Zim Braai - Poole

I visited this restaurant on a Saturday for a date after passing by many times. We booked a table for 9pm since it was the only slot available. We ordered starters and mains. The starters took an hour to come out - the chicken skewers were delicious but the flatbread was dry and terrible. The mains arrived about 30 minutes later and some aspects were great, but the peanut curry was bland and the accompanying rice was dry. I won't be returning again.

The service at Zim Braai was excellent. My friend and I had a very attentive waitress, and the overall atmosphere was great. I believe that Zim Braai excels in providing excellent service. However, I have visited both their Bournemouth and Poole restaurants many times and have tried various items on their menu, but I have always been disappointed with the food. While the presentation of the dishes is always impressive, I find that they lack in seasoning and flavor. I always hope to have a meal that I can rave about, but each visit leaves me feeling underwhelmed by the food, and I feel that the portion sizes could be improved as well. The chimichurri on the fish did not add any flavor to the dish, it simply added color.

We had a great experience at this restaurant, as they honored our DINE app booking even though they are no longer members. They are in the process of removing themselves from the DINE app, but have encountered some challenges.

Feel quite bad writing this review as never usually complain unless I feel really necessary. I have visited this on restaurant various occasions when visiting the area. I have also recommended this restaurant to friends who have also visited. However I visited several days ago and on this occasion it was very disappointing. The overall service from the waiting staff was fine. The staters were nice and cannot complain here. However the mains were really poor and not at all up to the usual standard. My partner had the nut and chickpea curry as had this meal on a previous visit and it had been great. However, on this occasion it was really watery with no taste or substance to it. I had aubergine steak which I believe costs around £15. I understand restaurants are putting up costs due to energy bills, wages etc etc, however I literally got a slither of a tasteless aubergine and a afew French fries and some limp salad leaves. I felt totally ripped off at this. I would have usually put this down to a bad choice, but the price did not reflect the meal. I did not complain to the waiting staff as I am not one to start moaning and shouting at waiters. I will just not probably ever visit again, which I feel is ashame!

The food was great and a really good kids menu too! The service was exceptional and really friendly! The restaurant also has a lovely atmosphere too. Can’t wait to go back!