Zayna - Frankston East

Even though I did not find a review for this restaurant, I decided I would give it a try anyway. My partner and I decided to order the Starters/ Entrees as we do this often for new places to get a better understanding of the style of cooking as well as to be able to sample as much as possible in a first visit. We ordered the S&P Calamari, Olives, Meatballs, Salmon, Garlic Bread and the Arancini. We were asked by the waitress (which may have also been the owner) how we would like it to come out, which I explained that I would leave it up to the Chef to decide how he thinks best It should come out, that was my first mistake other than walking in to start with. The Calamari and The Olives came out first. Firstly the Calamari, it was very tuff (which I let the waitress know) Flavour very mild and not very exciting at all, they were also crumbed but the crumbs just fell off them as you went to pick them up. The Olives were the small varieties of both green and black, which had no oils but a tiny piece of feta a couple of tiny bits of chopped up lemon and a heap of dry rosemary figs thrown around them. I ended up leaving most, as the dry rosemary leaves kept getting in my mouth and made it very unpleasant. After we were just completing the Calamari, our next four dishes came all at once, certainly not what I expected or what a decent Chef would recommend. Garlic Bread had no taste of garlic, and tasted like something you would buy at a supermarket in the Frozen Dept and put it into the oven, it was also not cut through enough to even pull it apart, so had to use a blunt butter knife that was even more blunted by the Calamari earlier. The Meatballs that were advertised as Angus Meatballs had more of a pork taste than a beef taste. Sauce was very gluggy and tasteless. The Arancini were very Bland, Golden Brown as was advertised were more like Dark Brown. The highlight of the meal was the Salmon, I'm guessing the reason being the chef did not have to cook it ! Will definitely not be going back as it was a very unenjoyable experience, which is a pity as the price was not over the top and the area does require more quality reasonably priced establishments.

We dined at the restaurant tonight and had a challenging experience. We had to change tables three times due to the cold temperature, eventually settling near the kitchen for warmth. Although the entree was good, we waited 40 minutes for it to arrive. We spoke to two other couples who were also feeling cold. Despite requesting for the heating to be turned up, we were informed that it was already at the highest setting. Our main meal took another 45 minutes to be served and when it arrived, it was incorrect - we asked for vegetables but received chips instead, despite confirming our order with the waitress twice. Another couple left the restaurant due to long wait times. It seemed like the restaurant was short-staffed, but the chef did save the day with delicious food. We had initially planned to stay for dessert, but the overall experience was too frustrating. Additionally, we didn't want to wait another 45 minutes for dessert. Unfortunately, we will not be returning as neither of the two staff members we encountered were friendly or welcoming. The restaurant really needs to step up their game in order to thrive in the industry.

Lovely italian restaurant that has great atmosphere. loved the parma. highly recommended spot. nice to take a walk amongst the boats after meal

Paid $50 for two mains that were barely entree size. I complained to the owner who was rude and unprofessional. Don't waste your time or money here.

This was our second visit to Zayna - first time the service was terribly slow so we thought we would give them another go.We arrived early with only about 2 other tables of diners. We ordered early and had to wait 45 minutes to get a pizza - which was very ordinary. The drinking glasses on our table were dirty. We asked to have them replaced. More and more diners were arriving and very little food was coming out of the kitchen.It took over an hour for our next course to arrive. When our mains arrived we were very disappointed as we got very ordinary crumbed fish. Sorry not going back for a third time and certainly not recommending them. Poor service and poor food.