Review: Zoé Tong Is Making Dinner Fun
Modern Chinese restaurant brings to Zilker big flavors, sincere hospitality, and a ballsy refusal to be boxed in
Reviewed by Taylor Tobin, Fri., April 5, 2024
When I say that Zoé Tong has big DGAF energy, I don’t mean that the chefs are careless or the front-of-house staff is negligent. Quite the opposite, in fact. But this new Chinese-ish restaurant on Barton Springs Road makes the risky choice to break with any and all easy definitions, to play around with influences and inspirations, and to focus on one central theme: the pursuit of fun.
It’s a bold move, and it’s one that could easily have failed in spectacular fashion. Luckily, Zoé Tong’s gamble paid off, and this just-irreverent-enough spot deserves to be recognized as a Zilker dining destination.
Zoé Tong is the brainchild of Matthew Hyland and Simone Tong, two chefs who made a major impression on the NYC restaurant scene in the late 2010s. Hyland and Tong recently relocated to Austin with their family, and Zoé Tong marks their ATX brick-and-mortar debut. As a fellow New York expat who’s loved every meal I’ve had at their East Coast restaurants, I couldn’t wait to see how these chefs would translate their culinary successes to the Austin market and whether they’d be able to craft a dining experience that feels like a natural fit rather than an out-of-touch transplant.
There’s an indelible lightheartedness about Zoé Tong’s decor, but there’s also something about the mixture of industrial touches – visible ceiling pipes, concrete floors, garage-door windows – with whimsical tchotchkes, bright hanging lanterns, and neon signs that evoked vivid memories of my former life as an indie sleaze Brooklynite. Every time I glanced over at a banquette, I half-expected to see Zooey Deschanel in a vintage 1950s dress and Buddy Holly glasses waxing poetic about LCD Soundsystem. The overall effect is charming, if a little twee and more than a little millennial.
But you won’t find any hipster attitude in Zoé Tong’s service style. At every one of my visits, the hosts, servers, and bartenders delivered genuine and helpful hospitality. When I asked for recommendations, each staff member was ready and able to talk about their favorite menu items in detail and with no hesitation (and without resorting to the dreaded “oh, I like everything!”).
In fact, a server recommendation led me to the absolute highlight of my Zoé Tong experience: the Si Baby Verdad. The Zoé Tong cocktail menu focuses on classic libations with updates that allow Asian ingredients and flavor profiles to shine. While their take on the margarita includes the standard tequila and lime juice, they take the extraordinary step of clarifying the drink by milk-washing. This results in a silkier, smoother margarita, with an extra flavor boost from strawberry and shishito pepper infusions. But the crown jewel of the Si Baby is the foam floater on top, which brings a burst of tart yuzu and a hint of sea salt for balance.
Zoé Tong’s menu changes on a regular basis based on seasonality and the chefs’ inspirations. Family style reigns supreme here, with all dishes designed to share. In order to get a well-rounded sense of the menu, you’ll likely end up ordering more food than one or two people can comfortably finish in one sitting. Groups of three or more would fare better, unless you – like me – happen to be a big fan of leftovers.
The appetizers do an effective job of easing diners into Zoé Tong’s Texan-Chinese concept. The flaky scallion swirls bring the punchy vibrancy of scallion pancakes, but with a mellow flavor backbone and a crisp-yet-soft texture that reminded me instantly of Pillsbury crescent rolls. A swirl of sweet bean sauce and a crock of truffle butter are seamless and appealing additions. Another noteworthy snack? The “Hot Legs,” which Zoé Tong presents as its spin on chicken wings, only with fried frog legs swapped in for the usual poultry. If you’re a frog leg skeptic, rest assured that the natural flavor of the meat is slightly sweet, a bit grassy, and a perfect complement for the seasoned panko breading and the smoked mayonnaise with tingly mala spice.
Speaking of mala, the wild boar and brisket dan dan noodles deliver plenty of that numbing sensation courtesy of a Sichuan peppercorn oil tossed with the springy noodles, deeply savory sauce with smoky brisket and tender boar, and poached quail eggs that bring a silky richness to the entire bowl. The Rice & Noodles section of the menu is also home to one of Zoé Tong’s signature dishes: Zoé Tong fried rice, which features beautifully burnished rice, creamy heritage egg, crisp seasonal vegetables, and hearty chunks of Chinese sausage made in-house and teeming with tang, spice, and umami.
Zoé Tong uses its entrées to play around with common American concepts of Chinese dishes. There’s a beef-and-broccoli dish with Wagyu steak and broccolini, a spin on Peking duck with a tea-smoked Rohan duck and duck confit, and a version of General Tso’s chicken that replaces the typical cornstarch coating with panko and nods to Central Texas’ German heritage with a schnitzel-style preparation. While I enjoyed the hefty crunch and the sweet-spicy-tangy blend of the sauce, I found myself missing the best part of standard takeout General Tso’s: the delicate breading that allows the sauce to seep through, fully infuse the meat, and help the chicken pieces cling to the rice.
The dessert offerings at Zoé Tong are spare; only two options appeared on the menu during my visits. But that hardly matters when there’s a clear must-order, which comes in the form of black sesame soft serve with raspberry pearls. Light, airy, yet luxurious, this ice cream’s subtle profile includes gentle nutty notes and a sweetness that’s never aggressive or cloying, and the raspberry pearls bring a balanced acidity and an engaging textural contrast.
Cynics can (and probably will) find plenty to whine about here. A “fusion” restaurant founded by New Yorkers with cutesy decor and fairly high prices? I can hear the virtual army of Austin Redditors sharpening their pitchforks from behind their screens. But they’d be missing the point. Zoé Tong doesn’t take itself too seriously, but it takes its ingredients and flavors and inspirations seriously enough to create dishes and cocktails that feel unique, bold, and enjoyable. Zoé Tong wants to have fun, it wants you to have fun, and there’s no reason for anyone but the most committed naysayers to not have fun at this restaurant.
Zoé Tong
1530 Barton Springs Rd.
