Zaika Restaurant & Bar — Restaurant in South Island

We finally got takeaways from Zaika Restaurant, which has recently opened here in Blenheim. Their website is easy to navigate, and the food was ready for pickup very fast. We ordered the mixed platter for two, and it was really nice, very tasty, we did kind of expect a tamarind sauce that usually comes with most mixed platters so that might be something to add along with the other tasty sauce that was provided if it's not usually included but that's one small thing, everything else was delicious. Our Butter Chicken was so good and had plenty of sauce!! The spice level was on point. Most places we've been to don't quite get the spice level correct, but man, the chef nailed it, so it's definitely an added bonus for that! Garlic Naan was also very tasty. Staff were lovely and friendly to deal with, and we will definitely dine in next time. Definitely recommend...

My husband loves Indian food and we have been to all the Indian restaurants in Blenheim, Picton and Kaikoura. So far Zaika is just our favourite that we keep coming back. The food are so delicious and hands down the best value for dinner in town. The service is great as always. Despite Zaika is relatively new to Blenheim, we have been to Zaika at least 10 times. We tried almost everything on the menu and our favourites are Jalfrezi chicken and Mughlai chicken. We asked for medium hot and they are flavourful and not too hot. Not to mention the cheese and garlic naan, is totally something to die for! The gooey cheese is integrated in the dough and well seasoned to be eaten on its own. Their quality has been consistent and we never come home disappointed. Highly recommend Zaika to everyone. You may start to love...

We were really looking forward to trying Zaika for the first time after hearing great things, but sadly our experience left us disappointed.

We placed a takeaway order (Chicken Saag, Baingan Bharta, Onion Bhaji, Garlic Naan) and were told it would be ready at a certain time, but when we arrived, we had to wait an additional 15 minutes. When we got home, both curries were only lukewarm and had to be reheated. The naan was undercooked and doughy, and the Chicken Saag was lacking in the usual spice and depth you'd expect.

We emailed the restaurant with our feedback, hoping to give them a chance to respond — and followed up again — but never received any reply.

We understand places can be busy, and we were keen to give them another shot, but being ignored after a genuine attempt to reach out is...