Zeus Gallery Café Restaurant Review

Sometimes the best surprises have been hiding right under your nose the whole time. Tucked away in a quaint, if seldom traveled, spot in the Museum District, we may have totally missed out on Zeus Gallery Café if not for a recent recommendation. Let us extend that recommendation to you all — if you haven’t made your way to Belmont Street in a while, pencil in Zeus Gallery Café for your next meal out.

From the first moment you pass through the door, it is apparent that Zeus marches to the beat of a different drummer. Eclectic artwork, currently cheekily incorporating a brassiere-motif, provided a quirky introduction to the cozy wooden booths with black and white checkerboard tabletops resembling something out of Alice in Wonderland. Menus are delivered on individually framed chalkboards — the perfect solution to the usual dilemma of craning your neck and squinting to read the chalkboard menu on a distant wall.

We’re warmly greeted by our server, who seemed genuinely enthusiastic without an ounce of snark detected — not a trait we often run across within the city limits. She did a great job all night of keeping our water filled and making sure we felt right at home. We’re also pleasantly informed we’ve picked their half-price wine night (Wednesday) further expanding our options among an already extensive wine list.

We peruse our appetizer options and settle on the fried oysters ($12.95), which are served with a spicy sambal mayonnaise. Despite Leah’s aversion to anything mayo (call it aioli and she’s fine, go figure), we both agreed that the sauce was a winner. The sambal gave a unique wallop of flavor that created a fiery accompaniment to the gently breaded and wonderfully fresh oysters.

While the regular menu offerings were all appealing, we were enticed by one of the evening specials, a veal loin served over flat house-made pappardelle pasta. The veal was wonderfully tender, falling apart at the slightest encouragement of the fork and the accompanying sauce was suitably rich. The meal was befitting an old-world-style home recipe; comforting, hot, and filling.

One of the more creative dishes we’ve run across in quite some time is the baked tenderloin meatloaf ($19.95). Yes, meatloaf is not the most inventive dish on its own, but the accompanying red pepper and Vidalia onion relish is where this dish gets kicked up a notch. When the plate first arrived, the bright red sauce enveloping the meatloaf could easily have been mistaken for run-of-the-mill ketchup until the first bite. The sweet and tangy relish perfectly complimented the tender meatloaf. Using tenderloin steers the dish away from any greasy-spoon comparison; if you’re looking for your mom’s meatloaf, this is not it. The mound of creamy mashed potatoes mixed equally well with the outstanding relish, and the haricots verts were crisp and fresh.

After two rather filling entrees, we barely had room left for dessert, but how can you resist finishing off the meal with fresh-made apple cobbler ($7.95)? And if you’re going to have hot apple cobbler, how could you not shell out the extra two bucks to add a cooling scoop of vanilla ice cream on top? Despite repeated complaints from our expanding bellies, we savored each bit of sweet crust and cinnamon apples.

There is a reason certain restaurants have been in business for 20 years. Zeus Gallery Cafe shows that quality food and a consistent experience for their diners will welcome repeat business. Zeus offers a great evening for friends or a fun/romantic evening for two. With an ever-changing menu, there is a dish available for every taste. We’re sorry it took us this long to discover this gem, but we plan to veer off the beaten path once again for repeat visits.

Jon and Leah Nelson, like most married couples, can’t agree on how the dishwasher should be loaded, so they eat out a lot so someone else can worry about the dishes. As RVA natives, they have had plenty of practice checking out what the city has to offer.