Zaika
Through the marble entrance and down the candlelit stairs, Zaika, a newcomer to the city’s culinary scene, is a welcoming place to dine. 5 Reviews
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Well Toto, we’re not in Karama anymore. From the moment you step into Zaika it’s clear you’re somewhere rather plush. Through the marble entrance and down the candlelit stairs, Zaika, a newcomer to the city’s culinary scene, is a welcoming place to dine. But first things first – order their madras mojito. Never has a drink been spicy yet so awesomely refreshing at the same time.
Ordering food, however, is slightly confusing as the starters are bigger and costlier than the mains, but go with it, as it’s all a pretty good take on Awadhi cuisine. The green and red rice cakes in the poppadam selection are fantastic with a splash of mint chutney, while the jhinga tinka prawn and banana fritters are spicy and crunchily juicy – a good match for peanut sauce. The Zaika kebab platter (which is big enough for two) is a wonderful meat feast, but avoid the murghabi kebab involving tender strips of duck, since the thick, intensely-flavoured marinade makes it difficult to finish the whole portion.
The chicken biryani, a house speciality dish, is prepared dum pukht style, meaning it’s sealed in a pot and cooked in its own juices, allowing the spices to fully fuse with the rice and the chicken. It is exceptionally good. But it’s presented in a plain, white bowl; we like to see the traditional pot and the dough lid. The murghabi tikka, with not a bone in sight, has a sauce that massages rather than kicks, while the lobster stew is a wonderfully zesty take on a seafood dish. Order these, and a battery of garlic naans, and you’ve got yourself a top class meal.
The only downside (other than the price) is that the service can be a little overbearing at times. As you finish some of your meal the waiter waltzes over and spoons more onto your plate from the adjacent serving dish, only stopping short of cutting it up for you and making airplane noises as he flies each forkful into your mouth. But it’s a new restaurant and they’re just keen to please, although the food can easily manage to do that all by itself.
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