4/5 stars
Compared to other OTR restaurants, this place is Zumongous. Of course, the tricky part of size is to still make it feel packed; to still have that energy. It doesn't quite have the Bombay subway-energy that Bakersfield has, but keep in mind that it's also more than twice the square footage of Bakersfield (or as the kids text these days, "BKRSFLD.") With that in mind, I was quite impressed that Zu-la-la-la was filled on a Wednesday.
I was also impressed that little ol' OTR has room for TWO mediterranean wine bars. Since Abigail St was my first, she'll always hold a special place in my heart, but Zula does offer a slightly different angle. For one, consider that Zula's menu length is closer to a Cheescake Factory's than to a fortune cookie, which is about the extent of text on most other OTR menus.
Also consider that your various dishes will be served by a multitude of waiters at a multitude of times. They must have some system whereby whoever is in the kitchen at the right time should serve the dish immediately while it's still piping hot. And as the Pied Piper of temperature*, I was extremely appreciative of this service. They're also slightly better than Abigail St at serving the dishes in a logical order (fries first, etc). And since the delivery times are staggered, no dish sits and gets cold; that is, every child gets its fair share of love; that is, no child left behind; that is, I'll shutup now.
*I don't know what that means either
The food I tried:
Eggplant fries - I would highly recommend these. I remember commenting, "How did they think to put powdered sugar on eggplant?" to which my friend responded, "You put powdered sugar on a flat tire, and I'll at least TRY it."
Lamb Moussaka - pretty good, but not as good as the Lamb Sliders at Abigail St, which I think is top 5 dishes in Cincitasti.
Yellow Fin Tuna Crudo - The concept of "Cold" Plates was already a turnoff, but we felt obligated to try at least one since the section occupied a fair portion of the menu. Moral of the story: listen to your heart and not your eyes, and nor your face.
Thai Mussels - I'm no mussel connoisseur, but my gut told my tongue that these are top tier. With that said, I did get the sense that they made the mussels in bulk, then dropped them in whichever sauce you ordered, a page right out of BW3's Wing Flavors 101 (class I took in undergrad).
Bulgarian Feta - This is phenomenal. Again, it felt like it had been brought out within milliseconds of coming out of the oven, and my happiness escalated within milliseconds of coming into my mouth.
Panna Cotta (dessert) - Better than the other dessert we tried, but not as good as Jiffy Jello.
No further comment.