A tasty gastronomic journey
For a place with a name that literally translates into ‘taste’, Zaika scores well for the food and the experimentation with flavours. Situated on the ground floor of Raheja Arcade, Koramangala, Zaika is not your newest eatout in town, but it has undergone some changes in the interiors.
The place is packed at meal times, especially for dinner. So it is not surprising to see families patiently await their turn outside. The menu offers Rajasthani, Gujarati and Punjabi cuisines, and some Thai, Chinese and Italian dishes as well, to cater to a younger clientele. Said Twinkle Shah, one of the owners and a gracious host, “Our Italian and Thai dishes are very popular with college-goers, but most other patrons prefer our regular fare. We also have some interesting fruit-based mocktails which have been created keeping in mind the food we serve.”
Homely setting
Zaika’s interiors are not fancy, but almost like home. The furniture too is minimalistic. There are three sections to seat a total of 140 covers—a ground level, a mezzanine floor and a separate section behind the main restaurant, where Zaika first opened shop a few years back. This section serves a lunch buffet for small get-togethers in the mornings. The restaurant serves only a la carte menu for dinners, “unless there’s a special request for more than 50 people for a buffet”, said Twinkle.
Try these
Our gastronomic sojourn at Zaika began with mocktails Southern Belle, Herbal Iced Tea and Pinacolada. For starters, we ordered Paneer De Tikke and Sabzi Ki Sheekh, which were nicely cooked, though I must admit, not having a fondness for paneer makes it difficult to comment on it. The Sheekh kebab was succlucent and delicious. We also tried the Karari Bhindi, which is a must-try here.
For the main course, we tried Makai ki Roti, Naan and Butter Roti along with a well made Panchrangi Dal (with five different pulses), that scores 9 on 10, and an innovative curry called Sabzi Aag Hi Aag, with a small blue flame simmering below the handi, in which the curry was served! Full marks for presentation there, but the taste gets a 6 on 10.
We rounded off our meal with a glass of chilled Thandai, hot gulab jamun and a Zaika surprise (a tall glass filled with ice-cream)! The food, which is all veggie, is not too heavy on your stomach and doesn’t result in unsavoury burps through the rest of the day. A standard meal for two costs Rs 450 - Rs 600 (approx). Sundays sees the restaurant serving a special Gujarati Thali too.
Zaika is at #34, Raheja Arcade, Koramangala.