Zaika

Below are notes from a meal in September 2008.

To begin there was a little dish of lightly spiced chicken and mushroom, topped with a small piece of chicken; this had good taste (13/20).  To start with soft shell crab is unusual for an Indian restaurant, but the crab itself was fried lightly and avoided any wateriness, served with a pair of spicy sauces (13/20). Jhinga platter (£10.50) had a central pillar of nicely made red onion & shrimp risotto, flanked by a pair of prawns: a single crispy tiger prawn, and a single tandoori king prawn marinated in chillies and 'ajwain' (carom) seeds. The tandoori prawn was very tender while the tiger prawn was also cooked well, but there was that distinctive whiff of chlorine that can happen with farmed prawns (13/20).  

Tandoori kingfish (£17.50) was excellent, a generous fillet of kingfish marinated in a Goan blend of spices, grilled in the tandoor, then served with a sauce of coconut milk infused with coriander leaves, shallots, green chillies and ginger, with aubergine chutney as a garnish (15/20).  Chicken biriani (£16) was the real thing, cooked with aromatic spices and basmati rice in a clay pot, sealed in with a flaky pastry crust, served with a good raita. The chicken was still moist and had good flavour (this was Goosnargh chicken rather than the cheap chicken which most Indian restaurants use (15/20).

Til Gobi (£5.50) had lightly cooked cauliflower florets tossed with onions and sesame seeds (13/20). Plain naan (£2.50) was a little too firm in texture (almost crisp on the outside) but was decent enough (12/20). Mango kulfi was also excellent (13/20), and there was even a pre-dessert of very competent passion fruit granita (13/20). Service was generally attentive. Zaika is a classy restaurant, with an interesting menu, good presentation and some attention to ingredients (at least on the meat, and the vegetables, if not the prawns). 

Further reviews: 04th Dec 2014 | 13th Feb 2011 | 01st May 2009 | 01st Oct 2007