ZimZala Review

This is definitely one of my favourite restaurants in the Shire, the food is absolutely delicious and the staff are really friendly. The view is pretty amazing as well!

When my fish and chips finally arrived I was considering trying the fish and chip shop at the other end of the park to help satisfy my hunger. My meal would have been probably just as greasy for a fraction of the cost. Taste wise, the fish and chips were okay. My friend had the braised lamb which was not - way too much salt. The two of us combined could only stomach half of the dish. Regardless of the disappointment with the food, the overall experience wasn't dreadful with outdoor seating overlooking the beautiful beach and very friendly service. Hopefully there's something worth eating on the menu for others that are willing to take the chance.

Good vibes good staff. The food was of high quality and the location is superb. The seafood platter could be a little cheaper but all in all the restaurant is well maintained.

The service great, the food was even better. Will go back again

We have been here a number of times and have really enjoyed it. Our last visit was for lunch where i had a crab risotto which was delicious, washed down with some white wine.. the sun was shining through the windows and could have stayed there all day drinking and eating. The staff were friendly and accommodating. Highly recommended.

Absolutely beautiful location on the edge of the beach
The staff where so fantastic
Really recommend this restaurant

This place has an amazing view and great food. My boyfriend and I went here this morning for breakfast the service at the front was great and got what we thought was the best seat (the window seat overlooking the beach) we ordered the thai scrambled eggs and smashed avocado, cappuccino and iced latte. The wait for our meals from when we ordered was prompt. It taste amazing specially the thai scrambled eggs my boyfriend loved all the flavors in it and the chilli. Will definitely will be back again.

Great outlook, and people watching. Food hit and miss

Great location, but probably a bit overpriced for what it is. The seafood is delivered frozen in boxes. For a place that boasts about good seafood you'd expect something fresher. Desserts were delicious.

Just had coffee there but the view was stunning, coffee was excellent and service good.

Never had a bad experience here always great food and great service

Food was reasonable (but not hot on delivery) - service a little slow and some waiters do not have that nice friendly approach.

I was pleasantly surprised with my breakfast. The food was nice and the service excellent. My regret is that it just tastes the same than everywhere else. There is nothing fancy or unique. It's a shame that they are not more adventurous with their menu. It would complement well such a beautiful location.

Beat restaurant in Cronulla... staff super friendly

We were all excited and ready to go on a "Office Lunch", at Zimzala.
Arrived 12.15 pm
Great scenery, menu looked great, and then , after 25 minutes (12:40pm) we got to order our food. Not a problem. We all continued to joke and be happy and then after another 15 minutes (12:55pm) we got our sparkling water, with a lovely piece of juicy lemon. We all politely finished our sparkling water, and were all rather peckish, and as the starters were not here yet, we decided to eat our lemons, as that's all there was for the time being.
Another 15 mins (1:10pm) later, we got our drinks and again, we gulped it down, praying that the starters would come soon.
Another 20 min (1:30pm) passed and we joked to the wonderful young 'Garcon'/ Waiter", if the chef went to catch the Oysters ? He was so offended and with a sour and pitted face replied, I don't have time for jokes, we are very busy. We all looked around the restaurant and saw that there were few guests to tend to.
This meant that they were cooking up a great feast for us and it would be really delish. (1:45pm ) Hurrrrayyy, the starters arrived. We ordered quite a few pieces of things and the waiter decided himself that he would give us three pieces of Felafel and not eight as they were too expensive!!! Really??
Again, we gulped everything down and hoped the mains would come through soon. No. Not until 2:10pm, by now one of the managers had a meeting and had to leave. He asked the waiter if they could hurry up just one of the orders, but the waiter seemed angry at the request and laughed saying, "No one said anything to me?"

What an experience. Quite dramatic really, and well if you are thinking of eating there, good luck, we will never return.
Disgusting service, slow and everything over cooked.
Nice view though !!

Fantastic location but didn't feel welcome on arrival. No-one was watching the people waiting to come in and we waited around 7 minutes before being acknowledged. The woman that finally seated us was quite rude and not at all friendly. It seemed that we (2) were an inconvenience. The younger waitresses were lovely and the food was beautiful. Surely the senior staff should have some customer service skills. First impressions are everything.

We were made to feel very unwelcome and rushed for our celebration. The night ended on a sour note when the manager came to tell us to 'shut up' and expected us to explicitly ask if we can pop a bottle of Moet, rather than giving us an idea of these restrictions at the time of booking. If we knew it would play out like this, we would have spent our total of $1000 elsewhere.

Customer service skills go further than your waiters and waitresses. The main point is to deescalate the situation calmly, not to fight fire with fire...

Stunning views, wonderful service.
Attended for a wedding reception, and the staff went above & beyond to make the day special for all in attendance. Catered for 3 wheelchairs and a pram with ease.
Food & drink served quickly and accurately.
Scallop entree was to die for!
Snapper main was so juicy and soft. Perfectly cooked.
Lemon Meringue dessert was in my top 3 all time desserts.

Disappointed lunch at Zimzala no byo during December! wish i had of been informed when i booked, would have booked elsewhere! Pleasant setting, shame about the rude manager!

Always a good experience here and location is perfect.

Three of us had a most enjoyable meal, sitting in front of an open window looking onto the south end of the beach. Given the quality of the food and and ambiance I found the cost very reasonable. Will definitely go there again. A great restaurant for entertaining overseas visitors.

Great food ,great chef ,nice people who work in the restaurant,

Very nice food. Well presented, appealing, value for money. Good service frm Front of house

Went for Breakfast on Friday with my family and it was absolutley AMAZING! The view is incredible and the food is perfect. Our waitress was so lovely

The service was amazing and the fried cauliflower tasted great.

I am not a local but had heard of Zimzala and wanted a special lunch to celebrate my Mum's 84th birthday. She grew up in Caringbah and had not been back for over 60 years. The food was fantastic with a view to match. All staff were lovely. Absolutely no complaints. Very impressed and will definitely come back. Thank you for making my Mum's day special

Great Food awesome location as we know, service was a little slow but I will definitely be back

Went for lunch last Sunday Very pricey....
Went back for coffee & dessert later , was charged for double of everything. When I questioned it , was told I would get a call back which I am still waiting for

Brilliant place for breakfast lunch and dinner, opens from 6am for breakfast after a swim only 7 meters from the beach

My husband took me out to Zimzala for a surprise dinner. The view is amazing and the menue is very promising. Considering the high prices I think the portions could definitely be bigger, I was still hungry after my lemon and pea risotto which was very nice otherwise. Staff was friendly and the view is just beautiful. It was very busy the night we went and as it's not a spacious place hence I wouldn't recommend it for anyone who is looking for a bit of privacy. For everyone who likes a special location with ocean views, this is the place to go to.

Always good coffee, service along with poached eggs that are always perfectly cooked.

Great view, great food, great value. The service is also okay...we ordered drinks we didn't like and they never took them off the bill. Other that that everything was perfection. Food was very good

Came for breakfast for two. Friendly, prompt service, great view and the perfect spot to watch the goings on of a morning at Cronulla.

Went on a Saturday night. Food was ok but discovered they had added 15% surcharge to the bill. When I queried they said it should be 10% and blamed technology! Whatever! But what s with a surcharge on a Saturday night? Ripoff. Won t be back. Staff were arrogant as well.

Stunning views! Had a beautiful healthy breakfast and a coffee. The products are very fresh. Was served very fast also. Staff are very friendly. Does get booked out so if you want to get a seat next to the windows and look at the amazing view you might need to book earlier. Easy to find parking close by. After your done you can go for a nice stroll.

Although we've been before we took advantage of the Cudo voucher for breakfast and dinner and had a wonderful time could not fault it, everything was fabulous and being a coeliac this was no problem at all for the team. Highly recommend

My husband always says Zimzala is my second home . It s the only place I take my friends to for brunch or lunch. Love the food, service is great and the staff are always very friendly..... with a beachfront view second to none.

Not fresh, slow and unqualified staff relative to price.

Best location in the Shire. Food was great and service friendly and attentive. Highly recommended

Great food and atmosphere. Fairly expensive but worth it

The food and service is amazing ! They go beyond for the customers! Plus the view is outstanding!

Nice setting on the beach but prices are exorbitant given that it's a cafe. Also not a lot of great choices for food given a number of other great options in the vicinity. Good to grab a quick drink by the beach.

The "high tea" is very over rated, the scones are made in a muffin tin so they are like a solid rock, frozen pies, a couple of sandwich, and mini cupcakes, no offer of tea or coffee, for the price could be so much better. Won't be coming back anytime soon

Nice view, great food and service but coffee only ok

Absolutely no service for a vegetarian who is gluten free. No dishes available at all and not willing to create one.

Never had a bad experience, great food, nice wine, great staff,

Wonderful food and service. Thankyou for allowing Assistance Dogs Australia, Puppy, to join with us.

Nice view and atmosphere and the food is great. Staff are attentive and food comes out in good time.

My wife and I have been to this restaurant many times for breakfasts, leisurely lunches and supper. Every visit has been most enjoyable: excellent food, wine and coffee. The high standard of courteous and efficient service by staff sets a new standard which most restaurants in the whole region can only aspire to.
Some of the poor ratings I have just read, whilst understandable if customers were disappointed, come as a surprise to me. My wife and I would have no hesitation in recommending this restaurant to others looking for high standards of service and superb food. Add the view across the beach, sand dunes and bay and this really is a special treat!

We were a group of 10 and ordered from set menu.
The food was fabulous and the service better.
We all enjoyed a variety of entrees and mains in a fantastic setting on the beach!

Had the 10 course Degustation dinner. Was excellent.

Love this restaurant, sitting right on the Cronulla Beach promenade, magic on a beautiful sunny day.

Good food and nice friendly service

Lovely in many ways. The staff are friendly, the view wonderful and the food is great.

It is been a long wait to get take away orders and whilst I was waiting for the order I was placed and got told by the restaurant manager to stand next side by side with other customers. When I complained for the long wait and not comfortable with the restaurants approach, I asked for a refund and denied by the restaurant and got told off saying: you don't have patience and refund was denied. When I got the order, it was a mess as well.

Lovely day
Lovely food
Great service
I just want some better Chardonnay in the menu and I d be back ever week ! Some Peterson s maybe ?

The seafood is amazing, I chose the seafood testing platter it was nice and testful

When visiting Zimzala you are immediately struck by the amazing easterly views over Cronulla beach. Then you are equally impressed by the friendly welcome and excellent service throughout your time here. The atmosphere is warm and casual. The food is simply phenomenal with generous portions and amazing flavours. Breakfast is our favourite meal to eat out and Zimzala presented us with one of the most enjoyable breakfast experience we've had in some time. The chai latte and hot chocolate for example are absolutely delicious. We visited on a weekday and obviously weekends will be busier. The only minor quibble is that we would have liked the wait staff to check back with us towards the end of our meal so we could order another round of drinks. Other than that the service was brilliant, we look forward to our next visit.

Have visited Zimzala many times and each time gets better. The food is varied, interesting and delicious. The service is superb and the view is to die for. Would recommend anybody to visit - I am sure you will not be disappointed. Can't wait to visit again.
Congratulations to all the staff.
See you soon.

It was a beautiful day sitting so close to the beach. Each of the courses were truly magnificent. A terrific experience. I had a seafood entre,then pork belly then sticky date pudding. All were the best I've had for awhile

Lovely service - the food was beautiful, and great atmosphere every time I've been.

Friendly and prompt service, delicious food and great views across the water. Located right on South Cronulla Beach Esplanade.

I recently went to High Tea and I was Absolutely Dissatisfied.
$55 I was Happy To Pay, Because it was Zimzala's.
However, it was the most Dismal High Tea that I Have Ever Experienced.
Service Excellent, Venue Beautiful, Food Pathetic.
If you can't do it Properly ,Then Please Don't Do it.
This was my First Experience at Zimzala's and I have No reason to Ever Return.
I will talk openly about this in my Salon.

Went here for mother's day lunch today. Absolutely appalling amazing location but I will never eat here again. $90 for worse than an awful cafe meal. We waited over 2 hours for our mains....mine came 10 mins after everyone else and it took 30 mins for a drink to arrive. The owner was so incredibly rude to my sister because she is vegan and GF....apparently all they could offer her was cardboard according to him. Instead they gave her a plate of cauliflower with grated carrot on top. We ended up getting dessert in take away containers and mine was a lump of cheese with half a strawberry....seems GF crackers are also way too hard.
Expensive....dreadful rude staff....awful food. Do not waste your money!!!

Always a busy spot; they managed to fit 4 of us in for coffee along the far bench. Great staff and iced coffees were superb. View was of course fantastic

Great location, food is delicious and staff very attentive. Lovely dining experience

Zimzala has a great location but not much else to get excited about. The menu is ok bit could probably use a freshen up. The staff are generally friendly without being super well organised. One tip, if you are going to order wine, get a bottle. When you order by the glass you don't get an extra millilitre. There is just no sense of generosity. The fish and chips for $32 on Sunday are just that and nothing else. With this location it should be almost impossible to get a table on the weekend without a booking. It is easy. Maybe they're taking that for granted.

We came to zimzala for my inlaws 40th wedding anniversary & were extremely disappointed.
They charge a premium price tag for very poor service & bland food. The seafood platter is an absolute joke & the salmon was tasteless.
This was the thrid time I've been here and the third time I've had a bad experience.