Zaika Indian Cuisine — Restaurant in North Miami

We had used Zaika Indian Cuisine as caterer for our reception cocktail hour and dinner for around 200 people. The food for cocktail hour was really nice and overall guests seemed to love the dinner as well. We also had gone into Zaika to do the sample menu and eat lunch and food in their miami location which was very good, naan was fresh and food was tasty. However, there were a few issues with our reception which overall ended up disappointing us for their work as a caterer. Cocktail hour had started on time, but dinner was 40 minutes late which cost us extra money for our other vendors that had to stay later like the videographer, and we had shared the timeline with them ahead of time so really there was no reason to be late. Second, they ended up using our waitstaff that we hired separately that were not employed by Zaika to prep their plates and maybe even do some light cooking or food assembly, the problem this caused was that there were no waiters serving water, wine or picking up plates because they were all in the kitchen, they should have hired their own staff if that was the case. We had originally gone with Zaika because they do Thai and Indo Chinese food and since my wedding was a fusion Indian and Chinese wedding we needed someone who did Asian food as well as Indian. The Asian inspired snacks were amazing but all the criteria we gave for how we wanted the main course Asian food was not followed, the curries were bland and not spicy at all so that was a little disappointing but the Asian snacks were amazing and a hit with all guests. And finally the food quantity was an issue, they had run out of a few items and were slow to refill, the way the desserts were served half our guests didn’t even know there was a dessert and didn’t get any, also the naan that they claimed will be freshly cooked in a tandoor on site looked cold and flat and not fresh at all very different from what we ate at their restaurant. I will say they did a great job with this paneer recipe we gave them, which wasn’t even on their menu but actually ended up being the best veg item they made for the main course. I would definitely eat at their restaurant again but probably not use them for catering such...

Taj Mahal right next to this is far superior and doesn’t have favority over customers.

You can see in the managers owners reply: “Don’t want your business”. Such is not a place for customer’s respect but rather a place of business hierarchy.

The manager/host in front will count the numbers of customers and will favor those who have more people. He will say you’re next but if a party of more than yours comes in, he will let you wait more and keep bluffing about reservation.

Haven’t seen such a shameless hospitality in all the food restaurants I’ve been to.

Offering seats and having favority is two such different matter. The owner will offer you seats but when a party of more than your comes, they will be favored. For sure the customer will be not patient when treated such a way. It is evident how ill mannered, unthoughtful, and business-only mentality towards their customer is.

“Don’t want your business”. Clear evident of how you will be treated if not you bring big group to bring business. Your time will be served well if greater number of people you bring; if not, it is evident of such treatment you shall receive like a slave or an untouchable.

Sir, a person or a group of people like me/us comes humbly to have dinner after maybe a long day, reading all the reviews; yet your etiquette towards how you treat your customer with injustice is truly hurtful.

“Don’t want your business”. If viewers wants go to a place with ambience, sure. But with also a mindset of business-first owner having such hurtful injustice etiquette served to...

Called to make a reservation and had to leave a voice message as they were xlosed between 3PM and 530PM. I called around 430PM. Never received a return call. I decided to just go for 7PM which was the time I wanted originally. When I arrived they asked if I had a reservation, which I did not. I was sat almost immediately. The restaurant was maybe 80% full and tve aromas.were tantalizing. Immediately, I was served water, but that was it. Several servers walked by and no one stopped.to ask me anything. This happened for what may have been 10 minutes. Just as I decided I was going to leave my server arrived. Very courteous but the first thing he asked was if I had made a decision. Sorry, but no explanation of the menu, specials, or suggestions. I ordered a glass of wine and samosas. Let me say the food was hot, fresh, and delicious. Even though during the entire service it took quite some time to receive any of the items ordered. In short, I really love Indian cuisine. This place definitely hit the nail on the head. Service was indicated from the moment I did not receive a return call for a reservation. Though the staff are friendly and courteous, the service could use a bit of improvement. Perhaps some actual hospitaliy/restaurant training. Service level should match the food quality. Only reason I did not rate it higher. But I'd give them another...