Zingsters

About Zingsters

Zingsters is a casual restaurant at 220B University Avenue in downtown Palo Alto that specializes in Nashville style hot chicken and smash burgers. The business started as an idea among friends. Its website names Ibrahim, Nasir and Ruman as the founders and says they wanted to pair the speed of fast food with the comfort of a casual dining room. There are two locations, Palo Alto and Fremont. The company says Atlanta is coming next.

The headline for many diners is that all of the chicken is Zabiha Halal and hand slaughtered, according to the restaurant. The other draw is the hours. Most downtown kitchens close early, but Zingsters serves its full menu until midnight on weeknights.

What is on the menu

The menu is short and easy to read. It is organized into burgers, wraps, bowls, sides, milkshakes, drinks, sauces, a kids menu and tenders. Core items include:

• Zing-1: a Nashville hot chicken sandwich with pickles, coleslaw, cheese and the house Zing sauce on a bun.
• Zing-2: two hot chicken sliders.
• Zing-3 and Zing-4: chicken tenders, alone or paired with a slider, served with pickles and white bread.
• Smash burgers: single, double or triple beef patties with cheese, onions, pickles and coleslaw.
• Bowls and sides: a chicken rice bowl with coleslaw and Zing sauce, loaded fries, plus wraps and thick milkshakes.

Most items can be made into a meal with fries and a drink. Menus and combos change, so check the current list on the website before you order.

The restaurant says it makes food to order with fresh-ground beef for the burgers. The smash burgers are smashed fresh for crispy edges and spiced to order. The chicken rice bowl, which the restaurant calls a fan favorite, is a lighter option than a sandwich. Wraps are dusted to the heat level you pick, like the sandwiches and tenders.

Picking a heat level

Every tender, slider, sandwich and wrap is dusted with spice to order. Zingsters offers six levels: No Spice, Mild, Medium, Hot, X-Hot and Volcano. The restaurant suggests Medium for people who are not sure where to start. Volcano is meant as a dare. The restaurant asks guests to sign a waiver, which is posted on its website, before ordering it. If you are feeding children or anyone who avoids spice, No Spice and Mild are the safe picks.

Ordering and catering

You can order at the counter, call the restaurant or order online through the links on its website. Zingsters also caters. Its catering page lists packs for small teams, office lunches and larger parties, plus trays of tenders and sliders, boxed sandwiches, rice bowl trays and loaded fries. Each tray can be set to its own heat level and is labeled so guests can find their level. Catering orders are picked up from the restaurant. The packs are named for the size of the crowd: The Huddle for about 10 to 15 guests, Office Lunch for 20 to 30 and Block Party for 40 or more. A milkshake add-on is available for the largest pack. The page names office lunches, game days, Eid and family gatherings and campus events among the occasions it serves.

Who Zingsters suits

Zingsters fits a quick lunch, a late dinner after an evening downtown or a casual meal with friends. Diners who keep halal will find the whole chicken menu open to them. It is less suited to vegetarians, since the menu is built around chicken and beef. Families can order from the kids menu and keep the spice at the low end.

Tips for visiting

The restaurant says downtown gets busy at lunch and stays busy into the evening, so expect a line at peak times. Ordering ahead online saves time. The Palo Alto Caltrain station is a short walk down University Avenue. If you drive, the city garages near University Avenue are usually quicker than circling for a street space at dinner time. Our halal food guide lists more halal options. For other places open after 10 p.m., see our late-night food guide. Our burgers and sandwiches guide covers more casual meals.

Location and getting there

Zingsters is at 220B University Avenue, Palo Alto, CA 94301, in the Downtown area of Palo Alto. Our Downtown guide covers what else is around.

The Palo Alto Caltrain station is less than a quarter mile away, a walk of a few minutes.

Parking: street spaces and city garages with posted limits (see parking in Palo Alto).

Hours

Hours from the business's own website, checked October 30, 2026.

What is nearby

• Verizon University Avenue, shop, under 0.1 mi
• Fjällräven, studio or gym, under 0.1 mi
• The Wine Room, bar, under 0.1 mi
• Forest Spa Boutique, salon or spa, under 0.1 mi
• Scoop Microcreamery, bakery or dessert shop, under 0.1 mi
• University Avenue, under 0.1 mi
• Lytton Plaza, under 0.1 mi
• Cogswell Plaza, under 0.1 mi

Other restaurants nearby: Pizza My Heart (under 0.1 mi); Nola (under 0.1 mi); Tane Vegan Izakaya (under 0.1 mi); Rangoon Ruby (under 0.1 mi). Browse the full restaurants list.

Before you go

• Popular dinner spots in Palo Alto fill up on Friday and Saturday nights, so book ahead where the restaurant takes reservations.
• Many kitchens close earlier than in big cities. Plan to order by about 9 p.m. on weeknights unless the posted hours say otherwise.
• If you have allergies or dietary needs, call ahead or check the current menu on the restaurant's website.

About this listing

Checked October 30, 2026 against Zingsters Palo Alto location page; Menu; Our story; Catering. How our listings work. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Frequently asked questions