does bother me when I complain about a meal. But since I do have a blog, of which the purpose is to share and rate my experiences, Zoe’s was the worst to date.

Also, being so near Harvard was like flashing back to my days at Pomona. Lacrosse players in mismatched outfits, girls in polo shirts and pearl earrings…it was definitely Pomona-esque in terms of the clientele. I swear I almost said, “Hey Vanessa” to a couple girls.

Service: B (The place was packed; waitress was nice, but not attentive.)

Ambiance: C

Menu Creativity (Options): A-  (Zoe’s had a lot of menu options, including sweet potato pancakes, frappes, and Greek French toast. However, if the taste was anything like the meal I had, I would pass on creativity and try and work on taste

Taste: D

-Candice

Zoe’s looks like a great place from the website: really funky, peppy, def hippie-ish….It ended up being an IHOP knock-off.  I got the “My 3 Sons” which is 3 eggs, 3 pieces of breakfast meat (sausage/bacon), hash browns, and 3 pieces of French toast or pancakes.  The food was passable but nothing to write home about.  The “World Famous French Toast” looked like it was a piece of Wonder bread cut in half.  The eggs were def the powdered stuff and they did little to blend another flavor in.  Bacon was cooked but not at all crisp.

The service was friendly enough, but definitely not mid-range service level.  Chairs in the diner were extremely low and you are rubbing elbows with the person at the table next to you.  My biggest problem came when I went to the Men’s room…I felt like I was walking through the old combat zone, the area had holes in the wall, exposed pipes, mold on the walls and basically everything else that makes you skive in a restaurant. 

The overall impression I had was this was supposed to be the IHOP in Harvard Square but IHOP pulled out and the people who bought it and finished the restaurant failed miserably.

Service: c+

Taste: C+

Ambiance: C

Menu Creativity (Options): B

Overall Experience: D

-Dan

Total Bill: 30ish