Café Zero Degree Entertainment Lounge reminds one of a modern day nightclub. Tucked
in the corner of 6th Commercial Street,
the café is one of the latest to join the ranks of Zamzama’s thriving
population of shisha lounges.
Ambiance
 |
| Cafe Zero Degree Entertainment Lounge |
Spread over two storeys, Zero Degree can seat
around sixty people. The dark interior drenched in hues of blue
light denotes a bold touch with the café’s hip design featuring walls dotted
with pop art and a roof iridescent with rectangular panels of LED lights.
The Menu
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| The Trendy iPad Menu |
In tune with its trendy and futuristic theme,
the café uses iPad menus which are fun and easy to use. Displaying
pictures of each dish, the iPad helps visualize your order in the absence of a written
description.
The menu centers solely around white meat
and offers a quirky mix of light fare and Mexican and Italian cuisine.
Appetizers
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| Salsa Chips |
As a refreshing break from the norm, the Café serves complimentary Salsa Chips instead of the usual bread
basket. The crispy tortilla chips accompanied by a spicy tomato and
jalapeno infused salsa was sinfully delicious. One simply could not have enough!
 |
| Zero Degree Special Platter |
For starters, we ordered the Zero
Degree Special Platter priced at PKR 425 (exclusive of tax). Ideal
for three people, the platter was a concoction of chicken
fingers, onion rings, cheese sticks and chicken wings. Served with honey
mustard, cocktail, tartar and cheese sauce, the items were fried to a crisp but
coated with a batter too thick.
The chicken fingers were spicy, moist
from inside and easily the best of the lot. The cheese sticks had minimal
filling whereas the wings were undercooked and coated in a sauce so sour that
it was a struggle to finish them.
Entrée
Entrée
For the main course, we ordered Italian
Fried Chicken priced at PKR 535 and Zero Degree Special Pasta
for PKR 449. All prices are tax exclusive.
Italian Fried Chicken
 |
| Italian Fried Chicken |
The Italian Fried Chicken was cooked
to a glorious golden crisp and coated with a rich layer of tomato and mushroom
sauce. Dribbling with creamy cheese, the chicken was sprinkled with slices of capsicum,
black olives and chicken salami.
 |
| Italian Fried Chicken |
The sidelines comprised of a lavish
helping of piping-hot masala-sprinkled fries, sautéed vegetables and a coriander
chutney in dire need of some seasoning. The congregation of these flavors
resulted in a spicy but tad sour dish with a helping good enough for one
person.
Zero Degree Special Pasta
 |
| Zero Degree Special Pasta |
The Special Pasta was hands down
the best part of our order. Oozing with baked Parmesan and mozzarella cheese
and a healthy dose of fried chicken and mushrooms, the pasta was scrumptious
down to the last mouthful!
Served with a steaming bread roll fresh
from the oven and seasoned with simple spices, the pasta had the perfect balance
of flavor. If you prefer lightly spiced food then this dish will be right up your alley.
Dessert
To whet our sweet tooth, we ordered the Zero
Degree Sizzling Brownie priced at PKR 225 (exclusive of
tax).
Zero Degree Sizzling Brownie
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| Zero Degree Sizzling Brownie |
After the customary 20 minute wait, much
to our surprise the sizzler served to us contained nothing but a lone piece of
brownie adorning the plate. The pastry chef had apparently forgotten to
complete the dessert and skipped adding the scoop of vanilla ice cream topped
with fresh strawberries!
The order was quickly replaced once we pointed
out the omission but by that time the sizzle in the chocolate sauce had died down.
The only redeeming feature of this casualty was that the confection tasted like
manna from heaven - the warm, fudge chocolate brownie cake drizzled with hot chocolate
sauce made the Zero Degree Sizzling Brownie nothing short of a rich
gooey sinful indulgence.
Service
The service is average at best and plagued
with management issues. The most noteworthy amongst them being:
- Incorrect Billing: We were charged an extra amount of Rs. 600 which though rectified should not have happened in the first place.
- Quality of Waiting Staff: Most of the waiters seemed ignorant about the menu and answered the simplest of queries with “let me find out”.
- Fixed Service Fee: The Café charges Rs. 100 per person as a fixed service fee irrespective of the number of people on each table. This is a practice usually reserved for groups of six or more.
Hit or miss? Somewhere in between!
The eatery offers good quality food with
a wide choice of items to choose from. Its biggest shortcoming though is the
low standard of quality control over operations and the fact that its menu does
not cater to red meat eaters.
Also the ambiance my not appeal to those
looking for a family outing. Go for it if you crave a dance/rave environment
and are planning a fun night out with friends.
Go for it if you:
- Want a hip place to hang out with friends
- Are looking for a per head cost (tax inclusive) between PKR 650 to PKR 1,050
- Are on the lookout for good quality Mexican and Italian cuisine
Do not go for it if you:
- Prefer eateries with ample parking space
- Are a beef lover
- Are not a fan of shisha
- Are going out with family and have children along
Rating
- Service: 2/5
- Value: 3/5
- Ambiance: 4/5
- Presentation of Dishes: 3.5/5
- Zero Degree Special Platter: 3/5
- Italian Fried Chicken: 3.5/5
- Zero Degree Special Pasta: 4/5
- Zero Degree Sizzling Brownie: 4/5
My overall rating for Cafe Zero Degree Entertainment Lounge is 3.5/5.
Have you been there yet?
Just in: Zero Degree at Zamzama is closing down its
operations by end August 2013 and relocating to P.E.C.H.S.
© Rabia J. and
from-my-dressing-to-dining-table.blogspot.com, 2013. Unauthorized and/or
duplication of this material without express and written permission from this
blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may
be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Rabia J. and
from-my-dressing-to-dining-table.blogspot.com with appropriate and specific
direction to the original content.
Extracts of this review have been
published in Blush Magazine on August 21, 2013.
