ZELO

The latest venture of the Gaia Group, Zelo, specializes in modern Mediterranean cuisine. Like its sister restaurants, Isola and Gaia, Zelo is chic, innovative and sophisticated.

Located in the lower ground floor of Pacific Place, Zelo’s open design blends in surprisingly well with the neighboring shops. The restaurant is cleverly separated into four distinct areas with different vibes. At the open front entrance is a large cocktail and tapas bar with high table seating- perfect for a casual drink and tapas. Between the entrance and the bar is a cozy lounge with comfy sofas and designer chairs. It a good place for an afternoon coffee amid a busy shopping/working day or weekend brunch. To the rear of the bar, you'll find two traditional dining rooms. One is spaciously set with several dining tables and comfortable chairs with cushions that have a homey feel. The other dining room is a bit more formal- ideal for business lunch meetings.

The restaurant is decorated with eccentric mixed-media artworks. There are things made with antique cameras, household items and vintage pictures. Some of the light fixtures are constructed with shards of broken glass. The over all effect is modern, retro and edgy. The chairs are made with recycled materials and if you look carefully, you'll find that the snowflake patterns on the bar are repeated images of natural disasters caused by un-environmental friendly activities. These design details are exactly in line with Zelo’s eco-friendly concept.

Not only is the restaurant’s interior design eco-friendly, but so is its menu. The a la carte menu consists of mostly Mediterranean classics but you will also find Spanish, Greek, French to Turkish specials. With more than just a few vegetarian dishes to choose from, it is also quite vegetarian friendly. Their tapas menu is also very long, considering that it is not a tapas bar. Same as its menu, the wine list and cocktail menu also offers a wide variety of choices.

Lunch begins with fresh home-made bread. Then we try the starter buffet which is included in the set lunch ($198/person). There are typical Mediterranean and Italian starters to choose from, such as cous cous, Greek salad, seafood salad, cheese and ham, etc. For the main course, we are recommended the Mushroom and Goat Cheese Lasagna. Unlike other lasagnas, this one is not filled with thick tomato sauce which usually over-shadows the tastes of other ingredients. We really like this dish as we could taste each ingredient’s distinct flavor The mushrooms were fresh and tasty, the goat cheese smooth and rich, the tomatoes were sweet, yet each flavor complimented the others perfectly.

We also tried their signature Tiramisu with a layer of chestnut spaghetti instead of lady fingers. It is just a bit too sweet but we're sure girls needing a sugar rush while shopping would love it.
 

Over all, our dining experience at Zelo is very pleasant. The service is friendly, there's a great variety of choice in the menu and the various sections make Zelo an great place to hang out at different times of a day.